Body Shop Insurance

Body shop garages carry out specialist work, which means they also need specialist insurance. At Gallagher, we offer body shop insurance for businesses like yours. We bring together multiple types of cover under one policy, tailoring insurance to the risks your body shop business faces.

What is body shop insurance?

Body shop insurance is a type of motor trade insurance that’s bespoke to your business and the unique risks at your garage.

While basic policies may cover driving a customer’s vehicle when you’re carrying out work, they may not insure you against accidental damage, or if expensive equipment is stolen from your premises. That means you may be liable to cover costs.

If you spray paint vehicles, carry out detailing work, or service and repair vehicles in any way, you should consider body shop insurance. Whether you work part-time or full-time, at business premises or home, auto repair business insurance offers extra protection and added peace of mind.

What does body shop insurance cover?

Most policies come with road risk insurance, which covers you to drive customers’ vehicles, for example, to and from your body shop. However, you can choose from different levels of road risk insurance depending on how much cover you need:

• Third-party only — insures you against damage claims caused to third-party vehicles, but usually only if you’re at fault.
• Third-party fire and theft — pays out for damage to third-party vehicles, and provides extra protection against fire and theft of cars you own.
• Comprehensive — insures you for damage caused to third-party vehicles and those you own, as well as cover for other risks, such as stolen possessions from inside the vehicle.

Alongside road risk insurance, auto shop insurance allows you to select different policies depending on your business needs. If, for example, you sell cars alongside bodyworks, you may wish to include stock cover. And, if you have any employees, then employers’ liability insurance is typically a legal requirement.

Here's a breakdown of the different types of cover that may be included:

• Employers’ liability — covers you against accident and injury compensation claims from your employees.
• Public liability — pays out for fees associated with accident, injury, and damage claims from customers.
• Directors’ and officers’ cover — covers fees for claims specifically against directors and officers of your business.
• Business premises cover — protects your business premises against damage, including theft, fire, and flood. It may also cover contents.
• Specialist tools and equipment — covers valuable tools and equipment from theft, loss, and damage, for example, paint sprayers.
• Business interruption cover — covers you for loss of income due to business closure or interruption and if essential equipment is stolen which means you’re unable to trade.
• Engineering inspection cover — pays for a specialist to review and inspect your equipment and machinery to ensure it’s compliant with legislation and in good working order.
• Service indemnity insurance — protects you against claims of negligent service from customers.
• MOT loss of licence cover — provides cover in certain circumstances if you lose your MOT license (check policy wording for details).

These are brief product descriptions only. Please refer to the policy documentation paying particular attention to the terms and conditions, exclusions, warranties, subjectivities, excesses and any endorsements.

If you run your body shop garage from business premises, combined motor trade insurance can also help. With this insurance, you get added protection against business-related risks, such as cover for your stock.

For a body shop insurance quote, call us now on 0800 062 2313 or get your quote online.