Garage Insurance for Auto Repair Shops, Body Shops and Car Dealers
Commercial insurance for garage operations, mechanics, auto body shops, car dealerships, tire shops, car washes, detail shops, and auto service businesses through Casurance and Travelers Commercial Insurance.
Garage and auto service businesses handle customer vehicles, dealership inventory, test drives, tools, lifts, paint booths, parts, employees, parking lots, dealer plates, repair work, and daily customer traffic. A customer vehicle can be damaged while in your care, a test drive can turn into a claim, a fire can damage tools and inventory, or an employee can get hurt in the shop. Casurance helps garage businesses review Travelers commercial insurance options that may help protect liability, customer vehicles, owned inventory, property, equipment, employees, vehicles, cyber systems, and contract requirements.
Garage & Auto Service Businesses We Help
Garage Coverage at a Glance
Garage Liability
May help protect against covered third-party bodily injury or property damage claims arising from garage operations, auto service, repair, sales, test drives, or customer-facing operations.
Garagekeepers
Important when customer vehicles are in the business's care, custody, or control for repair, storage, parking, service, detail, valet, or inspection.
Dealer's Open Lot / Dealer Physical Damage
For dealerships, may help protect owned vehicle inventory held for sale from covered physical damage such as theft, vandalism, fire, hail, wind, or collision, subject to policy terms.
Commercial Property
May help protect buildings, tenant improvements, lifts, compressors, diagnostic equipment, spray booths, tools, parts, furniture, computers, signs, and business personal property.
Business Income / Extra Expense
May help replace lost income and pay extra expenses when a covered property loss temporarily interrupts garage operations.
Workers' Compensation
For employee injuries involving tools, lifts, slips, burns, chemicals, vehicle movement, lifting, test drives, and shop work.
Commercial Auto
For business-owned vehicles, parts delivery vehicles, service trucks, tow trucks, mobile repair units, and other business auto exposures.
Hired & Non-Owned Auto
For employees using personal vehicles for business errands, parts runs, or customer-related operations.
Equipment Breakdown
For covered breakdowns involving lifts, compressors, diagnostic systems, paint booths, electrical systems, HVAC, pumps, and car wash machinery.
Inland Marine / Tools & Equipment
For tools, scanners, mobile equipment, diagnostic devices, and equipment transported between jobs or stored off-premises.
Pollution Liability Review
For operations involving paint, solvents, oil, fuel, batteries, refrigerants, wastewater, waste disposal, or environmental exposure.
Cyber Liability
For customer records, payment systems, dealer management systems, repair management software, appointment systems, and email compromise.
Crime / Employee Dishonesty
For theft of money, tools, parts, vehicles, inventory, or dishonest acts by employees where coverage applies.
Umbrella / Excess Liability
Additional liability limits over eligible underlying policies.
Surety Bond Review
For dealership licensing, DMV requirements, permits, contracts, or other obligations where applicable.
Why Garage Businesses Need More Than a Standard Business Policy
Garage businesses are different from ordinary retail or office operations because vehicles are constantly being moved, repaired, stored, test driven, sold, washed, detailed, parked, or towed. A standard business policy may not fully address customer vehicles, dealer inventory, garage operations, test drives, tools, lifts, or completed repair work.
- Customer vehicles may be in your care, custody, or control.
- Employees may test drive or move vehicles.
- Dealer inventory may sit outdoors overnight.
- Tools and diagnostic equipment can be expensive to replace.
- Lifts, compressors, paint booths, and car wash equipment can break down.
- Repair work can lead to completed operations claims.
- Shop chemicals, oil, paint, batteries, and fluids can create pollution exposure.
- Parking lots, lobbies, and service areas create customer injury risks.
- Contracts, leases, DMV requirements, auctions, floorplan lenders, and customers may require certificates.
Real-Life Garage Claim Scenarios
Customer Vehicle Damaged in Shop
A customer leaves a vehicle for service. While being moved in the lot, it is hit by another vehicle.
Coverage to review: Garagekeepers, garage liability, direct primary vs legal liability options
Test Drive Accident
A mechanic or salesperson test drives a vehicle and gets into an accident.
Coverage to review: Garage liability, commercial auto, umbrella
Dealer Inventory Theft
A vehicle is stolen from a used car lot after hours.
Coverage to review: Dealer's open lot, dealer physical damage, crime/security controls
Fire in Auto Body Shop
A fire damages the paint booth, tools, parts, and customer vehicles.
Coverage to review: Commercial property, business income, garagekeepers, equipment breakdown
Employee Injury
A technician is injured while using a lift, tire machine, welder, or diagnostic equipment.
Coverage to review: Workers' compensation, safety controls
Tools Stolen from Service Truck
A mobile mechanic or shop employee has diagnostic tools stolen from a vehicle.
Coverage to review: Inland marine, tools and equipment
Customer Slip in Lobby
A customer slips on oil, water, or rain tracked into the waiting area.
Coverage to review: Garage liability / general liability, premises safety
Faulty Repair Allegation
A customer claims a brake job, oil change, tire repair, or body repair caused damage after leaving the shop.
Coverage to review: Garage liability, products/completed operations review, umbrella
Cyber Incident
A repair shop, dealership, or car wash payment system is compromised.
