The process of fixing vehicles is so complex, and mistakes tend to happen. Power tools can be dangerous, causing harm to you and the car while you use them. More so, vandalism is a significant problem for small business owners. What happens if vandals break into your premises at night and steal or destroy the vehicles in your care? Or what do you do when you make a costly mistake while trying to repair a client’s vehicle?
Such accidents, damage, or theft can cause many problems depending on the type of car involved. In some cases, you could be liable to pay damages that will affect the financial health of your business. This is why you need to have an auto repair shop insurance policy. The insurance can either be Garage Liability or Garage Keepers insurance. Either way, the idea is to get the right coverage so you can go about your business with confidence.
Unfortunately, the process of choosing auto repair insurance is not easy. Today there are so many options to choose from, and the process involves several technicalities. We have selected 5 of the best companies that offer auto repairs show insurance to make things easy for you.
- The 5 best auto repair shop insurance companies
- What kind of insurance does an auto repair shop need?
- What is mechanic business insurance?
- Who needs mechanic business insurance?
- How much does auto repair shop insurance cost?
- How to find cheap auto repair shop insurance?
The 5 best auto repair shop insurance companies
- CoverWallet: Best for comparing several online quotes
- Progressive: Best Overall
- Geico Mechanic Insurance: Best alternative to Progressive
- Farmers Insurance: Best customized policies for auto repair shops
- Auto Risk: Best specialized insurance provider in the automotive industry
CoverWallet: Best for comparing several online quotes
CoverWallet specializes in providing you with online quotes from several insurance companies as fast as possible. The company helps you get garage keepers insurance, usually sold with garage liability policy. The online quote shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes and you are able to compare several quotes to select the best and the cheapest one for you.
Additionally, they can grant you access to any business insurance that your business needs. After buying a policy through them, you will be able to manage all of your business insurance policies in their central digital dashboard regardless which company the policy is from.
The beautiful part is, they also offer advisory services. So, if you are not sure what coverage you need for your business, they can help you with that. They agents are very knowledgeable and thorough in explaining the types of business insurance policy that your company might need.
Progressive: Best Overall
If you are looking for an insurance company that offers the best coverage for your auto repair shop, then Progressive is your best bet. The company offers garage keepers liability insurance for auto shops. They also have liability insurance and on-hook towing insurance. They have a lot of experience in insuring the auto industry, so you will be in good hand if you choose them.
Progressive usually offers quotes online, however, for the policies that are necessary for auto or car repair shops such as garage keeper insurance or garage liability, you have to discuss your quote options with their agents on the phone.
Geico Mechanic Insurance: Best alternative to Progressive
Geico is also a reliable option for you if you are looking for auto repair shop insurance. They offer the best of simple mechanic trade insurance and other auto-repair shop insurance policies. The company prides itself as the second-largest insurance company in the US, and they offer some of the best rates on small business insurance at the moment.
They have their offices spread across the country, making it easy for you to handle your claims anywhere and at any time. You can also speak with their agents that are available to take your claims on a 24/7 basis. If you are not comfortable with that, you can use their app on your phone.
Geico and Progressive are the two main competitors in the auto insurance industry. If you consider one, you may also want to get quotes from the other as well so that you can compare and select the better one for you. They both are known for affordable insurance rates for auto-related industries.
Farmers Insurance: Best customized policies for auto repair shops
If you require an insurance company that can offer you custom policies, you should try Farmers insurance. The company deals with Garage keepers insurance, and they also provide other types of small business policies for auto repair shops. You do not have to understand how things work before you get their insurance. They have a friendly team to walk you through to decide what type of insurance you need for your business.
The only problem with the company is that you might not get a quote directly from the website. You might have to call the team and speak with an agent to discuss your options to get your quotes.
AutoRisk: Best specialized insurance provider in the automotive industry
AutoRisk is probably the only few specialist offering business insurance for the automotive industry. They specialize in providing all types of business insurance policies needed by the automative companies, including auto repair companies.
However, their services are only available in any of the Mountain States of the US. That is Texas, Michigan, Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, and Wyoming. They offer a comprehensive list of business insurance policies for auto repair shops and other similar businesses: garage liability insurance, garage keepers insurance, commercial property insurance, dealers’ open lot, E&O, cargo towing, pollution liability, commercial auto, motor carrier, and workers comp insurance.
For auto repair shops in these states, you definitely should consider getting a quote from them. The website also contains helpful information about the auto industry in general. You will find links to videos and many other valuable articles.
What kind of insurance does an auto repair shop need?
Auto repair shop insurance is also called mechanic business insurance. They can consider one or many of the following policies:
- Garage liability insurance for auto repair shops
- Garage keepers insurance for car repair shops
- Commercial property insurance for auto repair shops
- General liability insurance for mobile auto repair technicians
- Workers comp insurance for auto repair shops
- Commercial auto insurance for auto repair shops
Garage liability insurance for auto repair shops
A garage liability insurance is similar to a standard business insurance policy. Such insurance covers a mechanic repair shop from medical costs or lawsuits that come from injuries or accidents to people (excluding employees) and damages to property on the premises. Auto shops can not use standard business insurance policies because injuries in auto shops are usually more severe. Therefore, auto shops need particular liability policies to provide all the protection they need.
Examples
- Suppose one of your clients were to slip and fall while entering your auto shop. If you had garage liability insurance, it would cover all the medical bills and lawsuits of the client.
- Also, assuming one of your mechanics hits another vehicle while repairing or testing a car in the shop, the insurance will cover the damage to the car he hit. However, the garage liability insurance will not cover the car he was testing; the damages of the car he was testing is cover by a garage keepers insurance policy.
