Semi-Truck Dealer Insurance - Sales, Service & Repair
Advanced Protection Designed To Meet The Needs Of Florida, Alabama, & Georgia Based Semi-Truck Dealerships and Repair Facilities.
Barbee Jackson Insurance specializes in semi-truck dealerships and repair facilities. We have several markets available to provide great products to our customers and at preferred price. Many of our carriers specialize in semi-truck dealership coverage as well as semi-truck garage liability. Our staff is a dedicated team of insurance professionals that specialize in all forms of transportation coverage from commercial auto coverage to dealership open lot and garage liability coverage. Many of our carriers are leaders in this industry. Working with carriers that are familiar with the specific challenges that come with semi-truck insurance is a great benefit to us and our customers. At Barbee Jackson Insurance we are a big truck agency and we work with big truck insurance professionals.
Benefits:
- Custom built insurance policies for semi-truck dealerships and repair facilities
- Fast underwriting on a case by case basis which allows for more flexibility.
- Superior claims handling
- Agents that specialize in semi-truck dealership insurance and repair
- Several discounts available for established semi-truck dealerships and repair facilities.
- We have preferred carriers that specialize in the trucking industry
- We will make sure your coverage meets the guidelines and requirements of your particular state.
- We are able to reach a wide customer base with coverage offered in Florida, Alabama and Georgia
Categories that qualify for an instant quote include:
- Semi-Truck Dealerships
- Semi-Truck Service and Repair Facilities
- Mobile Semi-Truck Mechanics
Semi-Truck Dealers – Coverage Options
There are three major coverage options that make up a good insurance package for your semi-truck dealership.
- Dealer’s Open Lot (Also called Dealers Blanket) – This option provides coverage for damage to semi-trucks that are on your lot as inventory for sale or pending sale. This coverage is for inventory only and not for owned vehicles. Owned vehicles can be covered on a separate commercial auto policy or scheduled on a garage policy. There are two different forms of Dealer’s Open Lot coverage. I have explained each form briefly below.
- Reporting Form – Reporting form is the most accurate form of semi-truck dealer’s open lot coverage. Reporting form requires you to report your monthly inventory numbers to the insurance company at the end of each month. The insurance carrier will then calculate your inventory amount by taking the average of your semi-truck inventory over a 12 month period. This option takes a little bit more work on the part of the customer. However, because it allows for more accurate numbers being reported to the insurance carrier they reward the customer with a 15% discount on the insurance policy. This is the main benefit of choosing Reporting Form.
- Non-Reporting Form – It is not always feasible for a customer to report inventory at the end of every month. In this case the customer will decide on an inventory value that they anticipate they will never go over (Maximum Inventory at any Given Moment). The inventory amount is then set based on this anticipated number. This form does not require monthly reporting.
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Dealership Open Lot – A quick note on Deductibles
There are many different ways to set up dealership open lot coverage. It is extremely important that you have an agent that specializes in this type of insurance. Simply setting up a deductible incorrectly can have a huge effect on the outcome of a claim. For example, let’s say you have a semi-truck dealership with $1,000,000 in coverage for semi-truck inventory with a $1,000 deductible. There is an event such as a large fire or maybe a hurricane where 20 trucks are heavily damaged. You would have a $1,000 deductible on each truck that was damaged for a total deductible of $20,000. That is a huge out of pocket expense for one incident. This can be avoided by adding a Maximum Per Loss Deductible Endorsement to the policy. This endorsement usually states that after 4 units are damaged in any single event the insured does not have to pay any further deductibles. This endorsement turns a $20,000 out of pocket loss into a $4,000 out of pocket loss. That is why it is important to work with an agent that specializes in your industry.
Garage Liability – Garage liability coverage is another important coverage for semi-truck dealers. This option provides liability coverage in the case of a trip and fall accident by a customer visiting your lot. This option also provides coverage in the event that a customer is hurt during a test drive.
Garage Keepers Liability – This coverage is third major coverage for your dealership. Garage Keepers Liability provides property damage coverage to semi-trucks that are owned by customers. If a customer brings in a semi-truck for trade you may need to take the truck for a test driver before you accept it as a trade in. If you were to damage the customer’s vehicle during the test driver you would claim the damages on your Garage Keepers Liability policy. This also holds true if you end up keeping a customer’s vehicle overnight at your lot. If the customer’s vehicle is stolen from your lot you would file the claim on your Garage Keepers Liability policy.
