HOW TO INSURE AUTO REPAIR SHOPSThe Cars in the Shop Don't Belong to the Shop.A Producer's Practical Guide to Understanding, Insuring & Winning Auto Repair AccountsA prospect says:
“I own an auto repair shop and need an insurance quote.”
Sounds straightforward.
Until you start asking questions.
What kind of repairs do they perform?
Where are customers' vehicles kept overnight?
Who drives those vehicles?
Do employees road-test them?
Do they provide loaner vehicles?
Tow vehicles?
Sell used cars?
Install customer-supplied parts?
Perform welding?
Do body work?
Have spray-painting operations?
Store tires?
Change oil?
Handle gasoline, solvents, batteries and other hazardous materials?
What happens if a customer's $70,000 vehicle is damaged while in the shop's care?
What happens if a repaired vehicle leaves the shop—and a wheel comes off ten miles later?
Suddenly, you're not simply insuring a garage.
You're insuring a business that takes possession of other people's vehicles and sends them back onto the highway.

THE PROBLEM WITH “IT'S JUST AN AUTO REPAIR SHOP”Auto repair shops can look remarkably similar from the road.
Their exposures may be completely different.
One changes oil and tires.
Another rebuilds engines and transmissions.
One specializes in brakes.
Another performs collision repair.
One keeps three customer vehicles overnight.
Another may have thirty.
One never drives customer vehicles beyond the parking lot.
Another routinely road-tests them.
One has no towing operation.
Another owns two tow trucks.
One performs mechanical repairs only.
Another welds, paints and performs extensive body work.
“Auto repair shop” is only the beginning of the description.
The producer needs to understand what happens after the customer hands over the keys.

WHAT THIS MANUAL WILL HELP YOU DOAfter working through this guide, a producer should be better prepared to:
✓ Conduct a professional garage-risk discovery conversation
✓ Identify the shop's actual operations and services
✓ Understand why customers' vehicles create a major exposure
✓ Recognize Garagekeepers considerations
✓ Investigate driving and road-testing exposures
✓ Ask better questions about employees and drivers
✓ Identify property, tools and equipment exposures
✓ Explore lifts, compressors and specialized machinery
✓ Recognize fire, welding and hot-work exposures
✓ Investigate body work and spray-painting operations
✓ Identify towing and roadside-assistance exposures
✓ Ask about loaner vehicles and other autos
✓ Recognize Workers' Compensation exposures
✓ Explore pollution and environmental concerns
✓ Discuss business-income exposures
✓ Prepare stronger underwriting submissions
✓ Compare proposals beyond premium alone
✓ Conduct stronger renewal conversations
✓ Prospect for auto repair accounts more intelligently

WHO SHOULD HAVE THIS MANUAL?How to Insure Auto Repair Shops was created for:
• New commercial-lines producers
• Personal-lines producers moving into commercial insurance
• Producers unfamiliar with garage-related risks
• Experienced producers who want to pursue automotive businesses
• Agency owners training commercial-lines staff
• CSRs and account managers servicing repair-shop accounts
• Independent agents looking for another identifiable commercial niche
You don't need to know how to rebuild a transmission.
But you should know enough to ask:
What do you repair?
What vehicles are in your care?
Who drives them?
Where are they kept?
And what could happen before the customer gets the keys back?

WHAT'S INSIDE?Learn What Happens After the Customer Hands Over the KeysAuto Repair Shop DiscoveryDon't stop at:
“How many bays do you have?”
Learn what services are actually performed, how vehicles move through the operation and where the exposures arise.
Customers' VehiclesCustomers may leave valuable automobiles in the insured's care.
During the day.
Overnight.
Inside the building.
Outside in a fenced lot.
Or outside in an unfenced parking area.
Understanding the number, type and potential value of those vehicles is fundamental.
GaragekeepersDamage to customers' vehicles can become one of the defining exposures of the account.
Learn why producers need to understand the applicable coverage approach, limits, deductibles and conditions rather than assuming ordinary property or liability coverage solves the problem.
Driving & Road TestingWho drives customers' vehicles?
Owners?
Mechanics?
Other employees?
How far?
For what purpose?
Road testing can turn a stationary garage exposure into an automobile exposure very quickly.
Completed OperationsThe vehicle eventually leaves.
The shop's exposure may not.
Consider the implications of allegedly faulty repairs or installation after the customer drives away.
Buildings & Business Personal PropertyThe building may contain:
Tools.
Diagnostic equipment.
Computers.
Parts.
Inventory.
Lifts.
Compressors.
Specialized machinery.
And substantial improvements.
The producer needs to understand what property keeps the business operating.
Mechanics' ToolsWho owns the tools?
The business?
The mechanics?
Both?
Don't assume every tool inside the building belongs to the named insured.
Lifts & EquipmentA vehicle lift can hold thousands of pounds several feet above the floor.
Compressors, tire machines, alignment equipment and other machinery also deserve attention.
Fire & Hot WorkWelding.
Cutting.
Grinding.
Battery work.
Fuel systems.
Flammable liquids.
Auto repair operations can create significant fire exposures.
Body Shops & Spray PaintingBody work and painting introduce exposures that may differ substantially from ordinary mechanical repair.
Spray booths, ventilation, flammable materials and environmental issues deserve additional investigation.
TowingDoes the shop own or operate a tow truck?
Does it tow only customers' vehicles?
Does it perform towing for the public?
One additional service can materially change the account.
Loaner VehiclesSome shops provide temporary vehicles while customers' automobiles are being repaired.
Who owns them?
Who drives them?
How are drivers qualified?
Don't allow “We have a couple of loaners” to pass without another question.
Workers' CompensationMechanics work around:
Vehicles.
Lifts.
Heavy parts.
Tools.
Machinery.
Chemicals.
Hot surfaces.
Sharp objects.
Slippery floors.
Understanding employee duties is an important part of developing the risk.
Pollution & Environmental ExposuresUsed oil.
Fuel.
Antifreeze.
Solvents.
Batteries.
Paint.
Other automotive fluids and materials.
The producer doesn't need to become an environmental specialist.
But the producer does need to recognize when environmental exposures require additional attention.
Business IncomeWhat happens if a fire closes the shop?
The building may eventually be repaired.
But customers still need their cars fixed today.
How long can the business afford to be closed before those customers establish relationships elsewhere?
The Underwriter SubmissionDon't send an application that simply says:
“Auto repair — 6 bays.”
Tell the underwriter:
What the shop repairs.
What services it performs.
How many customer vehicles it handles.
Where they're stored.
Who drives them.
Whether towing, body work, painting or loaners are involved.
What controls are in place.
Help the underwriter see the shop before ever visiting it.
Proposal ComparisonA cheaper garage proposal isn't automatically a better proposal.
Help the client understand important differences in coverages, limits, deductibles, covered operations, endorsements and exclusions.
RenewalsAuto repair businesses change.
A new service is added.
A tow truck is purchased.
A body shop opens.
More mechanics are hired.
A new building is leased.
Loaner vehicles are added.
Customer vehicle values increase.
A strong renewal rediscovers the shop rather than simply changing last year's payroll and sales figures.

