Texas auto repair shop insurance
You keep your customers on the road. We help you compare insurance for the vehicles in your care, the tools in your shop, and the people doing the work.
Independent insurance guidance from Madisonville for repair shop owners across Texas.
Insurance for the work you do every day
Your insurance starts with the repairs you perform and the vehicles you work on. We help Texas mechanic shop owners with a fixed location review coverage for servicing and repairing passenger cars and light-duty vehicles.
Opening a shop, adding equipment, hiring technicians, or approaching renewal? Bring us your current coverage and the changes you have in mind.
Also do body work, towing, vehicle sales, mobile repairs, or heavy-truck work? Tell us first so we can check whether we have an option for that operation.
What insurance does an auto repair shop need?
Auto repair shop insurance usually brings together several coverages: liability for business operations, garagekeepers for customer vehicles, property for the shop and equipment, and protection for employees. The right combination depends on your services, premises, and how vehicles are used.
Customer vehicles
Garagekeepers addresses covered physical damage to customer vehicles while they are in your care for service, repair, or storage.
Driving
Review liability and vehicle-damage coverage for test drives separately from coverage for a shop-owned truck or an employee’s parts run.
Premises and tools
Commercial property can help protect your building, lifts, diagnostic equipment, and inventory against covered losses. Employee-owned tools need a specific check.
People
Workers’ compensation can help with employees’ medical costs and lost wages after a work-related injury. Include every role and outside labor in your review.
Completed work
Ask how your liability policy addresses injury or damage alleged to result from completed repairs. Paying to redo faulty work is a separate coverage question.
Income during a closure
Ask about business income coverage if covered property damage prevents your shop from operating. Review the covered causes of loss, waiting period, limits, and restoration period.
What is the difference between garage liability and garagekeepers?
Garage liability addresses covered bodily injury or property damage claims arising from garage operations. Garagekeepers addresses covered damage to customers’ vehicles in your care. They serve different purposes, so one should not be assumed to replace the other.
A customer’s injury at your premises or an accident during a test drive raises liability questions. Review premises, auto use, drivers, and completed operations together.
Fire, theft, vandalism, or collision can damage a vehicle left with your shop. The selected causes of loss, limits, deductibles, and coverage basis determine how a policy responds.
Ask whether garagekeepers is written on a legal liability, direct primary, or direct excess basis. These options differ in whether the shop must be legally liable and how other insurance applies. Coverage is subject to the policy’s terms and exclusions.
How much does auto repair shop insurance cost?
The cost depends on your services, sales and payroll, customer-vehicle values, drivers, building, tools, and loss history. Coverage limits and deductibles also affect the premium. To compare quotes fairly, check that they include the same coverages, not just the same annual price.
Before you compare the price
- Customer-vehicle limits
Are the per-vehicle and total limits the same?
- Garagekeepers coverage basis
Does each quote use the same legal liability, direct primary, or direct excess basis?
- Deductibles and covered losses
What would the shop pay, and which causes of damage are included?
A few details are enough to start
Tell us what you repair, where you operate, and whether you already have insurance. We can work through the remaining details together.
- 01Services
Routine work, specialty work, subcontracted work, and work you do not accept.
- 02Vehicles
The most vehicles on-site at once, their combined value, your highest-value vehicle, overnight storage, and key control.
- 03Driving
Drivers, license checks, test-drive purpose, routes, and vehicle pickup or delivery.
- 04Premises
Location, building use, security, lifts, welding, fluids, and fire protection.
- 05Tools and equipment
Shop-owned, employee-owned, leased, and mobile equipment.
- 06People and payroll
Owners, employee roles, payroll by work performed, and outside labor.
- 07Revenue and records
Current sales, projected changes, work orders, inspections, and customer approvals.
- 08Losses and changes
Prior losses, corrective steps, new services, new equipment, and location changes.
Talk to a person who can walk through the options
From our Madisonville office, Stover & Crouch helps Texas business owners review insurance options. We start with your shop’s work and explain the coverage questions that matter before you choose a policy.
As an independent agency, we can compare available options and explain how they differ. The insurer reviews your business before offering coverage and terms.
- Tell us about your shop
Describe the repairs you perform, the vehicles you keep, and the team doing the work.
- Review your coverage
Bring your current policy or lease requirements so we can discuss what you need.
- Compare the details
Look at limits, deductibles, exclusions, and customer-vehicle coverage alongside price.
- Make an informed choice
We’ll explain available options, answer questions, and identify anything still needed.
Auto repair shop insurance questions
Does general liability cover customers’ cars in my shop?
Standard general liability policies commonly exclude damage to property in your care, custody, or control. Garagekeepers addresses a different need: covered damage to customers’ vehicles left with your shop. Review both coverages together.
What does garagekeepers insurance cover?
Garagekeepers can help pay for covered physical damage to customer vehicles left with your shop. Review fire, theft, vandalism, and collision protection, along with the coverage basis and any exclusions for faulty work or parts.
How much garagekeepers coverage should my shop carry?
Start with the highest combined value of customer vehicles you could have on-site at one time, and separately note the most expensive vehicle. Review per-vehicle and per-loss limits, deductibles, overnight storage, and any location restrictions.
Are test drives covered?
Test drives involve two questions: liability for injury or damage to others, and damage to the customer’s vehicle itself. Confirm that the drivers, road testing, pickup or delivery, and both kinds of loss are addressed in your policies.
Are my mechanics’ tools covered?
Shop-owned equipment and employee-owned tools may be treated differently. List who owns each tool, where it is kept, and whether it leaves the premises. Ask about theft, valuation, deductibles, and any special limits.
Is workers’ compensation required for a Texas repair shop?
Texas does not require most private employers to carry workers’ compensation. Exceptions and contractual requirements can apply. It can still provide medical and wage benefits for employees hurt on the job; discuss your obligations and options before deciding.
Can you help if I’m opening a new repair shop?
You can start a conversation before opening. Bring your planned services, location, equipment values, expected sales and payroll, and any lease requirements. The insurer will need to review the business before offering terms.
Do you work with shops outside Madisonville?
Our office is in Madisonville, and we can discuss Texas shop insurance by phone or online. Tell us your location and services so we can check the available options for your shop.
Get a quote for your repair shop
Opening a shop or reviewing your coverage? Start with a quote request, or call our Madisonville office.
A website request does not bind, change, cancel, reinstate, or confirm coverage.