Auto shops, dealers, and service operators have layered exposure. Generic auto policies don’t cover it.
Garage insurance is a specialized program built for businesses that work on, sell, store, or service customer vehicles. The exposure includes garagekeepers liability for vehicles in your custody, dealer operations on lot inventory, and the unique liability that comes with test drives, courtesy vehicles, and customer interactions on premises.
Most garage programs aren’t underpriced. They’re under-built. Inadequate garagekeepers limits, missing dealer’s open lot coverage, no false pretense or skip protection, and confused liability between the garage policy and the operator’s personal auto — these gaps are common in older programs.
At Avanti Group, we run a Business Risk Diagnostic™ before we build any garage submission. We map your operations, your inventory, your customer flow, and your services — and make sure the policy is structured for what you actually do.
Who We Work With
We place garage programs for automotive businesses across Iowa and the Midwest, including:
- New and used car dealerships
- Auto repair and service shops
- Body shops and collision repair centers
- Tire and wheel shops
- Quick lube and oil change operations
- Towing and recovery operators
- Automotive detailing and reconditioning
- Vehicle storage and impound lots
The Coverage Lines That Matter Most
A complete garage program is built from several specialized lines. The components we evaluate and place include:
- Garage Liability — bodily injury and property damage arising from your operations and premises
- Garagekeepers Coverage — physical damage protection for customer vehicles in your care, custody, and control
- Dealer Open Lot — physical damage on inventory vehicles, including hail, theft, and weather
- False Pretense & Skip Protection — coverage for vehicles taken on bad checks, fraudulent financing, or customer non-payment
- Drive Other Car — for owners and managers operating customer vehicles
- Garage Operations Liability — products and completed operations from your service work
- Errors & Omissions for Dealers — coverage for paperwork errors, title issues, and finance disclosure claims
- Workers’ Compensation — for technicians, sales staff, and lot personnel
The Risks Most Garage Programs Miss
Garagekeepers limits are routinely too low. The total value of customer vehicles on a lot at any one time can be significant, and a single fire, hail event, or theft incident can exceed the garagekeepers limit on a generic program. We benchmark limits against actual maximum values on premises.
Dealer open lot coverage is frequently misunderstood. New and used vehicle inventory needs specific physical damage coverage that most garage policies don’t include by default. Hail alone has produced multi-million dollar losses on dealer lots in recent years.
False pretense exposure is overlooked. Vehicles released on fraudulent financing, bad checks, or skip-out customers are a common loss for dealers and rental operators. Coverage exists but needs to be specifically scheduled.
E&O exposure for dealers is often missing. Title errors, finance disclosure mistakes, odometer issues, and certification claims are frequent regulatory exposures for dealers, and a basic garage policy doesn’t cover them.
How to Get Started
Garage insurance isn’t a commodity product. The right program depends on your operations, your inventory, your services, and your customer flow. We need to understand your business before we can build the right program for it.
Call our office or use the button below to start a conversation. We’ll review your current program, identify any gaps, and let you know exactly where you stand before we ever go to market.