REAL-WORLD PRODUCER THINKINGThe shop owner says:
“We occasionally keep cars outside overnight.”
Ask another question.
“The mechanics road-test everything they repair.”
Ask another question.
“We bought a tow truck last month.”
Ask another question.
“We have two cars customers can borrow.”
Ask another question.
“We're thinking about adding a paint booth.”
Definitely ask another question.
Throughout the manual, practical situations help producers develop the habit of:
HEAR IT
What did the shop owner actually tell you?
ASK ABOUT IT
What additional information does that create?
VERIFY IT
What facts need to be confirmed?
DOCUMENT IT
What belongs in the agency file?
TAKE THE NEXT SAFE ACTION
What should the producer do next without exceeding his or her authority?
One casual comment can reveal an exposure the original application never showed.

DON'T WAIT FOR AUTO REPAIR SHOPS TO FIND YOUThis may be one of the easiest commercial niches in your community to prospect.
Look around.
Independent repair shops.
Transmission shops.
Brake shops.
Tire dealers.
Muffler shops.
Quick-lube operations.
Collision repair facilities.
Specialty repair businesses.
They're easy to identify.
And because automobiles continually need service, these are businesses with an ongoing reason to exist.
Once you understand the exposures and develop relationships with markets that write them, you don't have to wait for an auto repair owner to wander into your agency.
You can deliberately pursue the niche.

YOUR 30-DAY AUTO REPAIR PROSPECTING PLANIdentify automotive repair businesses in your market.
Build a prospect list.
Visit their websites and social-media pages.
Look at the services they advertise.
Mechanical repair?
Tires?
Body work?
Towing?
Performance modifications?
Fleet service?
Then visit or call.
Don't begin with:
“Can I quote your insurance?”
Try:
“I'd like to learn a little about your operation and the kinds of vehicles you work on.”
Ask questions.
Learn something.
Develop relationships with underwriters who understand garage risks.
Learn which markets prefer which operations.
Follow up.
Ask satisfied clients for introductions.
Don't become another agent selling a garage policy.Become the agent who understands what happens after the customer hands over the keys.
WHAT COULD ONE AUTO REPAIR CLIENT BE WORTH?Think beyond the building.
An auto repair relationship could potentially involve:
• Garage-related liability protection
• Garagekeepers coverage
• Commercial Property
• Business Personal Property
• Business Income
• Commercial Auto
• Towing exposures
• Workers' Compensation
• Equipment Breakdown
• Inland Marine
• Pollution or Environmental coverage
• Cyber Liability
• Umbrella or Excess Liability
• Other specialized protection
And the business may grow.
More bays.
More mechanics.
More vehicles.
More equipment.
Additional locations.
Towing.
Body work.
Fleet customers.
One small repair shop can become a substantial long-term commercial account.
THE ENTIRE MANUAL IS ONLY $25Buy It Once. Use It From Now On.No monthly subscription.
No expensive seminar.
No travel.
Just practical producer development you can return to whenever an auto repair prospect asks your agency for help.
HOW TO INSURE AUTO REPAIR SHOPSDigital Producer Guide
$25 — One-Time Purchase
Immediate Access
GET HOW TO INSURE AUTO REPAIR SHOPS → 
COULD ONE ACCOUNT PAY FOR THE MANUAL?You're investing $25 to become better prepared for the next auto repair shop that asks your agency for help.
One account could pay for the manual.
One commercial auto could pay for it.
One Garagekeepers exposure you remember to investigate could justify the investment.
One better submission could help you get an underwriter's attention.
One repair-shop owner who introduces you to another business owner could pay for it many times over.
$25.One-Time Purchase.A Resource You Can Keep Using.GET THE AUTO REPAIR SHOP GUIDE →BUILD YOUR COMMERCIAL LINES LIBRARYAuto Repair Shops are only one opportunity.
The FYI Express How to Insure Commercial Lines Library gives independent agents and producers practical guidance for understanding and pursuing real-world commercial accounts.
Continue building your expertise with:
How to Insure Contractors
How to Insure Restaurants
How to Insure Trucking & Transportation
How to Insure Churches & Religious Organizations
How to Insure Small Manufacturers
How to Insure Retail Stores
How to Insure Habitational Properties
How to Insure Professional Offices
How to Insure Wholesalers & Distributors
Don't Try to Know Everything.Learn Where to Look — and What to Ask.FYI EXPRESS
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