Garage liability insurance for shops, dealers and service businesses
Garage liability protects automotive businesses against claims that their premises, operations or completed work injured someone or damaged someone else's property. It is often paired with garagekeepers, which covers the customer vehicles in your care.
Repair and body shops, dealers, tire and quick-lube, towing and parking operations
Garage liability vs. garagekeepers
The names are similar, and both are usually needed. They cover different things.
Garage liability
- Bodily injury and property damage to others caused by your premises or operations
- Injury or damage caused by work you have completed, such as a failed brake repair
- On garage or auto dealer forms, liability for autos used in the business, such as test drives
- Generally excludes damage to customer vehicles in your care, custody or control
Garagekeepers
- Damage to customers' vehicles while in your care, custody or control
- Perils such as fire, theft, vandalism, weather and collision, depending on the coverage chosen
- Written on a legal liability, direct excess or direct primary basis
- Limits are set per location and should reflect the value of vehicles you hold
Businesses that need garage liability
Repair and service shops
General repair, transmission, brake, diesel, EV and fleet service centers.
Body and collision shops
Collision repair, paint and glass, with significant customer-vehicle exposure.
Auto dealers
New and used dealers, where test drives and demo use add auto liability exposure.
Tire and quick-lube
High-volume shops where improper installation can lead to completed-operations claims.
Towing and storage
Operators with yards, impound lots and repair bays, alongside commercial auto and on-hook coverage.
Parking and valet
Lots and garages where customers' vehicles are parked or moved by staff.
Claims garage liability is built for
Round, illustrative numbers. Coverage depends on the forms and exclusions on your policy.
A customer slips on oil in the service bay
A customer walks into the bay to look at their car, slips on spilled oil and injures a shoulder.
- Medical bills$35,000
- Lost wages$15,000
- Settlement and defense$35,000
Illustrative example. Real outcomes depend on the facts and your policy terms.
What garage liability usually does not cover
Customer vehicles in your care
Damage to vehicles you are working on or storing is generally excluded and belongs on garagekeepers coverage.
Your own faulty work
The cost to redo or correct defective work is generally excluded. Coverage is aimed at injury and damage to others that results from it.
Employee injuries
Injuries to your own technicians fall under workers' compensation, not garage liability.
Pollution
Spills of fuel, oil, solvents and waste are commonly excluded or limited. Pollution coverage can be added separately.
Building your garage program
Understand the operation
Services offered, revenue mix, payroll, how vehicles are moved and stored, and whether you sell vehicles, parts or tires.
Choose the right forms
Dealers, repair shops and towers are written differently. We match the liability, garagekeepers and auto coverages to how you operate.
Set limits and add an umbrella
Completed-work and test-drive claims can be large. We look at primary limits and umbrella or excess coverage above them.
Review every renewal
Locations, vehicle values on site and services change. We update the program so limits keep pace.
Garage liability FAQ
Is garage liability the same as general liability?
Do I need garagekeepers if I have garage liability?
Does garage liability cover a customer's car if my mechanic damages it?
Are test drives covered?
What limits should a shop carry?
Will my landlord or fleet customers ask for certificates?
Get a garage liability quote
Tell us about your shop or dealership and we will build a program with the liability, garagekeepers and auto coverage that fits.
Coverage descriptions are general summaries for education. They are not legal, tax or coverage advice, a statement of coverage, an offer or a binder. Scenarios and dollar figures are illustrative examples, not representations about any business. Coverage, limits and eligibility are governed by the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policies issued, vary by carrier, and are subject to underwriting.