Auto-Body Store insurance – cost and types of policies

Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, Auto-Body Store insurance must be high on the list because you can’t always know exactly what could happen in the future.

With the protection provided by liability insurance and all the other sorts of insurance we will tell you about, you can protect your business and yourself in case something unforeseen happens.

Like any business owner, for your Auto-Body Store enterprise, you must consider how much financial liability you are taking on.

If your Auto-Body Store business runs without proper insurance, you are taking an enormous chance not just of losing some money but of a final wipe-out.

This is because the laws in every state are very strict in enforcing liability on the owners of businesses for the consequences of their actions. 

In this article, we are giving very general guidelines for small businesses to explain what the main kinds of insurance that you need are, and where we can, a rough guide to how much you can expect to pay.

The question is, can you afford to NOT have insurance for your Auto-Body Store business?

What this means, for any Auto-Body Store business owner, is that if some person claims that your work caused them some physical or economic damage, a court can award damages far beyond the total size of your business.

Your Auto-Body Store business is not protected by laws in the same way as states are, where laws can place a “cap” on the maximum level of liability.

In some states, like Montana, there are specific monetary levels that limit the amount an adjudicator can award in any case against the state.

In a court case, it’s purely the duty of the jury to award whatever amount they deem appropriate, even sometimes giving a claimant more than they have sort.

When you are running your Auto-Body Store operations, you can’t deny responsibility for the outcomes of your actions.

Even more importantly, unless you have spent up-front the money necessary to have your business running as an LLC, all of that liability belongs to you as a person.

What does Auto-Body Store insurance protect you from?

For your Auto-Body Store business, the most important sorts of insurance are designed to cover the risks to your business from accidents, from unexpected events, and from mistakes.

In addition there are some official kinds of insurance that various states require.

In the next few paragraphs, we will describe the most important points any Auto-Body Store business owner should consider when negotiating the insurance needed.

The main types of insurance for your Auto-Body Store businesses are liability insurance, commercial insurance, asset insurance and workers compensation insurance.

Liability insurance

General liability for your Auto-Body Store operations

Any Auto-Body Store business is dealing directly with customers, and that means you usually have the danger that some accident can happen to them bodily or else something of theirs can be damaged.

In such a case, they can sue you for compensation.

General liability insurance policy for your Auto-Body Store business covers you against claims coming from injury to clients or damage to their property.

It protects your Auto-Body Store business from the claims themselves and as well to any associated court costs and legal fees of the lawsuits.

In many cases, it should help you to qualify for extra business from city and state organizations, where contracts insist on proper liability insurance.

The normal level of general liability insurance for your Auto-Body Store business would be with a boundary of $1 million for a single claim and a total of $2 million for the whole year.

See the table in the costing section below for average prices of general liability insurance for your Auto-Body Store insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your Auto-Body Store business

In the event where a customer alleges some negligence, errors, or omissions in how you conducted your Auto-Body Store business for them, you can quickly be involved in a monetary claim.

Even if the case against you is decided in your favor, the cost of defense can be substantial, and the impact on your reputation can be damaging.

Every small Auto-Body Store business should have enough professional liability insurance to cover a single claim of $25,000, with annual cover of $50,000.

See the table in the cost of Auto-Body Store insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your Auto-Body Store operations.

Product liability insurance for your Auto-Body Store business

Whatever goods you sell or advice you give about the goods, you are running a risk that customers may claim that what they received didn’t meet your description of function, or that your recommendation was basically incorrect.

You need to be aware of the explicit laws of product liability in your own state.

For example, in California, all businesses in the supply chain can be held responsible for damages caused by products claimed to be defective.

To cover yourself against any likely lawsuit, you need Product liability insurance for Auto-Body Store

Only you can estimate exactly how much insurance you must have.

Best advice is to contact experienced insurance agents, brokers or company representatives for guidance.

Commercial insurance

Commercial vehicle insurance for your Auto-Body Store business

Take care! – most policies for private vehicle insurance do not cover any event like theft or accidental damage when the vehicle is being used for business purposes.

The right way to make sure that your vehicle is insured for both its own value, and the valuable contents, is by taking out a designated commercial vehicle insurance package.

Commercial van policies insure the value of any vehicle in case of accident, malicious damage, fire, or theft.

Also, in case of any accident, the truck itself, the content and any legal bills, medical expenses, and property damage is insured if your truck is involved in a collision.

Most states, other than Virginia and New Hampshire, insist on this type of insurance.

The required value of the insurance is worked-out for the depreciated value of the vehicle, and your requested level of cover of contents. 

Tools and Equipment insurance for your Auto-Body Store business

Since your Auto-Body Store business needs unique and dedicated equipment, you can appreciate how much it can cost to replace it in case of any damage, loss, or theft.

The equipment may be subject to malicious damage, deliberate fire, theft, other such unexpected acts.

In addition, acts of nature like lightning strikes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other highly damaging natural events can destroy your whole business in one stroke.

Unless you can afford to immediately replace such specific gear quickly out of your own pocket, you should have full-level equipment insurance so that you can immediately buy any equipment needed to keep your Auto-Body Store business running.

