Insurance for used car dealers.
Garage liability, dealer open lot coverage, and garagekeepers for independent used car dealers, including the inventory on your lot and the plates you put on it.
What used car dealers usually carry
- Garage liability
- Dealer open lot
- Garagekeepers
- Dealer surety bond
- Errors and omissions
- Property
- Workers’ comp
Watch for these in a dealer policy
- Dealer platesYour plates let employees and customers drive inventory. Many policies limit who counts as a driver, so a friend borrowing a car for the weekend may not be covered.
- Test drivesA customer’s own insurance often pays first on a test drive, with yours behind it. Copy the driver’s license before the keys leave your hand.
- Open lot theftTheft is a common dealer loss. Many policies raise the deductible or limit theft unless the lot is fenced, lit, or watched after hours.
- HailOne storm can damage every car on the lot. Check the hail deductible, which is often separate from and higher than your other deductibles.
- False pretenseHanding a car to a buyer whose check bounces or whose ID is fake is often excluded unless false pretense coverage is added.
What floor plan lenders and landlords ask used car dealers for
- Loss payee on open lotYour floor plan lender will want to be named, with a limit that covers peak inventory.
- Dealer bondMost dealer licenses require a surety bond before you can sell.
- Additional insuredYour landlord, named on garage liability.
Questions used car dealers ask
Straight answers.
The questions we hear most, answered plainly.
How is dealer open lot coverage set?
By your highest inventory value during the year, not the average. Report it honestly, since a short limit leaves a hail storm partly uninsured.
Do I need garage liability if I only sell cars?
Most dealers do. It covers injuries on the lot and the cars driven on your plates. General liability alone excludes autos.
What does errors and omissions do for a dealer?
It answers claims about the sale itself, like title and lien errors or disclosure mistakes. Those fall outside garage liability.
How fast can I get a certificate?
Once your policy is bound, you request certificates from your client login, with the wording your contract asks for.
Auto services
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Don’t see yours? See every industry, or tell us what you do and we’ll quote it.
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