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Ohio Garage & Dealer Insurance: From the service bay to the front lot.

Coverage for repair shops, body shops and used-car and franchise dealers, including the customer cars in your bays. We're an independent agency, so we compare several carriers for you.

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The Quick Answer

Ohio repair shops and dealers usually build their program on garage liability, which covers liability from your premises and operations. Garagekeepers covers customer vehicles in your care, which general liability typically excludes. Dealers add dealer open lot or inventory coverage for cars on the lot and need to know how dealer plates and test drives are covered. Around that sit property and equipment coverage for the building, lifts and tools, EPLI for your team, and workers' comp through the Ohio BWC. eGoodwin Insurance is an independent agency in Marion and Powell that compares multiple insurance companies. Call (740) 387-8335.

Start with: Garage liability + garagekeepers
Dealers add: Open lot, plates, test drives
Ohio workers' comp: Through the Ohio BWC
Call first: (740) 387-8335

Ohio Garage Insurance, The Short Version

Your customers hand you their keys. Your insurance should be ready for that.

A two-bay repair shop in Marion, a body shop in Delaware, a tire and lube center in Westerville and a used-car lot off US-23 all have something most businesses don't: other people's vehicles on the property, and in some cases on the road. That changes the insurance. A standard business policy usually isn't built for it.

We're an independent agency, which means we represent multiple insurance companies. We shop your coverage across several carriers, compare what comes back, and explain it in plain English. We work for you, not an insurance company. Mark Goodwin has been a licensed insurance professional since 1990, and our offices in Marion and Powell work with shops and dealers across Ohio.

For repair and service businesses, the core is garage liability plus garagekeepers. Garage liability helps with injuries and damage that come from your premises and operations. Garagekeepers covers the customer's car while it's in your care, custody or control, whether that's a fire in the bay, a break-in overnight or a slip off the lift. General liability typically excludes that exposure.

Dealers add the lot. Dealer open lot (sometimes called inventory) coverage protects the vehicles you own and hold for sale, and dealers need to know exactly how their policy treats dealer plates, test drives and employees driving inventory. We'll go through it line by line. Nothing on this page is legal advice.

What a shop or dealer actually needs. In the order it matters.

Start with liability and the customer cars in your care, then add your lot, your building and your team.

Start here

Liability

Garage Liability

Built for auto service and sales businesses. It typically covers bodily injury and property damage from your premises and operations, like a customer hurt in the waiting area or damage from work you performed, depending on the policy.

Core

Garagekeepers

Garagekeepers (Customer Vehicles)

Covers customers' vehicles while they're in your care, custody or control, for losses like fire, theft, vandalism and collision. Policies may pay only when you're legally liable, or regardless of fault, so we'll compare both options.

Dealers

Open Lot

Dealer Open Lot / Inventory

Protects the vehicles you own and hold for sale against covered causes like hail, wind, theft and vandalism. Limits are usually based on your inventory values, so we'll help you set them for your busiest month, not your slowest.

Dealers

Plates & Drives

Dealer Plates & Test Drives

Who is covered when a customer takes a car for a test drive, or an employee drives inventory on dealer plates? It depends on the policy and on the driver's own insurance. We'll make sure the answer is clear before the keys change hands.

Core

Property

Property & Equipment

Your building or leasehold improvements, lifts, diagnostic equipment, tools, parts inventory and paint booths, plus business income if a covered loss shuts the shop. In Ohio, plan for spring and summer storms, hail and winter pipe freezes.

Your team

EPLI

Employment Practices Liability

Responds to claims like wrongful termination, discrimination and harassment from employees. For shops and dealerships with a few techs, sales staff or office help, EPLI is worth a conversation.

Ohio rule

BWC

Workers' Comp Through the BWC

Ohio is a monopolistic state, so workers' comp comes through the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC), not private carriers. We help you coordinate and review it, and look at stop-gap employer's liability for what BWC doesn't cover.

Extra limits

Umbrella

Commercial Umbrella

Adds another layer over your garage liability and employer's liability limits when a serious claim runs past them. Common for dealerships and busy shops with a lot of customer traffic.

Not covered

Your Own Cars

Customer Cars on a GL Policy

A standard general liability policy typically excludes property in your care, custody or control, which includes the customer's car on your lift. That's the gap garagekeepers is designed to fill.

Not sure your shop has garagekeepers?

It's one of the most common gaps we see. Fifteen minutes on what you do, how many cars you hold and how your lot is set up, and we'll shop it across several carriers. Free, no pressure.

Check My Coverage Call (740) 387-8335

Customer Cars & Dealer Lots

Garagekeepers and dealer coverage, in plain English.

These are the questions shop owners and dealers ask us most. It's general information, not legal advice, and every policy reads a little differently.

Garage liability vs. garagekeepers

Garage liability is about people and property outside your control: a customer who slips in the waiting room, or damage caused by work you did. Garagekeepers is about the customer's vehicle while you have it. If a fire in the bay damages three customer cars, that's typically a garagekeepers claim, not a liability claim.

Legal liability vs. direct coverage

Garagekeepers can be written in different ways. A legal liability form generally pays only if you're legally responsible for the damage. A direct form can pay for covered damage to customer vehicles regardless of fault, which can help with customer relationships after something like a hailstorm or a break-in. We'll show you how each carrier handles it.