>>MORE: Garage Liability Insurance: Coverage, Cost, & Providers
Garage keepers’ insurance for auto repair shops
General liability protects you from general lawsuits and medical bills resulting from injuries on your shop premises. However, your business still requires protection to keep your clients’ cars safe while they are with you. This is what a Garage Keeper’s insurance does. It protects the vehicles in your care against theft, vandalism, and lots more. It can be of two types, limited protection and complete protection. The limited protection type covers only for damages you are legally liable to handle, while the complete protection covers all damages regardless of legal liability.
Examples:
- If you were to damage a vehicle while trying to repair it, a Garage keeper’s insurance would cover the cost.
- If a car left in your care were to be damaged or stolen over the night in your premises, the garage keeper’s insurance would also cover for it.
>>MORE: Best Garage Keepers Insurance Companies
Commercial property insurance for car repair shops
A business property insurance policy protects your auto shop from damages to property resulting from fire, theft, earthquakes, vandalism, accidents, and storms. You should know that; your property goes beyond the business building. The insurance policy also covers the furniture, inventory, fencing, and even the signage in the building. The policy covers the following:
- Repair and replacement costs for the damaged auto shop after damage/ theft
- Cost of damaged, lost documents, inventory, equipment, and employees’ personal belongings within the premises during the incident.
- Lost income for employees if the workplace becomes inaccessible due to the incident.
Examples
- If a storm hit your auto shop, destroying equipment and some cars. Your commercial property insurance will cover the repair and replacement associated with the damage. In addition, you will get compensation for the lost income while you are restoring the place.
- Assuming there was a landslide and customers couldn’t bring in their cars for repairs for apparent reasons. Your commercial property insurance would cover the lost income for the two days even if your property were not damaged.
General liability insurance for mobile auto repair technicians
Mobile car repair business owners do not have a business property. However, they still need basic liability insurance coverage to protect themselves from bodily injury or property damages while they are doing their work. Getting a basic general liability insurance policy in such case is necessary. Sometimes your clients may request you to show insurance proof or the certificate of insurance before they allow you to perform your work at their property.
>>MORE: Best General Liability Insurance Companies
Workers compensation insurance for auto repair shops
If you have employees, workers’ compensation insurance is a must since it is required by law. This will cover the costs of employees work-related injuries or illnesses, including medical cost and lost wages. If you are running your car garage by yourself, you are a self-employed independent contractors, you still need workers comp insurance coverage to protect yourself when you get injured at work.
Working in a garage or fixing cars is a very risky job. It is one of the professions with the highest accident probability at work. Make sure to get workers comp insurance coverage to protect yourself and your employees.
>>MORE: Best Workers Comp Insurance Companies
>>MORE: Best Workers Comp Insurance Companies for Independent Contractors
Commercial auto insurance for auto repair shops
If you use a vehicle for work, including going from one work site to another as a mobile auto repair technician, or driving your client’s car to test it or to find the root cause of the issue before you can fix it, you will need a commercial auto insurance policy.
Your personal auto insurance policy doesn’t cover you if you drive your vehicle for work. The personal auto insurance company will refuse your claims. Even worse, they might drop you off altogether when they find out. Commercial auto insurance is usually a bit more expensive than personal auto policy. However, it is not worth it skipping it.
>>MORE: Best Commercial Auto Insurance Companies
What is mechanic business insurance?
The business insurance coverages that an auto repair shop needs that we discussed above can sometimes be referred to as mechanic business insurance coverage.
They might be just one policy such as garage liability insurance or multiple policies that you listed above. They can be all called as mechanic business insurance coverage.
Depending on the size of your garage and your business, you might need one or multiple policies. Not having any insurance coverage as an auto repair shop or a mobile auto repair technician is definitely not a good idea.
Who needs mechanic business insurance?
Generally speaking, mechanic business insurance is for mechanics. However, any business that constantly has cars in their care can benefit from this insurance policy. That is, businesses with physical areas like parking lots, garages, or storage areas can repair or keep cars. Such businesses include:
- Retail tire dealers
- Mechanics
- Garages
- Body repair and collision shops
- Auto repair shops
How much does auto repair shop insurance cost?
The average cost of a $1 million insurance policy for auto repair shops is $75 per month or $900 per year. And that is just for general liability insurance coverage or also known as garage liability insurance.
If you add more coverages to have a comprehensive auto repair shop insurance policy, the average cost could go up to $405 per month.
Learn more details at how much does auto repair shop insurance costs.
What factors affect auto repair shop insurance cost?
Auto repair shop insurance costs vary depending on several factors. Below are some common ones:
- The size of the business
- Location
- payroll
- Sales and revenue
- The mechanic experience
How to find cheap auto repair shop insurance?
Auto repair shop insurance can be tricky because every business faces unique challenges.
To get started, you need to find out how much insurance your business needs. To do that, you need to estimate the average cost of the cars you work with at your shop. Also, you need to calculate the average number of vehicles you have in your shop every day. With these figures, you will have an idea of the insurance you need.
When you have done that, proceed to determine how much deductible you can pay monthly. Also, consider the limit of the insurance that you want.
After that, reach out to as many companies as you can and request a quote. You can then compare across the board and get the company that mirrors what you want reasonably priced.
Auto body shop insurance
Auto body shop is a type of auto repair shops. It has unique features originating from its specializing in auto body work and these features may be different from the other types of auto repair shops. With their unique operations, they may be exposed to other types of risks. You may need other insurance coverage for your auto body shops. If you are looking for auto body shop insurance, learn more at our other article, the best auto body shop insurance companies.
Conclusion
Insurance is vital for anyone that owns an auto repair shop. Mistakes, disasters, and theft are common occurrences that can happen at any time. To prepare yourself and your business, you need to get the best auto repair shop insurance.
