As the owner of an auto repair business, you wear a lot of hats.
On the one hand, you’re more than likely a skilled and experienced mechanic who’s well-versed in all the ins and outs of repairing and doing auto detailing for various types of cars. On the other hand, you have all the standard concerns and worries of managing a small business, from securing supplies to managing employees and keeping customers happy.
That’s why auto repair insurance is such an essential thing for a shop to have.
The truth is that even if you’re the most careful business owner on this side of the western hemisphere, there’s always a chance that an accident could happen or that you could end up on the wrong side of a lawsuit. And just like that, all of your hard work could be jeopardized in an instant.
Protecting your business in the event that the unthinkable occurs is more than possible with the help of top-notch auto repair insurance.
Here’s a list of 6 insurance coverage options that auto repair businesses can’t go wrong considering.
1. Commercial General Liability Insurance
If you’ve heard of those classic “slip and fall” lawsuits on TV or in conversation, then you’re already familiar with a situation where commercial general liability insurance would be important for a business to have.
As an auto repair shop, you more than likely have lots of people coming in and out of your building on a monthly or annual basis. All it takes is one wrong step on the part of a customer for you to be in a world of hurt.
Worst of all, even if it turns out that you’re not legally responsible for the injury, the lawyer’s fees and the court costs alone could severely impact your company’s cash flow for years while the case works its way through the legal system.
While commercial general liability insurance is mostly known for its ability to cover the litigation and judgment costs associated with slips and falls, it also extends to property damage and false advertising claims. Put simply, commercial general liability insurance can help prevent lawsuits from becoming financially disruptive to your operations.
2. Business Property Insurance
It goes without saying that running an auto repair shop requires investing in a lot of highly-specialized equipment. And that’s before you even begin to consider your point-of-sale equipment and the like.
Although one of the best things about running an auto repair business is that no two days are ever truly the same, you also never know if this is the day that a disaster might strike. A broken pipe could result in serious water damage overnight or a fire could break out and damage most of your equipment.
And when you get right down to it, if you had to replace everything overnight, would you be able to do it without straining your company financially? Or would you have to decide between paying yourself a salary that month or getting the equipment you need?
Business property insurance means that you don’t have to make those types of difficult decisions because your company assets will be protected. And in the grand scheme of things, that counts for something.
3. Employee Theft
Approximately 33% of business bankruptcies are thought to be the result of employee theft.
As much as you want to try your best to be careful during the hiring process as a business owner, sometimes employees are more untrustworthy than they actually seem. But when push comes to shove, no one wants to wake up one day and find themselves stuck with no money in their business accounts and no means of getting it back in a timely fashion.
If you can see yourself hiring employees and giving them access to company funds, employee theft insurance only makes sense. This way, if you ever find yourself having to learn the hard way that you’ve hired the wrong person, at least you’ll be covered financially.
4. Business Auto Insurance
Do you pick up any of the supplies that you use for your shop? Does your company go the extra mile in terms of customer service by offering towing services? Do you or your employees ever do home visits?
If you answered “Yes” to any of these questions and then started wondering what towing services or supply pickups had to do with insurance, then you’ll really want to keep reading here.
12 million vehicles were involved in accidents in 2018.
Whether you’re spending hours on the road or just a few minutes, there’s no way to predict when or if an accident might occur.
And if you’re traveling at all for business purposes, your personal vehicle insurance may not provide you with the amount of coverage that you would expect. If your shop owns vehicles or if you and your staff are often driving for business purposes, commercial auto insurance is a coverage option that you may want to leave on the table.
5. Business Interruption
The simple reality of being a business owner is that you only make money if you’re able to provide services to your customers.
However in the aftermath of a serious fire or some other insured peril, for instance, it might not be possible for you to immediately get back to work while your building is being repaired.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t stop the bills from continuing to come in.
And while business property insurance may cover the damages to your building, coverage doesn’t usually extend to loss of business income even if you can directly trace it all back to an insured loss and your company is out of commission through no fault of your own.
Business interruption insurance can compensate you for the income losses that you may sustain in the aftermath of an event that you’re insured against. This is why these policies often go hand in hand with other forms of commercial insurance.
6. Workers’ Compensation
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 1,133,670 non-deadly workplace injuries and illnesses in 2018 that resulted in workers needing to take time off.
Over the course of a single day, your staff could be looking under car hoods or laying under raised vehicles in order to diagnose and perform repairs. If an accident were to occur on the job, your injured employee could be looking at a very, very serious injury.
Medical costs are expensive. Physical rehabilitation can be pricey. Paying out benefits for additional care if it’s needed can also cost a lot of money.
Simply because of the stakes involved on both sides, you’ll want to make sure that you have the right amount of workers’ compensation coverage. In many ways, this is the type of insurance that you’ll be glad you had if you’re ever in a situation where you need it.
Why You Should Work With an Insurance Agency For Your Auto Repair Business Insurance Needs
We’ve talked a bit about the coverage options that are available to auto repair business owners. Now we’re going to give you a sense of why an insurance agency may be your best shot at getting the coverage that you deserve.
1. You’ll Get The Best Insurance Available
Even within the same industry, every business is unique.
If you’re a sole proprietor, you’ll have different needs than that massive franchise-driven corporation that operates in multiple states.
We get it.
And it’s important that you work with insurance professionals who will listen to you discuss the needs of your company so that you don’t end up operating your business without being adequately insured. When you work with an agency, you get to work with someone who will be able to give you objective advice.
2. You Get Professional Expertise On Your Side
You wouldn’t expect someone to be a rockstar mechanic if they hadn’t spent time getting to know the different makes and models of the cars that come into your repairs garage. Believe it or not, the same concept applies to insurance.
There’s a lot of jargon, industry-specific knowledge, and policy distinctions that you really only learn and know about through experience.
But here’s the thing:
You’re an incredibly busy professional. When you’re not running your business, you’ve got family obligations and other obligations that require your attention. Working with an experienced insurance professional means that you won’t have to spend your time shopping for insurance policies on your own.
3. You Get Support If You Ever Need Help
Your insurance strategizing doesn’t stop when you sign the dotted line. As your insurance needs change over the years and your business grows or new insurance products become available, you may need to make adjustments to your policy.
In addition, if you’re ever hit with a situation that requires you to file a claim, navigating the whole process can be very intimidating if you’ve never done it before.
When you work with an agency that’s known for its customer service, you know that you’ll have the support you need during every phase of your insurance journey.
We Help Business Owners Secure Auto Repair Insurance
Are you ready to explore what auto repair insurance can do for your business? From janitorial insurance to cleaning insurance to specialized business owner insurance, we’ve done it all!
Contact us if you want more information.