Dealer lots, plates and test drives

Dealer open lot coverage protects your inventory, and limits are usually tied to what you have on the lot. For test drives and dealer plates, coverage depends on your policy, who's driving and the driver's own insurance. Tell us how you handle test drives, loaners and employees moving cars, and we'll check the policy against it.

Your team

Techs, detailers, sales staff and office help all add up. Workers' comp comes through the Ohio BWC, and stop-gap employer's liability is often added to a business policy. Once you have a team, employment practices liability is worth a look too. On employment-law questions, talk to an employment attorney. We handle the insurance.

Shops and dealers we work with. From two bays to a full lot.

The right program depends on what you do with customer vehicles and what you sell. Here's where we spend most of our time with Ohio auto businesses.

Auto repair & service shops

General repair, brakes, tires, oil changes and diagnostics. Garage liability and garagekeepers for the cars in your bays, plus property and equipment for lifts and tools.

Body shops & collision centers

Paint booths, frame machines and customer cars that may sit for weeks. Garagekeepers limits matter here, and so does the way your policy handles fire and theft.

Used-car dealers

Independent lots from Marion to Columbus. Dealer open lot coverage for inventory, garage liability for the lot, and clear answers on dealer plates and test drives.

Franchise & full-service dealers

Sales, service and parts under one roof. A combined program can cover the showroom, the service drive, inventory and the people who run it, shopped across several carriers.

Detailers & specialty shops

Detailing, glass, audio, tint and performance shops. You're still working on customer vehicles, so garagekeepers often belongs in the conversation.

Shops with a growing team

More techs and more staff bring EPLI and BWC coordination into play. We review the people side alongside your liability and property coverage.

Hail on the lot? Know your numbers now.

Spring and summer storms, hail and straight-line winds can hit a whole lot at once. Check your open lot limits and deductibles, and how your policy handles customer cars outside, before the next storm. Free review.

Review My Policy Call (740) 387-8335

How we help shops and dealers. Clear answers before a claim.

We shop several carriers

We're an independent agency, so we represent multiple insurance companies and compare what comes back instead of offering one company's policy. We work for you, not an insurance company.

We match coverage to your operation

Service only, sales only or both. Customer cars inside or outside overnight. Test drives, loaners and plates. We build the program around how your business actually runs.

We handle certificates and changes

Landlords, lenders and floor-plan providers ask for proof of coverage. Send requests through our service center or call, and we'll work to turn them around quickly.

We review it every year

Inventory levels, staff and equipment change. We review your program as your business and the insurance market change, from the first quote through every renewal.

Ohio garage and dealer insurance questions. Straight answers.

What is garagekeepers insurance?

Garagekeepers covers customers' vehicles while they're in your care, custody or control, for losses like fire, theft, vandalism and collision.

It matters because a standard general liability policy typically excludes property in your care. If a customer's car is damaged on your lift or stolen from your lot overnight, garagekeepers is usually the coverage that responds.

What's the difference between garage liability and garagekeepers?

Garage liability covers bodily injury and property damage from your premises and operations, like a customer who slips in the waiting area. Garagekeepers covers the customer's vehicle while you have it.

Most repair shops need both. We'll check that your limits for each fit the number and value of cars you typically hold.

Does garagekeepers pay if the damage wasn't my fault?

It depends on how the coverage is written. A legal liability form generally pays only if you're legally responsible. A direct form can pay for covered damage regardless of fault.

Direct coverage typically costs more but can make life easier after events like hail or a break-in. We'll compare both across our carriers.

What is dealer open lot coverage?

Dealer open lot, sometimes called dealer inventory coverage, protects the vehicles you own and hold for sale against covered causes like hail, wind, theft and vandalism.

Limits are usually tied to your inventory values. Tell us your typical and peak inventory so the limit fits your busiest months.

Who's covered when a customer test drives a car?

It depends on your policy, who's driving and the customer's own auto insurance. Coverage for test drives and dealer plates varies from carrier to carrier.

Tell us how you handle test drives, loaners and employees driving inventory, and we'll check your policy against it before there's a claim. This is general information, not legal advice.

Do I need EPLI for a small shop?

Employment practices liability responds to claims like wrongful termination, discrimination and harassment. Those claims can come up in any business with employees, including a shop with a few techs.

It's worth a conversation once you have a team. We can look at EPLI alongside the rest of your program.

How does workers' comp work for my Ohio crew or staff?

Ohio is a monopolistic workers' comp state. Employers get workers' comp coverage through the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC), not from private insurance companies, so we don't sell a private comp policy for your Ohio operations.

What we do is help you coordinate and review your BWC coverage alongside the rest of your program, and look at stop-gap employer's liability, which is often added to a business policy to help with lawsuits over employee injuries that fall outside the BWC system. This is general information, not legal advice.

How much does garage insurance cost?

It ranges too widely for one honest number. A two-bay repair shop and a dealership with a full lot and a service department are very different risks.

Your services, payroll, building, equipment, inventory values, number of customer cars and claims history all move the price. Because we're an independent agency, we shop your coverage across several carriers and compare.

Still have questions? Call (740) 387-8335. We'll give you a straight answer.