Auto dealership insurance, from lot to showroom
Your inventory sits outside in the weather, customers take cars on test drives, and vehicles you don't own sit in your service bay. A standard business policy doesn't reach any of that. We place dealer programs with carriers that understand lots, showrooms and service bays.
50+ A-rated carriers · Floor-plan certificates and dealer bonds
See the dealer program your lot needs
Tell us how you operate to see the core coverages and the specialty lines dealers most often miss. Educational guidance only; your program depends on inventory, operations and lender requirements, and we confirm structure and limits with you.
Your operation
Select everything that applies.
Coverage that typically applies
7 coverages — a starting point for a conversation, not a quote.
- Garage LiabilityCombined general and auto liability for dealership operations, including test drives.
- Building & PropertyShowroom, service center, parts, offices and business personal property.
- Motor Vehicle Dealer BondRequired by Washington for your dealer license; new bonds and renewals.
- Dealer Open LotPhysical damage on your whole inventory: hail, theft, fire, flood and collision.
- Umbrella / Excess LiabilityA serious test-drive accident can exceed garage-liability limits.
- Workers' CompensationRequired in Washington: service-bay, lifting and slip-and-fall injuries.
- Employment Practices (EPLI)Discrimination, harassment and wrongful-termination claims from staff.
Three dealer claims that outran the policy
Illustrative scenarios that expose the gaps dealers most often carry, totaling $4.75 million, and how a properly built program responds.
Overnight hail damages the whole lot
A severe overnight hailstorm damaged 187 new and used vehicles: paintwork, paintless dent repair and windshields across the board, several high-end units totaled, and lost sales during peak season. The open-lot limit was $1M with a 5% per-vehicle deductible, and losses ran about $1.4M over the limit.
Illustrative example. Real outcomes depend on the facts and your policy terms.
What a complete dealer program includes
The dealer coverages a standard business policy doesn't provide.
Dealer Open Lot (Physical Damage)
Comprehensive and collision for your whole inventory, including new, used and trade-in units, against hail, theft, vandalism, fire, flood and collision. Covers the lot rather than a schedule of VINs, with reporting forms that flex the limit. A limit that hasn't kept pace with a growing lot is the most common way a hail or fire loss exceeds the policy.
Garagekeepers
Customers' vehicles in your care, custody or control, in the service department, detail bay or on the lot awaiting pickup, on direct primary or legal-liability forms. Standard property policies exclude these vehicles.
Property & Business Income
Showroom, service center, parts department, offices and business personal property, plus lost income and continuing expenses such as floor-plan interest, payroll and rent while you rebuild. Business personal property often excludes vehicles; inventory needs open-lot coverage.
Garage Liability
General and auto liability combined for dealers: third-party injury and property damage from operations, premises and vehicles customers drive, including test drives and demos, plus completed operations and products liability on vehicles sold.
Umbrella / Excess Liability
$1M to $10M+ above garage and employers liability, often lender- or contract-required, for when a test-drive accident or lot injury exhausts primary limits.
Motor Vehicle Dealer Bonds
Washington requires a motor vehicle dealer bond to hold your license. It is a surety instrument, not insurance. We provide fast new bonds and renewals, plus bid, license and compliance bonds, and track renewals so the bond doesn't lapse.
Coverage for your kind of lot
New car franchises
Factory-authorized domestic and import dealers with high-value new inventory and manufacturer requirements.
Used car dealers
Independent dealers from small lots to large operations, including buy-here-pay-here financing exposures.
Luxury and exotic dealers
High-line dealers with very high-value inventory that need specialized limits.
EV and alt-fuel dealers
Electric and hybrid specialists with charging infrastructure and battery handling considerations.
Motorcycle and powersports
Test-ride exposures, seasonal inventory and accessories liability.
RV and camper dealers
Large-footprint inventory, service operations and extended demos.
Commercial truck dealers
Medium and heavy-duty inventory, fleet service and business-customer exposures.
Marine and boat dealers
Watercraft inventory, marina operations, sea trials and seasonal storage.
Dealer service centers
Standalone or integrated service departments with technician, customer-vehicle and parts exposures.
A broker who knows the lot
Dealer experience
Hail on the lot, a test drive gone wrong, customers' cars in the bay, employee theft: we understand dealership risks and place with carriers that do too.
Floor-plan and bond ready
Coverage structured to satisfy floor-plan lender requirements, quick certificates, and the Washington motor vehicle dealer bonds that keep you licensed.
Inventory that moves
Lot values change every week. Programs, including reporting forms, that keep your limit matched to what's actually on the ground.
Ready to protect your dealership?
A coverage review and quotes structured around how your lot, showroom and service bay actually operate. Free consultation, no obligation. Prefer email? Reach us at info@firstunderwriters.com.
Coverage descriptions are general summaries for education. They are not legal, tax or coverage advice, a statement of coverage, an offer or a binder. Availability, terms, limits, deductibles and pricing vary by dealership, inventory, operations, loss history and carrier and are subject to underwriting. Scenarios and dollar figures are illustrative examples, not representations about any business.