Garage insurance, explained in plain English

Garage liability and garage keepers sound alike and cover different things, and picking the wrong one is the most common mistake in this trade. We explain the difference, what a dealer license actually requires, and how to find a licensed agent who has written shops before.

Garage liability vs garage keepers

Start here

The coverage decision first, then the shop's full stack, then the coverages themselves, then every shop type in one place.

Garage liability vs garage keepers
The two coverages everyone confuses, what each actually answers, and which your operation needs. The place to start.
Auto repair shop insurance
The shop’s working set: the garage coverages applied, property and lifts, workers compensation, and what underwriters ask.
Garage insurance coverage
The garage form family in one place: what garage liability and garage keepers each do at the form level, and where the shop and dealer pages pick up.
Insurance by shop type
Six shop pages sorted by the work you do, from body shop to mobile mechanic, and the one exposure all of them share.
Guides
What decides the price, what a state license floor does and does not set, and how to choose an agent who writes this class.

By state

What the dealer license in your state actually conditions coverage on, cited to the statute and the motor vehicle agency.

Texas

Who we help

Shops, dealers, and the operations in between. Find yours.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between garage liability and garage keepers?

Garage liability covers the business’s legal liability for injury and damage arising from its operations, the auto trade’s version of general liability. Garage keepers covers the customer’s vehicle left in your care for service or repair. They answer different questions, and a shop that holds customer cars typically has both exposures. Our comparison page walks the decision situation by situation.

Is garage insurance legally required?

It depends which half of the trade you are in. Repair shops rarely face a legal insurance minimum; they carry coverage because of the exposure, the lease, and the customer relationship. Dealers are the opposite: in most states garage liability is a condition of the dealer license, usually with a surety bond alongside, set by the state motor vehicle agency. Verify your state’s dealer requirements with that agency directly.

What does a typical shop actually carry?

The working set is garage liability, garagekeepers, property coverage for the building, lifts, and tools, and workers compensation once there are employees, which nearly all states require. Operations with vehicles on the road, tow trucks, mobile service, road tests, add a commercial auto conversation on top.

Does this site cover dealers as well as shops?

That is the plan, because the dealer side is where requirements live: license conditions, surety bonds, and state-by-state specifics citable to the motor vehicle agency. The dealer hub covers the license, the bond, and plates; the shops hub covers the repair and service side.