Every car in your bay belongs to somebody else. Most general business policies don't cover it — and that's the claim that actually happens.
One bay or six, we'll build coverage around the work you actually take in — and the vehicles sitting on your lot overnight.
A general liability policy covers a customer who slips in your lobby. It generally does not cover damage to the customer's vehicle while it's in your care, custody, and control — which is exactly where your real exposure sits.
A car rolls off a lift. A tech backs one into a post. A vehicle left on the lot overnight is stolen or hit by hail. Those are care, custody and control claims, and they need coverage written for garages specifically.
It rolls off the lift, a tech backs it into something, or a test drive ends badly. The car isn't yours, and your general liability policy excludes property in your care — so without garagekeepers-type coverage, you're paying for that vehicle yourself.
Coverage for Customers' VehiclesBrakes you serviced fail two weeks later, or a rebuild lets go on the turnpike. Claims arising from faulty work are professional exposure, not premises liability — and they're the ones that turn into lawsuits.
Errors & Omissions / Faulty RepairA utility outage or equipment failure shuts the shop for two days. Cars can't come in, cars can't go out, and you still owe payroll and rent. Utility interruption and business income coverage bridge that.
Business Income & Utility InterruptionDamage to vehicles in your care, custody, and control — in the bay, on the lift, or parked on your lot.
Claims arising from work you performed — the exposure a standard liability policy leaves open.
Customer injuries in your lobby, lot, or shop, and property damage claims from your operations.
Lifts, diagnostic equipment, compressors, and technician tools against theft and damage.
Required in PA from your first employee. Shop work carries real injury exposure.
Revenue protection when a covered loss — including utility interruption — shuts the bays down.
Erie offers coverages written specifically for auto service businesses — including customers' vehicles in your care, custody and control, errors and omissions for the work you perform, and income protection when a utility outage shuts the bays down.
These are optional and tailored. A two-bay shop that closes at five and a collision center storing twenty cars overnight need very different limits — so we set them around your actual operation instead of a one-size package.
Bring us your current policy and we'll tell you straight whether that customers'-vehicle gap is covered. If it is, we'll say so. If it isn't, you'll know exactly what you're exposed to.
Towing, roadside service, and shuttle or loaner vehicles all change your commercial auto exposure — and they're commonly under-scheduled. If you run a wrecker or hand customers a loaner, tell us; it needs to be on the policy.
Pennsylvania's financial responsibility minimum is just 15/30/5 — nowhere near enough for a business with vehicles on the road and customers' cars in your name.
Not under a standard general liability policy — it excludes property in your care, custody, and control. You need coverage written specifically for customers' vehicles. This is the single most common gap we find when we review a shop's existing policy, and it's usually the largest one.
That's an errors and omissions exposure — claims arising from faulty work rather than something that happened on your premises. General liability typically won't respond to the cost of the failed repair itself, so E&O coverage for the work you perform needs to be part of the policy.
They should be, but the limit matters. If you routinely have eight or ten customer vehicles on the lot overnight, your coverage limit needs to reflect the total value sitting there — not one car. Hail, theft, and vandalism can hit several vehicles at once.
Yes. Pennsylvania requires workers' compensation from your first employee, including part-time help and family members. Shop work carries real injury exposure — lifts, chemicals, and heavy equipment — so this isn't a place to go bare.
Towing changes your commercial auto exposure and needs to be disclosed and scheduled. On-hook coverage for the vehicle you're towing is different from liability for the wrecker itself. Tell us what you tow and how often and we'll make sure both are addressed.