South Carolina Garage Liability Insurance

In addition to an auto dealer bond, South Carolina dealers are also required to purchase garage liability insurance. Learn more about this policy below, and request a quote from Absolute Surety today.

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What Is It?

Garage liability insurance provides financial protection for car dealers, repair shops, towing services, and other businesses that involve the custody, care, and control of customers’ vehicles. In most cases, a variety of coverages is needed and often bundled into a custom-designed business owner’s policy, or BOP. The goal is to protect the business against the risk of injury and property damage that could occur in the course of day-to-day operations. General liability insurance alone is insufficient for businesses that sell, service, repair, tow, or store vehicles.

Who Needs It?

The South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles requires auto dealers to provide proof of garage liability insurance as part of the licensing process if applying for demonstration plates. In this usage, “garage liability insurance” refers to a specialized form of commercial auto insurance that provides protection against claims for bodily injuries or property damage incurred while test driving vehicles in the business’s inventory or moving them around on a lot.

But “garage liability insurance” can also refer to liability coverage against bodily or personal injury or property damage arising from day-to-day operations of businesses that involve the custody, care, and control of customers’ vehicles. Businesses like muffler shops, tire shops, body shops, parking garages, and even restaurants with valet parking services benefit greatly from this kind of liability insurance.

How Does It Work?

Garage liability policies provide protection against claims for bodily injury or even death that occurs in the course of daily business operations. It also pays claims for damage to or destruction of customers’ vehicles and personal property while they are in the custody, care, and control of the insured business. Here are some examples of covered incidents:

• During a violent storm, a tree falls on a customer’s car parked on the business premises awaiting repair.
• A customer slips and falls into a maintenance pit and suffers a serious injury.
• A vandal spray paints graffiti all over a customer’s repaired vehicle parked behind the garage waiting to be picked up by the customer.
• A customer’s laptop is stolen out of a customer’s car left unlocked in a maintenance bay when the mechanic took a lunch break.
• Several customers’ cars are damaged when a fire breaks out in a repair shop after closing time, and the cause of the fire is traced to a pile of oily rags.

Without garage keeper’s insurance, these businesses would have to pay out-of-pocket for their customer’s financial loss.

How Much Does It Cost?

The premium cost of a garage owner’s policy will depend on whether other coverages are bundled with it, the deductible chosen, and the coverage limits. In most cases, the annual premium will be somewhere between $300 and $1,000 dollars.

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Garage liability insurance can be a complicated matter. Let our experts customize a policy to your specifications and budget. Request a quote today.

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