Auto Body Shop Insurance & Collision Repair Shop Insurance

Property exposure: Your biggest concerns come from the flammable paints, chemicals, solvents, and welding gas tanks that you use. To reduce your property risks, you should...

• Properly label, separate, and store flammables in approved locked metal cabinets.
• Make sure that all painting, coating, and rustproofing is done within spray booths with proper ventilation.
• Make sure that all wiring and light fixtures are UL-approved and meet electrical codes.
• Hire only licensed and insured electricians to do electrical work in your shop.
• Make sure all welders are properly trained to perform work behind flash/welding curtains.
• Keep all welding gas tanks in a safe, secure location.

Crime exposures: Your biggest concerns are employee theft, holdups, and burglary. To manage your crime-related risks, you can...

• Do criminal background checks before hiring.
• Make daily bank deposits that you don't have excess cash on your premises overnight.
• Install video cameras.
• Monitor inventory regularly.
• Conduct annual audits.
• Install panic buttons.
• Install a monitored security system.

Inland marine exposure: Your computers are some of your biggest inland marine exposures. Ask yourself the following questions to determine your inland marine computer risks. 

• Do you offer credit on repair balances?
• Do you use computers to monitor inventory?
• Do you use computers to mix paint?

As an added precaution, you should have backup copies of all customer and vendor records, including computer records, stored off-site.

Premises liability exposure: Your biggest concerns for your premises liability are slips and falls. To reduce the chances of someone taking a nasty fall, you should...

• Set up a customer waiting area.
• Set up signs clearly warning that customers are not permitted in the garage area.
• Repair frayed carpets and tears.
• Fix all holes and cracks in the floors.
• Repair all cracks and holes in the sidewalk and parking lots.
• Clean all spills immediately.
• Remove all snow and ice to prevent slips and falls.
• Make sure all emergency and exit lights work.
• Install sufficient exterior lighting.
• Install chains or fences if you keep customer cars on your lot overnight.

Environmental impairment exposures: Your auto body shop faces environmental exposures because paint and solvents are toxic. Reduce the risk of polluting the environment by...

• Setting up procedures to follow to prevent accidental leakage and contamination of water and soil.
• Setting up contracts for the proper disposal of all environmentally dangerous chemicals.

Automobile exposures: Do you have employees picking up parts and materials? Who is driving your vehicles? Your auto body shop might face automobile exposures. Lower your risk by...

• Doing regular MVR checkups on all drivers.
• Taking the time to regularly maintain your vehicles so that tires and brakes are in good order. Make sure that you keep good copies of those records!

Garagekeepers exposure: Anything can happen to a customer vehicle while it is in your garage. Your customers leave their cars in your care, custody, and control, so you should take the following precautions to reduce your risk and account for these cars in your auto body shop insurance. 

• Be sure to properly secure all vehicles. What if one fell off a lift?
• Take care when you're changing tires. A bolt that isn't tightened properly when changing a tire could cause the tire to fall off while your client is driving.
• Make sure that employees double check cars before working on them. You don't want to paint someone's car the wrong color!
• Keep customer keys in a locked box.
• Require photo ID before giving car keys back to the owner.
• Install plenty of exterior lighting in your lot.
• Install a chain or fence to prevent vehicle theft after hours and on the weekend.

Workers compensation exposures: Your employees face significant risks in their jobs. To help protect the people who work in your shop, you should...

• Make sure that all hoists and jacks are well-maintained and procedures are in place to prevent vehicles from falling.
• Enforce good house cleaning habits. Clean up leaks and spills immediately to prevent slips and falls. Do a shop cleaning at the end of every day.
• Teach good lifting techniques to avoid back injury.
• Provide safety equipment and make sure that your employees wear it. 
• Remember that prolonged exposure to fumes and vapors from paint spray can cause lung and skin problems. 

It's also important to make sure that your auto body shop insurance plan includes coverage for your employees.

Here is the minimum recommended collision shop insurance coverage:

• Business Personal Property
• Business Income
• Employee Dishonesty
• Money and Securities
• Accounts Receivable
• Computers, Valuable Papers, and Records
• General Liability
• Employee Benefits
• Environmental Impairment
• Umbrella
• Business Automobile Liability and Physical Damage
• Hired and Nonownership Auto
• Garagekeepers
• Workers Compensation

Other body shop insurance coverages to consider:

• Building
• Earthquake
• Flood
• Leasehold Interest
• Real Property Legal Liability
• Forgery
• Computer Fraud
• Signs
• Cyber liability
• Employment-related Practices
• Stop Gap Liability

As you can see, your business faces many risks. We can help you get the body shop insurance you need to protect you from them. Fill out our online form or give us a call today to get started with auto body shop insurance quotes.