Auto Body Shop Insurance – What You Need To Know

Auto body shops have unique risks and insurance needs and in this video and post, I’m going to break it down to give you a better understanding of what you need and why you need it.

So, auto body shops and collision centers, what types of insurance are needed?  

Today, many insurers will combine several of the required coverages you need under a single business owner or BOP policy.

This will include: 

• General Liability to protect your auto repair business from claims that arise from bodily injury or property damage.
• Property insurance to cover your building if you own it, your equipment, tools, and office contents.
• Business Interruption or business income insurance to protect your revenue flow if you’re forced out of your shop due to a covered loss such as a fire.
• Garage Keepers protect your customers’ vehicles left in your care should they be damaged by vandals, or during a test drive, or if destroyed in a fire or other disaster.

In addition to these core coverages, the BOP policy will also provide limits of protection for certain types of crime coverages, special extensions on property and liability coverages, and several what I call “fringe” coverages that help round out a good package policy.

Now, outside of the business owners policy, there are a few other coverages or policies to consider

• Workers compensation to protect your employees for injuries and illness they incur on the job and to satisfy state mandates to carry this insurance.
• Umbrella or excess liability insurance to provide an extra layer of liability protection over and above your other liability policy forms.  This is really critical today when you consider how litigious society is today.  We’re seeing a lot of claims blowing through the primary general or auto liability limits of coverage – usually $1,000,000.  Without an umbrella policy, you’ll pay out of pocket for claims in excess of your primary policies so we highly recommend it. 

In some cases, if you own a tow truck or have a dealer or transporter plates there are some specialized coverages that need to be addressed as well which we can help you with.

How do you get an insurance quote on your auto body/collision shop?

It all starts with a conversation.  You may be facing issues or problems that need to be addressed and you need someone to vent to about them, you may be a startup and don’t know where to start, or you may have a big premium increase that’s motivating you to shop around.

Let’s have that conversation and see if we can help, which we likely can.  I’ve been in the business for 40 years and there aren’t many problems or issues I haven’t seen or fixed!

From there I’ll ask you for a copy of your current policies as a baseline and then get some additional information from you so we can go to several of our insurers for competitive quotes. 

If you’re a startup, we’ll start from scratch and gather all the underwriting information we’ll need.  Once the quotes are back, we’ll review them to find the best, and make that recommendation to you.  

I promise to make the whole process as painless as possible with no pressure or sales gimmicks.

The bottom line is that you’ve invested a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into your shop, and protecting you from potentially catastrophic claims is paramount. 

You want to work with an expert who has experience, knowledge, and skill to get you the right coverage at the right price.  We have that skillset and represent numerous insurers who really want to insure body shops.

Want to learn more? Give me a call or drop me an email and let’s chat – in fact, click the button below to get started! Let’s talk and see if we’re a good fit for your business.

Thanks!