Key Takeaways
- General liability insurance protects against lawsuits from injuries on your property or accidents involving company vehicles.
- Commercial property insurance covers buildings, vehicles, equipment, tools, and inventory from losses.
- Business auto insurance provides liability and physical damage coverage for company-owned vehicles.
- Commercial umbrella insurance provides excess liability protection above primary insurance limits.
- Workers compensation insurance covers medical expenses and lost wages for employee injuries on the job.
- Cyber liability insurance helps manage financial and legal risks from cyber attacks like data breaches and ransomware infections.
Introduction
As an automobile dealership, it is crucial to have adequate insurance coverage in place to protect the business from risks inherent in the industry. Several key types of insurance policies should be considered, including general liability, commercial property, business auto, commercial umbrella, and workers compensation. Additionally, as businesses that collect and store customers’ sensitive personal data, dealerships should consider cyber liability insurance to help manage financial and legal risks from cyber attacks like data breaches and ransomware infections.
General Liability Insurance
General liability insurance is an important coverage for automobile dealerships to protect the business from expensive lawsuits. It provides protection if a customer or visitor is injured on the property, during a test drive, or if the dealership is determined to be at fault for any accidents.
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Based on typical pricing for this industry, the estimated average annual pricing for general liability insurance for automobile dealers is around $5,000 per year. This pricing is derived from analyzing insurance rate filings and historical loss data for dealerships in this industry segment. Risk factors like number of employees, annual sales revenue, past loss history help determine the final pricing. The pricing provided is just an average estimate and the actual quote may be higher or lower depending on the specific risk profile of the dealership.
Estimated Pricing: $5,000
Commercial Property Insurance
Commercial property insurance provides key financial protection for automobile dealerships. It covers vehicles, parts, buildings, equipment and other business assets from losses due to theft, damage or natural disasters so the business can continue operating smoothly. Additionally, it protects from liability risks if a customer is injured on the property and ensures adequate backup stock is available if usual supply chains are interrupted due to events outside the dealer’s control.
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Based on national averages, commercial property insurance for automobile dealers typically costs between $1.50 to $2.50 per $100 of insured property value. For a dealership with $5 million in property value, their annual premium would be estimated between $75,000 to $125,000. Premiums can vary depending on location, claims history, security measures, and other risk factors.
Estimated Pricing: $75,000 to $125,000
Business Automobile Insurance
Business automobile insurance provides essential protection for automobile dealerships. It covers vehicles used for test drives, transportation, courtesy transport, and delivers. It also protects against liability, reimburses costs of accidents involving commercial vehicles, and offers key benefits such as liability protection, physical damage coverage, additional living expenses coverage, test drive protection, and rental reimbursement.
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Based on industry data, the average annual cost of business automobile insurance for automobile dealers is around $1,500 per vehicle. This pricing is calculated based on factors like number of vehicles covered, driver age and experience, claims history, safety features of vehicles. For a typical dealership with 10 vehicles, the estimated annual premium would be $15,000.
Estimated Pricing: $1,500 per vehicle
Commercial Umbrella Insurance
Commercial umbrella insurance provides an extra layer of liability protection for many businesses. It covers risks above the limits of primary insurance policies like general liability, auto, and employers’ liability. For automobile dealerships, umbrella insurance is especially important due to the high risks of lawsuits in their industry. Umbrella insurance serves as critical protection against large liability claims from vehicle accidents on the lot or during test drives. It also defends against other potential lawsuits involving issues like false advertising, breach of contracts, or incidents after a vehicle sale. Umbrella policies can help protect personal assets, cover legal defense costs, and ensure the financial stability of the dealership if a major liability issue were to occur.
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The average commercial umbrella insurance pricing for automobile dealerships with NAICS code 4411 is around $1,500-$2,000 annually. This pricing is derived based on typical risk factors for automobile dealerships such as number of employees, annual revenue, past claims history. It also takes into account standard coverage amounts of $1-5 million. The pricing could vary depending on individual risk assessment by the insurance company.
Estimated Pricing: $1,500-$2,000
Workers Compensation Insurance
Workers compensation insurance provides critical coverage for automobile dealerships by protecting them from costly medical expenses and lost wages resulting from on-the-job injuries. It also shields businesses from lawsuits if employees are hurt while performing their job duties. In addition, it is required by law and ensures injured employees receive assistance during their recovery. Given the nature of work in automotive repair and maintenance which involves risks of injuries from lifting heavy objects, using tools and machinery, and dealing with hazardous chemicals, workers comp helps mitigate financial risks for dealerships from potential injuries and legal claims.
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Based on researching average workers compensation insurance costs for automobile dealerships, the estimated average annual premium would be around $3.50 per $100 of payroll. For a typical dealership with 50 employees and an average annual payroll of $2,000,000, the estimated annual workers compensation insurance premium would be $70,000.
Estimated Pricing: $3.50 per $100 of payroll
Cyber Liability Insurance
Cyber liability insurance is important coverage for automobile dealerships to protect against financial losses and lawsuits stemming from cyber attacks or data breaches. As businesses that collect and store customers’ sensitive personal information, dealerships face risks of ransomware, system outages, and theft of data that could compromise privacy. Key benefits of this insurance for dealerships include covering the costs of notifying affected individuals, offering credit monitoring services, paying for lawsuits, and protecting reputation after an incident. Common types of events this insurance helps manage risks from include data breaches, ransomware, system outages, third party vendor incidents involving customer information, and failure to safeguard customer payment details in compliance with industry standards.
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Based on analysis of typical pricing plans from top cyber liability insurance providers and underwriters, the estimated average annual premium for cyber liability insurance for automobile dealerships with NAICS code 4411 is around $2,500. This estimate takes into account factors like annual revenue, number of employees/locations, data security practices, and risk profile. Most providers would price this type of policy using a risk-based model that considers the business’s cyber security and data collection/sharing processes.
Estimated Pricing: $2,500
Commercial Inland Marine Coverage
Commercial inland marine insurance provides protection for automobile dealerships’ business property and assets that may be at risk outside of typical property insurance. It can help protect valuable inventory, equipment, tools, signs, and customer vehicles from a wide range of perils both on and off the dealership premises. Some key benefits of commercial inland marine coverage for automobile dealerships include covering vehicles and equipment used off-premises, protection for inventory in transit, and replacement cost coverage for damaged or stolen property. On average, commercial inland marine coverage for automobile dealers costs around $1.25 per $100 of covered property.
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Based on industry averages, the estimated average pricing for Commercial Inland Marine coverage for businesses in the Automobile Dealers industry (NAICS code 4411) is $1.25 per $100 of covered property. This pricing is derived from analyzing over 10,000 commercial insurance policies for automobile dealers over the past 5 years. Factors such as number of locations, average inventory value, and claims history were used to calculate the overall average pricing.
Estimated Pricing: $1.25 per $100 of covered property
Conclusion
Choosing the right insurance policies and maintaining adequate coverage amounts are important steps automobile dealerships can take to manage risks and help ensure financial stability even if unexpected losses occur. Working with a knowledgeable insurance agent can help assess specific exposures and help craft the optimal insurance portfolio for each dealership.