Protect Your Tire Shop Business with Insurance
Building a profitable tire business requires excellent business skills, a sizable investment, and industry expertise. Tire shops must cope with a particular set of risks, whether it is a small tire shop or a nationally known tire retailer.
As a business owner, you prioritize developing your core strengths and expanding your company rather than on managing risks. Purchasing tire shop insurance is a smart move to shield your company from the costs of third-party liability claims, property losses, and other risks.
Why do Tire Shops need insurance?: Here's what can go wrong
Unexpected events happen, and a business requires financial resources to deal with them. Your tire business is no different from other businesses in that it must deal with some level of risk. Let's look at a few situations that demonstrate the value of business insurance for tire dealers and shops.
Scenario 1: One of your workers inadvertently damages a customer's car while changing its tires. The disgruntled client can file a claim against your company for the damage.
Scenario 2: A worker gets a bad cut while installing a tire. The business and owner can be held responsible for covering their medical costs as well as the wages lost during the recovery period.
Scenario 3: A fire breaks out in your tire shop, causing damage to the building, stock, and equipment. To recover, your company would have to pay out a tidy sum for repairs and replacements. Until then, your business will also come to a standstill.
Do these scenarios seem possible? If yes, you should consider buying business insurance for your tire business.
5 Insurance Policies Every Tire Shop Owner Should Consider
Choosing the right kinds of insurance policies is a crucial part of getting tire shop insurance. Here's a quick glimpse into the five policies that could be helpful for tire businesses.
1. General and Garage Liability
A general liability insurance policy can defend your business from third-party liability claims related to bodily harm, personal and advertising injury, and property damage occurring in the course of business operations on your premises.
For liability arising from your tire sales and installation, garage liability comes into play.
This covers the liability for bodily injury or property damage caused by your product or the installation of it. For instance, imagine that a customer meets with a car accident due to a defective tire or faulty installation causing injuries and property damage. Garage liability will respond to these types of claims.
2. Garagekeepers Legal Liability
This insurance specifically covers damage to the vehicles that are in your care for servicing. It covers damage to vehicles caused by your employees or business. Usually, this applies to a collision occurring because of an employee's negligence while test driving a vehicle or damage to a vehicle while being worked upon. This coverage can also be written to cover damage to customers' vehicles regardless of legal liability, now called garagekeepers extra legal liability coverage.
3. Workers' compensation insurance
The likelihood of an employee being injured at work is quite high for tire shops due to the required use of power equipment and tools to get the job done. This insurance policy covers the medical expenses for an employee hurt on the job. Additionally, it pays a portion of lost wages resulting when the employee requires time off to recover. Getting a workers' compensation policy may be legally required in some states, depending on the number of staff employed. Even if it's not required, getting this coverage is recommended.
4. Commercial auto insurance
Tire shops that title vehicles in the business's name need this insurance policy. Most states have motor vehicle financial responsibility laws that require insurance to pay for liability claims arising from negligence while operating motor vehicles. A company-titled vehicle should be insured on a business auto policy.
Your driver could be involved in an at-fault accident resulting in property damage or bodily injury. This coverage assists the business in responding to liability claims or lawsuits for damages from injuries or property damage. Additionally, it can include physical damage comprehensive and collision coverage on owned vehicles and other optional or state-required coverage such as personal injury protection (PIP or No-Fault) and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage.
5. Commercial property insurance
Commercial property insurance is an important part of business insurance for tire shops and dealers. It covers your business's assets, whether you own the building, your tools, equipment, and furnishings. Commercial property insurance covers your assets from loss or damage from covered perils like fire, vandalism, theft, windstorm, hail, tornado, and more. Note, that flood and earthquake coverage is typically on separate policies.
How Much Does tire Shop Business Insurance cost?
The premiums for tire shops and dealers' insurance are not uniform. The price of insurance is affected by several variables, including:
- Business location
- Annual revenue
- Annual payroll
- Value of insured assets
- Number of vehicles and drivers' motor vehicle reports
- Past claims experience
One of our insurance agents can help you find insurance that fits your needs.
How To Choose the Right Insurance Policies?
The two crucial factors to consider while selecting insurance policies are the coverage provided and the cost.
Coverage
Make a list of your potential exposures to loss that you may encounter when operating your tire shop. Select the policies that cover the majority of the risks you have listed.
Cost
Request multiple quotes from a licensed insurance agent to get an idea of how much it will cost to insure your business.
Safeguard Your Business With Tire Shop Business Insurance Today
One unfortunate event can disrupt your business for a long time. Protect your business, its finances, its assets, and your employees by getting tire shop insurance coverage.
At Insurance Advisor, we offer insurance policies for a wide range of industries. If you are confused about what policies to choose, we have a nationwide team of licensed insurance agents that can assist you. To learn more about insurance, explore the useful guides, educational articles, and business insights available on our blog.