There are two different kinds of Garage Keepers Liability. There are key differences in these two types of coverage and it is important to know the difference. I have explained below.
- Garage Keepers Legal Liability – This type of Garage Keepers Liability coverage only pays for damage to a customer’s vehicle in your care, custody or control if your business is “Legally Liable” for that damage.
- Garage Keepers Primary Liability – This type of Garage Keepers Liability coverage pays for damage to a customer’s vehicle while in your care, custody or control even if you are not “Legally Liable.”
Semi-Truck Service and Repair – Coverage Options
There are two major coverage options that make up a good service/repair shop insurance package.
Garage Liability – We have already discussed the need for a Garage Liability policy for semi-truck dealers. This coverage is also very important for any semi-truck service or repair shop. Garage Liability coverage provides protection in the event that someone slips and falls at your shop. This coverage also provides protection in the event that a customer is hurt during a test drive. Additionally and most importantly for shop owners is the fact that this coverage provides protection in the event that you have serviced a vehicle and then that vehicle or an individual is hurt as a result of your work. For example, if a truck leaves your shop and someone forgot to tighten the lug nuts it is possible that the truck could suffer severe damage. This could also result in an injury to the driver of the truck if an accident happens as a result of the wheel coming off. All of these types of incidents would be claimed on your Garage Liability policy.
Garage Keepers Liability – This coverage option provides property damage coverage to vehicles that are in your care, custody or control. This coverage does not cover vehicles that you or your business owns. This coverage only applies to vehicles owned by others (usually customers). During a normal work day you may have staff members that move trucks from one location to another at your semi-truck repair shop. This coverage provides protection in the event that a member of your staff damages a customer’s vehicle while moving it. Many times you will need to keep a customer’s vehicle overnight. This means you are responsible for that vehicle while it is in your care. Garage Keepers Liability provides protection in the event that someone steals a vehicle during the night. If there was a fire at your location and there were trucks damaged in the fire you would claim that damage under your Garage Keepers Liability policy.
There are two different kinds of Garage Keepers Liability. There are key differences in these two types of coverage and it is important to know the difference.
- Garage Keepers Legal Liability – This type of Garage Keepers Liability coverage only pays for damage to a customer’s vehicle in your care, custody or control if your business is “Legally Liable” for that damage.
- Garage Keepers Primary Liability – This type of Garage Keepers Liability coverage pays for damage to a customer’s vehicle while in your care, custody or control even if you are not “Legally Liable” for that damage.
A local repair shop owner found themselves in a tough spot two years ago. They had purchased Garage Liability and Garage Keepers Liability from another agency for their repair shop. At this particular shop the owner kept customer’s vehicles overnight in a fenced lot if they were not able to complete the work in a single day. The client had taken all of the proper precautions to protect their customer’s property. They had a high fence with good locks. Their fenced area was well lit at night and there was a security camera that watched over the lot at night. The keys to all of the vehicles were kept in a safe box inside the office.
However, despite all of these measures the shop was a victim of a break in. An unknown individual managed to cut the lock off of the gate with bolt cutters. The individual and their accomplice proceeded to vandalize three of the vehicles in the yard. The entire incident was over in a couple of minutes. The next day the shop owner discovered the damage and called the police. The police reviewed the security tape but the thieves had covered their faces with masks. A police report was made and the police advised the shop owner to report the incident to their insurance company. A few days later a claims adjuster called the shop owner and informed him that they would NOT be paying the claim. The shop owner had purchased Garage Keepers LEGAL Liability for their shop.
In order for a claim to be covered the shop owner would have to be Legally Liable for the damage. This means that in order for the claim to pay out the shop owner would have had to be found negligent in some way. The problem in this case was the fact that there was no negligence on the part of the shop owner. He had taken all of the proper precautions to prevent a crime like this from happening. Therefore the shop owner was NOT Legally Liable for the damage and the policy would not cover the loss.
This customer came to Barbee Jackson Insurance very upset with their old agent. We were able to provide them with a Garage Keepers PRIMARY Liability policy to close this coverage gap. It is not wrong to sell a Garage Keepers Legal Liability policy to a customer. However, it is wrong to sell anything to a customer when the customer does not understand what they are purchasing. We take the time to explain all of our products in detail and answer any questions our customers might have.
How Do I Purchase Dealers Insurance?
This is the easiest part, call Barbee Jackson Insurance! We have the ability to quote and bind coverage over the phone. If you are not able to call, inquire through our website and we can communicate through email.
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