Isn’t one Garage Insurance Policy just like every one else? In North Carolina or wherever?
All Garage Insurance policies have similar coverages, but each company has different standards and an agent can set it up in different ways. And North Carolina policies are no different.
At the most basic level, each of your Garage Insurance policies will have the same primary features:
- Business Property Coverage
- General Liability Coverage
- Garagekeepers Coverage
- Garage Liability Coverage
- Workers Comp Coverage
But, as I’ve mentioned, different companies set up policies in different ways. So let’s look at three companies we love and then decide who is our favorite (sorry to the other two!).
Travelers Auto & Truck Dealers Insurance
Chances are, you have probably heard of Travelers. They are one of the biggest insurance companies in the country, despite the fact that they don’t advertise and don’t have captive agents like other well known carriers.
What they do have is a massive array of insurance products, including a very, very good garage insurance package policy. They are a great partner for us in North Carolina (though of course they write in every state).
Their “IndustryEdge for Auto & Truck Dealers” is a complete package of coverages that keep you in business no matter what happens.
This policy is helped by the fact that they are “one of the largest writers of commercial auto insurance,” so they know a thing or two about vehicles and the auto industry.
It includes all of the primary coverages that we mentioned above, plus the following:
- Commercial Auto Coverage – To cover the vehicles your business owns.
- Auto Errors & Omissions – Protects you from lawsuits that claim your work was faulty, either by negligence or fraudulence.
- Internet Liability – Basically Cyber Liability which I’ve talked about before.
- Employment Practices Liability – Protects you from certain lawsuits from employees (talked about HERE).
- Umbrella/Excess Liability – Extra liability coverage that goes over and above your regular liability policies so you don’t run out.
All in all this is an excellent solution for Garage Insurance. They have an excellent claims service and will take just about any type of business that you may have, making them the most flexible of all of our three options.
So why aren’t they the best? Well, because two companies are, in our eyes, just a bit better. The next best is…
Auto-Owners Garage Insurance
Auto-Owners is a regional, mid-sized insurance company that operates in much of the Midwest and East Coast of the country. But don’t let their size fool you – they are a phenomenal carrier and one of our favorite companies to do business with.
Maybe it’s the fact that we pretty much have the same colors? ?
While we write a lot of auto insurance and homeowners insurance with them, we also write plenty of business insurance policies with Auto-Owners in North Carolina.
And of course, we put a lot of our North Carolina Garage Insurance policies with them.
Their Garage Insurance has all of the base coverages that we discussed above, with the following additions:
- Inland Marine – Protection for your valuable business property like “tools, employee tools, laptops, machinery and equipment.”
- Dealer’s Blanket – A separate coverage just for your cars, trucks, boats and equipment.
- Tools & Equipment – Special coverage for the tools of the trade that your business owns.
- Mechanics Errors & Omissions – Protects you from lawsuits that claim your work was faulty, either by negligence or fraudulence.
- Drive Other Cars Coverage – Gives you auto protection similar to a personal auto policy while you are driving vehicles you do not own.
Not only do they have great coverages, they also have some pretty sweet deals. They have:
- Dealer’s Blanket Reporting Form – This gives you a discount and coverage bonuses if you “report your dealership inventory every month.”
- Life Multi-Policy Discount
- Group Discount – If you are a member of certain qualifying groups such as a “chamber of commerce, credit union,” etc.
- Dispersion Credit – If you have a number of buildings all on one policy, you may get a discount for it.
They also have top notch claims service and are easy to deal with. This is really a great policy.
So how are they not Number 1?
Because this company is:
Utica National
I’m going to be honest with you. What I’m about to show you won’t make you go, “Woah, they are far and away better than the other two.”
Why? Because there is no obvious coverage, or program, or discount that makes them superior (Though they do have one awesome coverage.)
No, Utica National is just… really, really good at Garage Insurance. Especially in North Carolina.
The write all kinds of dealers, from the biggest franchise dealers out there to small non-franchise used car lots to motorcycle dealers – they CRUSH insuring Harley-Davidson dealers!
So let’s look at what they do. For starters, they cover all of the basics that we discussed above, like the other two.
With ONE BIG EXCEPTION.
Utica combines General Liability and Garage Liability to give you blanket liability protection across your entire business. You can jack your coverage amounts up into the stratosphere and be fully protected no matter what happens or who sues you for just about any accident.
That is AWESOME.
Their other coverages go like this:
- Auto Dealers Errors & Omissions, which includes:
– Federal Odometer Statute
– Title Errors & Omissions
– Prior Damage Disclosure Errors & Omissions - Dealers’ Physical Damage
- Customer Rental Coverage for loaner vehicles
- Voluntary parting of a vehicle due to trick or deception
On top of all of these great features, they also have probably the best garage insurance claims service of any of the companies we’ve listed today. In addition, they understand the auto industry on a deep level, the kind of easy familiarity that is built from years and years of doing business with people just like you.
We write many of our biggest accounts to Utica, and we can probably write you to them, too.
A lot of great options.
To be honest, any of the three companies I have mentioned are amazing at helping protect franchise dealers, non-franchise used car dealers, and auto mechanics or body shops survive and thrive after even the worst claims.
While Utica just edges it in terms of our favorite, we weigh each client carefully to see which company is the best fit.
So where would you go? What would be the best company for you?
If you aren’t currently with Alliance Insurance, you may not have one of these companies, or you don’t have an agent that can look at all three of them easily.
We are lucky enough to have a fantastic working relationship with each company mentioned above. And we love helping people just like you find the right coverage for the right price.
So go ahead and click below to follow the next step. You need to talk to one of our Garage Insurance Experts and discover how insurance can stop being something you have to do, and something you can do to make you more successful than ever.
