It doesn’t matter if you’re a small auto dealership with a few cars on the lot or you’re opening multiple locations around North Carolina. If you’re an auto dealer, you need the right insurance coverage for your specific business needs. You have too much inventory, too much property, and too many employees counting on you to leave your dealership unprotected.
What Insurance Coverage Does an Automobile Dealer Need?
Whether you sell motor vehicles, trailers, or trucks, you need certain basic forms of business insurance.
General Liability: Where there are people and vehicles, there are accidents waiting to happen. When someone (not an employee) is hurt or suffers damage on your lot, you’ll be liable for their expenses. General liability coverage pays medical expenses, property damage, and legal costs associated with any lawsuits.
Commercial Auto: Whether you’re driving a vehicle across the dealership or down the road, your inventory needs the protection of auto insurance. Commercial auto insurance offers extra liability coverage beyond personal auto insurance. If you drive vehicles off the lot on a regular basis, don’t rely on your personal insurance to cover you if you’re in an accident.
Errors & Omissions: You’re not just selling new or used vehicles. You’re offering your expertise and advice. If a customer drives away and comes back unhappy, feeling that they were deceived or that you were negligent, they can sue you. Errors and omissions (E&O) coverage protects you and your business when that happens.
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Property/Equipment Breakdown: The vehicles on your lot represent a huge value and a lot of potential profit. When they breakdown or suffer damage, you lose money. Cover your equipment and your inventory with property and equipment breakdown insurance.
Workers’ Compensation: In North Carolina, if you’ve got employees, you’re required to purchase workers’ comp insurance. Your employees will have their medical expenses and lost wages covered if they’re hurt on the job. In return, you won’t have to pay out of pocket for those expenses, and you’ll be protected if you’re sued.
Cyber Liability: Everything is online these days, including your business. From personal details to financial information, you have a big responsibility as an auto dealer to keep that information safe. Cyber thieves don’t just go after the big companies. They look for small to midsize companies to hack and steal data from. If it happens to you, you’ll be liable for the expenses of repairing the breach and notifying everyone impacted. With cyber liability insurance, you get help covering the costs and repairing the damage.
Umbrella Insurance: Umbrella insurance coverage adds extra protection to your existing liability insurance. When an accident exceeds the limits of your liability policy, umbrella insurance pays the difference. This reduces the chance that one big accident can ruin you financially. Excess liability gives you extra peace of mind and a layer of protection.
Other forms of insurance protection:
Depending on the type of dealership you own -- with a garage, an open lot dealership, or something else, you may need other forms of coverage. We can customize your policy with multiple types of automobile dealership coverage:
- Wind hail coverage
- Lease return protection
- Towing insurance
- Paintless dent repair
- Garage liability
- Garagekeepers insurance
- Auto dealers physical damage coverage
- Odometer alteration liability
- Title errors & omission
- Employee tools coverage
- And more
If you’re ready to fully protect your North Carolina automobile dealership, contact Charlotte Insurance today. We can help you customize your insurance policy to fit your unique business needs.