Why your tow truck business might need garage liability insurance (even if you don’t have a garage)

One of the great mysteries of insurance is that the names of different coverage can often be misleading. It’s not done on purpose. It just sort of happens. One of those misleading insurance names is garage liability insurance. Okay. At first glance, it looks garage liability would cover a physical garage. That would definitely not be a bad assumption. But we’ll explain what garage liability can cover.

What does garage liability do, then?

Garage liability insurance protects your company against disasters that happen because of the day-to-day work that you do. If you end up facing a lawsuit because of the services you provide, that’s where garage liability can come in. It helps cover the expenses that you’re legally obligated to pay to that person. Towing and cars are dangerous. There’s a chance that someone could get hurt because of the services you provide – what if a problem with the work you do causes an accident?

So, you may not have a physical garage location, or even a storage premises for client vehicles (in which case you would need to consider garagekeepers coverage.) But garage liability could still save the day if something happened during a job.

We can help you save on your tow truck insurance.

Example time.

Okay. We’re going to create a hypothetical roadside assistance company. You have a few wreckers that you use to rescue stranded people – you jump batteries, bring gas, change tires, all that good stuff. You get a call one day that someone’s car has a flat tire, so you head on over to save the day. Sure enough, you find the gentleman and his SUV does indeed have a flat tire. That means changing the tire, so you pull out your tools and set to work.

Garage liability covers you against losses arising from the day-to-day work your business does.

But something goes horribly wrong. The gentleman drives away, but he doesn’t get very far. A few miles down the road, the tire comes off the SUV. The driver is hurt in the ensuing crash – they need medical treatment. You’re pretty shaken up by the whole experience. Fortunately, the customer makes a full recovery. But your business could be liable, and there may be expenses that you’re legally obligated to pay to the gentleman whose tire you changed.

Fortunately, you have garage liability insurance for your roadside assistance business, so that can help cover the costs.

So…

That’s why garage liability insurance can be useful even to companies that don’t have physical garages or repair shops. It never hurts to be prepared for anything. As a tow truck operator, you know that anything can happen. You’ve seen it all. And that means that there may come a day where garage liability can step in and help your business weather a disaster. That’s what tow truck insurance is there for – to make sure that your business thrives despite life’s adventures.

We can help you save on your tow truck insurance.

We know that every tow truck business is different, which means that every business needs different coverages. We can help you figure out which risks you need to be protected from and help you build your tow truck insurance plan. If you want to get three free quotes on your insurance, all you have to do is fill out our quote form or give us a call today. We’d love to have the chance to help you save on your insurance.

Photo credit for image of red wrecker: 

KIPP FELICE

Director of Business Solutions

Miller Industries, Chattanooga, TN

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