Garage & Auto Service Insurance
Liability and garagekeepers coverage for shops, dealers, detailers, and car washes that work on or hold customers' vehicles.
Who Needs It
- Mechanics, body shops, tire and lube shops
- Detailers and car washes
- Used-car dealers and wholesalers
What It Covers
- Garage liability for premises, operations, and completed work
- Garagekeepers: damage to customers' vehicles in your care (direct primary recommended)
- Dealer's open lot physical damage
- Auto liability for plates and test drives
- Equipment breakdown on lifts and compressors (add-on)
What It Does Not Cover
- Faulty workmanship itself (the redo cost)
- Customer vehicles if garagekeepers is written 'legal liability only' and you weren't negligent
- Theft of parts and tools without inland marine
Texas Notes
Texas shops should carry garagekeepers on a direct primary basis; customers expect the shop to pay regardless of fault.
Florida Notes
Florida dealers need the state bond plus garage liability for plates; used-car lots face frequent test-drive claims.
Garage & Auto Service Insurance Questions We Hear Most
What is the difference between legal liability and direct primary garagekeepers?
Legal liability pays only if you were at fault. Direct primary pays for damage to a customer's car in your care regardless of fault, without involving their insurer. Most shops want direct primary.
Does a prior claim mean I can't get coverage?
Rarely. Carriers price and underwrite on frequency and severity over three to five years. One closed claim usually narrows the market slightly; a pattern narrows it a lot. Tell us everything up front; an undisclosed claim found at binding is worse than a disclosed one.
Related Coverage Guides
Get Garage & Auto Service Insurance Quoted the Right Way
Two minutes on our Smart Intake. Check the Garage & Auto Service Insurance box and we reveal only the underwriting questions that line needs, then a licensed Texas and Florida advisor compares 30+ carriers. No pressure, no runaround.
Start My Quote All coverage guides →This guide is general education from a licensed independent agency, not legal advice or a promise of coverage. Every policy is governed by its own forms, endorsements, limits, and exclusions. Ask us to review the actual form before you rely on it.