Inventory exposure
Lots full of vehicles are exposed to weather, theft, and damage.
Search The Site
Try a different word, or check the spelling.
Automotive & Vehicle Sales Insurance
Selling a vehicle and looking after one for a customer create different responsibilities. Your mix of sales, driving and any service work should shape the coverage you choose.
The Southern Agency can help you review vehicle stock, test drives, and any service work before choosing coverage.
Operations within this group
You may sell new or used vehicles, operate a specialty dealership or combine sales with repairs. Theft or weather can damage stock, while test drives and service work create different responsibilities for customer injuries and vehicles.
The Southern Agency can review your sales departments, vehicle custody and any repair work to help you choose insurance. We can compare stock protection with garage-related liability, with bonds and employee needs considered for the business you actually operate.
Find your business
Choose your business type to discuss insurance with The Southern Agency. If it isn’t listed, call an agent to ask whether we can place it.
- Auto Parts RetailerInsurance considerations for auto parts retailers, including product liability for components and inventory risk.
- Boat DealerBoat dealership insurance considers stock ashore and afloat, sea trials, customer vessels and the work involved in rigging or launching them.
- Commercial Vehicle DealerYou deal with specialized fleet units that often require custom upfitting, creating risks if a liftgate fails or a delivery is delayed.
- Motorcycle DealerMotorcycle dealer insurance considers demo riders, dealer and customer bikes, service or modification work, riding gear, off-site events and transport.
- New Car DealershipNew car dealership insurance considers concentrated lot values, customer vehicles, service work, finance data, staff claims and equipment-dependent departments.
- RV and Camper SaleYou sell motorized and towable units that feature complex onboard systems, where an issue with propane, electricity or winterization can lead to significant liability.
- Specialty Vehicle OutletInsurance for specialty dealers trading in classic, exotic, and custom vehicles.
- Tire ShopTire shop insurance considers completed wheel work, customer cars and detached wheels, stored tires, service machines, technicians and mobile fitting.
- Truck SaleYou sell and service medium- or heavy-duty trucks and tractors, managing trade-ins, consignments, and complex fleet specifications.
- Used Car LotsYou acquire, recondition and sell preowned vehicles, and you may also manage financing, collections or payment plans.
Risks across this group
Test-drive accidents
Customers and staff driving vehicles create accident and liability exposure.
Customer vehicles in care
Servicing or storing customer vehicles creates garagekeepers exposure.
Premises injuries
Customers on the lot and in showrooms create slip-and-fall exposure.
Employee dishonesty
Handling deposits, payments, and titles creates crime exposure.
Data and finance handling
Processing customer financial information creates breach exposure.
Coverage worth discussing
Policies to ask about. Which ones fit depends on your operations, your contracts, and the carrier’s forms.
- Garage Liability InsuranceMay help with covered dealership liability, including accepted test-drive operations. Customer vehicles in your custody need separate garagekeepers consideration.
- Commercial Property InsuranceMay help repair insured showroom or service-area property after covered damage. Dealer vehicle stock requires its own inventory protection.
- Business Auto InsuranceMay help with covered accident claims involving accepted dealership vehicles and uses. Ownership, dealer plates and driving arrangements determine the forms needed.
- Surety BondsA required dealer bond can support obligations to its specified beneficiaries. It does not insure vehicle stock, and you may have to reimburse the surety.
- Workers Compensation InsuranceMay provide benefits for covered sales or service employee injuries, under applicable state employment rules.
Situations to think through
These hypothetical examples are not agency claim results. Whether a loss is covered depends on the facts, policy terms, and applicable exclusions.
Hypothetical: Test-drive accident
An accident occurs during a customer test drive. Garage liability may help respond to the resulting claim, subject to policy terms.
Hypothetical: Customer vehicle damaged
A customer's vehicle is damaged in the service area. Garagekeepers coverage may help with the covered loss, subject to terms.
Hypothetical: Lot damage from storm
A storm damages vehicles on the lot. Physical-damage coverage may help, subject to terms and deductibles.
Before you talk to an agent
Questions to raise
- Compare peak lot value with inventory limits and storm deductibles, including any per-vehicle and per-event terms.
- For customer vehicles, ask whether garagekeepers is legal-liability, direct-primary, or excess coverage. The difference matters even when the dealership did nothing wrong.
- Disclose loaner vehicles, off-site storage, delivery, and in-house financing. Bring the floor-plan agreement and dealer licensing bond form to the review.
- For boats, motorcycles, RVs or other specialty vehicles, confirm the policy suits the vehicle and its use. A form written for car sales may not cover every vehicle line.
Contract terms to check
- Bring dealer licensing conditions, any required bond form, floor-plan financing schedules, franchise terms, and service or storage agreements. Check the inventory, customer vehicles, drivers, and entities each document concerns. Verify workforce and auto obligations for the actual jurisdiction and operation.
What the agent conversation looks like
Start with the work you do and the questions your current policies leave unanswered. Carrier options depend on your location, risk, and underwriting. Explore our approach.
- ListenReview your operations, current coverage, and past claims.
- AssessIdentify potential hazards and discuss ways to reduce risk.
- BuildDiscuss policy and carrier options, premium costs, and audits.
- SupportReview changes and help you plan ahead as your needs develop.
Questions owners ask
What is garagekeepers coverage?
Garagekeepers coverage helps protect customers' vehicles in your care, custody, or control, such as during service or storage at the dealership.
Why do dealers need garage liability?
Garage liability is tailored to the unique exposures of automotive businesses, including operations involving vehicle use that standard policies may not fully address.
Are dealer bonds required?
Many jurisdictions require licensed dealers to maintain a dealer bond as a condition of operating, which is a form of surety bond.
Is lot inventory covered against weather?
Inventory physical-damage coverage can help with weather and other covered perils on the lot, often required by lenders financing inventory.
Do dealerships face data exposure?
Yes. Processing customer financial information for sales and financing creates breach exposure that cyber coverage can address.
Tell us what your automotive & vehicle sales business does
Bring your questions, current policies, and relevant contracts. An agent can review coverage terms, exclusions, and the information carriers ask for, then explain the options available to you.