It is impossible to advise how much equipment insurance you need – it’s essentially dependent on how much you have invested in your Auto-Body Store business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance for your Auto-Body Store operations

Any Auto-Body Store business that owns or rents space in a building must have a commercial property insurance policy.

If you own the building, you may already have a substantial capital investment, in addition to a big liability if there’s a mortgage.

Every physical building location must carry insurance coverage for the value of the premises and contents against accidental occurrences like fire and storms, and against deliberate damages like theft and vandalism.

If your Auto-Body Store business operates in areas of high risk, like California or Georgia, supplementary coverage may be needed for earthquakes and hurricanes or tornadoes.

In other states like Rhode Island, where unlimited cold snaps can cause damage to outer coverings of Auto-Body Store business premises, there is a need for more extra cover than in warmer climes.

Although the level of cover depends entirely on the value of the property, it’s not possible to say what cover your need, but we have been able in the table in the cost of Auto-Body Store insurance section below to give some estimate of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your Auto-Body Store business.

Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your Auto-Body Store business

Is your Auto-Body Store business working part-time or casually, or is the level of business variable?

Using short-term insurance makes perfect sense. Business insurance by the month, day, or week – temporary insurance for Auto-Body Store – are special policies where you can cover a nominated period when you want to be covered.

By only paying for that period of cover, you will save by having lower premiums but still having the same risk cover.

The key feature of short-term insurance is that you purchase the cover for a defined period – a designated date, or a week or month starting on a specific date, for example for 30 days beginning on the specified date.

When you are expecting periods of larger business activity, get the existing cover increased.

Talk to your insurance agent, broker or the company’s representatives to see what options you have.

Business Owners Policy BOP for your Auto-Body Store business

You have the choice to combine several of the important kinds of small business insurance in one policy that is known as the business owner’s policy – BOP.

A BOP merges commercial property and public liability insurance by incorporating these coverages into one insurance policy, which can save you money.

BOP insurance will shield you if any claims of injury or property damage are made.

It is mostly the right choice for small and medium-sized Auto-Body Store businesses, such as yours.

There are some limits that will determine whether BOP is suitable for your own business.

BOPs do not cover your professional liability or commercial vehicle cover.

Also, the size of your business will rule whether you are permitted to take out BOP cover.

The usual business that can take out a BOP policy must have no more than one hundred employees, and under five million dollars in annual revenue.

As well, you must separately take out the necessary worker’s compensation, health and disability insurance as determined for your state.

Workers Compensation insurance for your Auto-Body Store business employees

In almost all states, it is mandatory to have workers compensation insurance when your Auto-Body Store business has one or more employees.

Workers compensation insurance covers the business against any costs that arise if a worker experiences an injury or becomes sick as a result of work.

The benefits cover medical expenses, death benefits, lost wages, and vocational rehabilitation.

Failure to meet a state’s requirements in this regard can leave you as the employer having to pay penalties levied by the states.

Some states, such as North Dakota, Ohio, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming only allow coverage from the government-run monopoly state funds.

In these states, you can’t get your workers compensation obligations from private insurance providers.

Workers compensation premiums are computed based on the employee’s pay, and usually come out at around $1.00 per $100 per month.

However, you must see the relevant authorities in your state.

Average costs of these types of insurance

Although every Auto-Body Store insurance need is unique, there are enough examples of usual quotes from insurance companies for us to give appropriate guidelines, including what are the cheapest rates offered.

Of course, you should always check with a broker what’s relevant for your business.

The list below is of annual premiums we have gathered for the main types of insurance your Auto-Body Store businesses needs.

Cost of insurance for your Auto-Body Store operations depends on many different factors.

We have estimated these figures for small independent Auto-Body Store businesses.

In larger states like New York, premiums are generally about 20%-30% higher than national averages, while in smaller states like New Mexico, they usually are about 20%-30% less.

The location and size and type of your Auto-Body Store business can have a big effect on the cost of different policies.

You should talk to professional insurance agents and brokers, or insurance company representatives.

Also you can let the internet do the work for you by searching for insurance companies near where your business is located.

Another reliable source of information is the local Better Business Bureau in your suburb.

FAQ

What is small business insurance for Auto-Body Store operations?

This is a wide term used to describe common insurance policies designed to protect Auto-Body Store business owners from risks like bodily injury, property damage, claims of negligence.

Does my Auto-Body Store business have to have insurance?

Some of the types of insurance are not mandatory for you to open your business, but they can protect you from risks in your business operations.

Several other forms are required by state law, such as workers compensation and vehicle insurance.

What does a small Auto-Body Store business insurance policy cover?

Liability insurance provides insurance against lawsuits or claims filed by a client for bodily injury, property damage, or negligence.

The exact cover will vary based on your own operations.

See the table in the costing section above for average prices of the most common policies for Auto-Body Store insurance.

How much will Auto-Body Store business insurance cost?

On top of the size of the business, several other factors, such as location and claims history, are used to determine your policy’s cost.

You should talk to professional insurance agents and brokers, or insurance company representatives.

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