Auto Repair Shop Insurance What Does It Cost

Have you recently seen the cost of your auto repair shop insurance go up? Are you curious what other insurers offer and what the cost of garage insurance is? Or are you experiencing problems with your insurance company over your auto repair business insurance? In this video I'm going to answer those questions and more coming right up. So what is insurance for auto repair shops costs? That of course is a difficult question to answer because of the wide variety and types of auto repair businesses that exist. But I'm going to give you some ideas on the subject and what will drive the cost up or down for different types of businesses. Every type of auto repair or auto service shop is different. Some garage operations are fairly low hazard from a liability perspective and others are higher. As an example a shop that installs custom sound systems versus a general repair shop. The sound system garage for the most part isn't fixing or repairing parts of a car that could result in an accident versus the repair shop that could mistakenly make a repair to a steering system or a brake assembly which could have catastrophic results in the event of an accident. So the type of auto repair shop will have an impact on the insurance cost you pay. Other factors that affect your insurance costs are things like the types of cars you work on and the limits of insurance you have. For example a repair shop that focuses on say Porsches may have several high value vehicles on their premises at any one time and their limits of garage keepers insurance will be higher than a repair shop that works mostly on domestic vehicles. Your claims history will also have an impact on your insurance pricing. A shop with a clean history of no claims should and will pay less than a similar shop with a couple of claims over the past five years. It pays to operate a safe shop and to have a written safety manual that's shared with all your employees and reinforced on a regular basis. But what does insurance cost? Look I could quote numbers like some other websites that are ridiculously low like the average repair shop insurance premium is $58 a month but I think that does a disservice to you and to me. It's nothing more than a bait and switch tactic which doesn't address the customized needs every customer like you has. I think it makes more sense to speak to an independent agent or broker that represents several different insurance companies so that you can work with them to customize a package and then get multiple quotes for that package based on the same set of specifications. Basically comparing apples to apples. But how do you keep insurance costs for auto repair shops low? That's a good question and in my experience the best thing you can do to keep your insurance premiums low is to focus on risk control and that would include things like keeping your shop well organized and free of clutter. Good housekeeping will help prevent fires, will help prevent trip and falls and make a good impression on any insurance company inspectors who may come for a visit. As I mentioned earlier have a written safety manual and use it in training and onboarding as well as ongoing training with existing employees. I can help you develop a program like this if you'd like. Next, store flammables in approved containers and dispose of rags and debris properly to prevent fires. Next, encourage employees to use protective devices, personal protective devices such as safety glasses and hearing protection when applicable. Next, protect customer vehicles in your possession. This includes having parking areas fenced, locked and lighted. You may also want to consider surveillance cameras. Now you may be wondering why are some insurance companies typically more expensive and some are cheaper than others. The prices that insurance companies charge auto repair shops are not static, meaning pricing moves up and down in response to certain market conditions and some insurers are traditionally more competitive for insurance than others because they select the best performing shops to insure, meaning auto repair businesses that have no or few claims. Some insurers on the other hand are more forgiving and work with shops that have had a problem in the past so their claims results may not be as good and they need to charge slightly higher premiums. In my experience it pays to get quotes from different insurers to make a true comparison but I don't think it's in your best interest to do that with multiple brokers. Instead, work with one broker who can bring your account out to several insurers at the same time for quotes. Why do I recommend doing it that way? First off, for consistency. You agree with your broker what insurance coverages you need and that broker should get you quotes all based on the same parameters. Second, it saves you time and effort. And last, there are only a limited number of insurers out there writing auto repair shops and they all will only work and quote your account for one broker at a time. If you engage multiple brokers at the same time, you'll likely get them bumping into each other in the marketplace trying to get quotes and it really just results in a mess. Here's the bottom line. As an auto repair shop, your insurance needs and issues are unique. You should work with an expert to help you get the best insurance coverage you can at the most competitive premium you can. Focus on getting the protection right and the pricing will follow. Want to see how I can help? Give me a call or drop me an email or schedule time on my calendar which you can find in the description box below. Let's have a chat and see if we'd be a good fit for your auto repair business insurance needs. I promise no high pressure selling gimmicks or tricks. Just some honest conversation to cover your issues, problems, and your thoughts to see if we might be a good fit. Thanks for watching this video and if you liked it, I'd really appreciate it if you'd give it a thumbs up. Thanks!