Coverage to review: Cyber liability, crime, data breach response
Pollution or Waste Issue
Waste oil, paint, solvent, wastewater, or batteries create an environmental concern.
Coverage to review: Pollution liability review
Garage Liability vs. Garagekeepers vs. Dealer's Open Lot
A repair shop may need garage liability and garagekeepers. A dealership may need garage liability, garagekeepers, and dealer's open lot. A valet or parking operation may need garagekeepers and commercial auto review. The right structure depends on the actual operation.
| Coverage | Protects | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Garage Liability | The business against covered liability claims arising from garage operations | A customer is injured on the premises or an employee causes property damage during garage operations |
| Garagekeepers | Customer vehicles while in the business's care, custody, or control | A customer vehicle is damaged while parked at the shop, being serviced, detailed, parked, or stored |
| Dealer's Open Lot | Dealership-owned vehicle inventory held for sale | Vehicles on a dealer lot are damaged by hail, theft, vandalism, fire, or collision |
Core Garage Insurance Coverages
Garage Liability
May help protect against covered third-party bodily injury or property damage claims arising from garage operations, auto service, repair, sales, test drives, or customer-facing operations.
Garagekeepers
Important when customer vehicles are in the business's care, custody, or control for repair, storage, parking, service, detail, valet, or inspection.
Dealer's Open Lot / Dealer Physical Damage
For dealerships, may help protect owned vehicle inventory held for sale from covered physical damage such as theft, vandalism, fire, hail, wind, or collision, subject to policy terms.
Commercial Property
May help protect buildings, tenant improvements, lifts, compressors, diagnostic equipment, spray booths, tools, parts, furniture, computers, signs, and business personal property.
Business Income / Extra Expense
May help replace lost income and pay extra expenses when a covered property loss temporarily interrupts garage operations.
Workers' Compensation
For employee injuries involving tools, lifts, slips, burns, chemicals, vehicle movement, lifting, test drives, and shop work.
Commercial Auto
For business-owned vehicles, parts delivery vehicles, service trucks, tow trucks, mobile repair units, and other business auto exposures.
Hired & Non-Owned Auto
For employees using personal vehicles for business errands, parts runs, or customer-related operations.
Equipment Breakdown
For covered breakdowns involving lifts, compressors, diagnostic systems, paint booths, electrical systems, HVAC, pumps, and car wash machinery.
Inland Marine / Tools & Equipment
For tools, scanners, mobile equipment, diagnostic devices, and equipment transported between jobs or stored off-premises.
Pollution Liability Review
For operations involving paint, solvents, oil, fuel, batteries, refrigerants, wastewater, waste disposal, or environmental exposure.
Cyber Liability
For customer records, payment systems, dealer management systems, repair management software, appointment systems, and email compromise.
Crime / Employee Dishonesty
For theft of money, tools, parts, vehicles, inventory, or dishonest acts by employees where coverage applies.
Umbrella / Excess Liability
Additional liability limits over eligible underlying policies.
Surety Bond Review
For dealership licensing, DMV requirements, permits, contracts, or other obligations where applicable.
Garage Operations Casurance Needs to Review
What Affects Garage Insurance Cost?
Pricing varies by underwriting review. We do not guarantee savings, approval, or specific rates.
What We Need for a Garage Insurance Quote
- Business legal name and DBA
- Business address
- Type of garage operation
- Years in business
- Annual revenue
- Annual payroll
- Number of employees
- Driver list if auto/dealer/test drive exposure exists
- Current declarations pages
- Loss runs if available
- Customer vehicle values
- Average number of customer vehicles in care
- Maximum number of customer vehicles in care
- Dealer inventory values if applicable
- Number of dealer plates if applicable
- Test drive procedures
- Vehicle storage details
- Business vehicle schedule
- Tool and equipment values
- Building/property values
- Lease, DMV, floorplan, lender, auction, or certificate requirements
- Prior claims or cancellations
Upload Garage Insurance Requirements
Need a certificate for a landlord, DMV, floorplan lender, auction, vendor, customer contract, lease, franchise, or business partner? Upload the requirement and Casurance can review requested limits, certificate holder wording, additional insured language, waiver of subrogation, garage liability, garagekeepers, dealer's open lot, commercial auto, workers' compensation, umbrella, and other requirements.
Travelers Commercial Insurance Through Casurance
Casurance helps garage and auto service business owners organize the details needed to review Travelers commercial insurance options. We help prepare a clear submission that explains the operation, vehicles in care, inventory, employees, tools, property, and contract requirements.
Coverage is subject to underwriting approval, state availability, policy terms, conditions, exclusions, and limits. This page is general information only and does not modify any insurance policy.
Related Coverage & Classes
Frequently Asked Questions
Review Your Garage Insurance Before the Next Claim, Test Drive, or Lot Loss
Whether you operate an auto repair shop, body shop, dealership, tire shop, car wash, detail shop, parking operation, or valet business, Casurance can help review Travelers commercial insurance options for your garage operations, customer vehicles, inventory, employees, property, vehicles, and certificates.
Coverage is subject to underwriting approval, state availability, policy terms, exclusions, conditions, and limits. This page is for general information only and does not modify any insurance policy.
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