Contractor insurance
An auto shop is unusual among the trades we work with, because the most valuable property on your premises usually belongs to someone else. That single fact shapes most of the insurance conversation.
General repair, specialty work and shops that also sell vehicles are rated and underwritten differently, so it helps to be specific about what happens on your floor.
Fire, hail, theft or damage to a vehicle you are storing or working on is generally not addressed by a standard liability policy. This risk is handled separately and is often misunderstood in the auto repair industry.
An employee driving a customer's car is operating a vehicle you do not own, for your business purpose. Which policy responds, and in what order, depends on how the program is built.
A brake or steering repair that fails after the vehicle leaves creates an exposure that follows the work, not the premises. The potential severity is much higher than the value of the repair order.
Vehicles falling from lifts and injuries from tools and equipment drive both the injury and the property side. Lift inspection records matter more than most shop owners expect.
Waste oil, solvent tanks and parts washers create fire and environmental exposures. Storage and disposal practices are commonly part of underwriting.
A waiting area, a parking lot and the walk between them create a routine slip, trip and fall exposure that is separate from anything mechanical.
General liability is generally aimed at bodily injury and property damage to third parties arising from your premises and operations, subject to the policy that applies. For a shop, an important limitation is that a customer's vehicle in your care is usually not treated as third-party property under that form. Coverage for those vehicles is typically arranged separately, and confirming it is one of the more useful things a shop owner can do.
If you have employees, the exposures are lifting, tool and equipment contact, chemical exposure and burns. Whether technicians road test vehicles is worth mentioning because it adds a driving exposure to an otherwise premises-based job.
Shop trucks, parts runners and any tow or service vehicle. Separately, employees driving customer vehicles and employees using their own cars for shop errands are both common gaps that insuring only the vehicles you own may not reach.
Lifts, diagnostic equipment, compressors, parts inventory and technician-owned tools all sit under the property conversation. Whether employee-owned tools are addressed, and at what value, is frequently assumed rather than confirmed.
This page is general information, not legal, safety or coverage advice. What a policy actually covers depends on your business operations and on the policy, carrier, terms, conditions, limits and exclusions that apply. Nothing here confirms eligibility or guarantees that any coverage is available to you.
Usually not. Standard general liability is generally not designed to pay for damage to property in your care, custody or control, and a customer's vehicle on your lot typically falls into that category. Coverage for those vehicles is normally arranged separately, and it is worth confirming you have it rather than assuming.
More than one policy can potentially be involved, including the customer's own coverage, and the order matters. Because this is a routine part of the work rather than an unusual event, it is worth knowing in advance exactly how your program is intended to respond.
Not automatically, and the values involved are often substantial. Whether employee-owned tools are addressed, and for how much, should be confirmed specifically rather than assumed to fall under shop equipment.
Call or text the office, or send a request and we will get back to you.
Dassel State Insurance Agency is based in Dassel and works with contractors throughout Minnesota.