CAR DEALERSHIP INSURANCE — OHIO
Car dealership insurance in Ohio.
Protect your inventory,
your lot, and every test drive.
Auto dealerships need specialized coverage — your inventory is your biggest asset, and every test drive is a liability exposure. Dealers open lot, garage liability, and garagekeepers are the foundation of any dealership policy. Myers Insurance Group has been insuring Ohio auto dealers since 2008.
Your inventory is your biggest asset. It needs its own coverage.
Auto dealerships carry insurance exposure that most standard commercial policies simply aren't designed to address. Your vehicle inventory — potentially millions of dollars sitting on your lot — requires dealers open lot coverage that specifically covers vehicles held for sale. Standard commercial property policies exclude vehicle inventory.
Every test drive is a liability event. Garage liability coverage addresses the unique exposure of customers and employees operating vehicles on your lot and on public roads during test drives. Standard GL policies don't cover these activities.
Myers Insurance Group builds Ohio dealership policies that cover your inventory, your test drives, your service operations, and your employees — with the specialty coverage that auto dealers actually need.
What most Ohio dealers are missing
Inadequate dealers open lot coverage. Your vehicle inventory needs to be covered at its full market value — not the depreciated value your standard property policy might assign. One hail storm or fire can wipe out your entire inventory without proper open lot coverage.
No false pretense coverage. A customer takes a vehicle for a test drive and never returns. Title fraud. Payment fraud. False pretense coverage protects dealers from these increasingly common losses.
EPLI exposure. High-turnover sales environments with commission-based compensation face elevated employment practices liability claims. Harassment, discrimination, and wrongful termination claims are common in dealership settings.
Cyber exposure. Dealerships handle enormous amounts of customer financial data during financing. A data breach at a dealership can affect hundreds of customers simultaneously.
Car dealership coverage in Ohio.
A complete Ohio dealership insurance program covers your inventory, your operations, your employees, and every vehicle that moves through your lot.
Dealers Open Lot
Covers your vehicle inventory against theft, weather, vandalism, and damage. Your most critical coverage — standard commercial property policies specifically exclude vehicles held for sale.
Garage Liability
Covers bodily injury and property damage arising from your dealership operations — including test drives, lot accidents, and customer vehicles in your care during service.
Garagekeepers Coverage
Covers customer vehicles left at your dealership for service or repair against fire, theft, vandalism, and damage. Essential for any dealership with a service department.
General Liability
Covers slip-and-fall, property damage, and customer injury in your showroom, office, and on your lot. Separate from garage liability — covers your premises operations.
Employment Practices Liability
Covers harassment, discrimination, and wrongful termination claims. Commission-based sales environments face elevated EPLI exposure — this coverage is essential for any dealership with employees.
Workers Compensation
Required in Ohio for employees. Service technicians, lot attendants, and detail crews all face real physical injury risk. Non-negotiable for any dealership with staff.
Cyber Liability
Dealerships collect extensive customer financial data during financing. A breach affecting customer credit applications and financial records carries massive notification and legal costs.
False Pretense Coverage
Covers vehicle theft through fraud — a customer who takes a test drive and disappears, title fraud, and payment fraud schemes. An increasingly important coverage for Ohio auto dealers.
Commercial Umbrella
Adds excess liability above your primary coverages. A serious test drive accident or major inventory loss can generate claims that exceed standard policy limits significantly.
Car dealership insurance in Ohio — what you need to know.
What is dealers open lot coverage and why can't I use standard property insurance?
Dealers open lot coverage — also called dealers physical damage coverage — specifically covers vehicles held for sale on your lot. Standard commercial property policies exclude vehicles, which means your entire inventory is uninsured without this coverage. Open lot coverage protects your inventory against theft, hail, wind, fire, flood, and vandalism. For a dealership with $500,000 or more in vehicle inventory, this is your single most important coverage.
A customer had an accident during a test drive — who pays?
Test drive accidents are covered under garage liability — specifically the drive other car coverage component that extends to customer-operated vehicles during test drives. Your garage liability policy covers both bodily injury and property damage arising from test drive accidents. Standard GL policies don't cover this exposure. Every dealership that allows test drives needs garage liability coverage — no exceptions.
Hail damaged 40 vehicles on my lot overnight — is that covered?
Yes — with dealers open lot coverage. Hail damage to vehicle inventory is one of the most common and most costly dealership losses in Ohio. Your open lot policy covers comprehensive damage to your inventory including hail, and the claim pays for repair or replacement of each affected vehicle. Without it, you absorb the full cost of repairing 40 vehicles out of your own pocket — which can easily exceed $100,000 in a single hail event.
A customer used a fraudulent check to buy a vehicle and is now unreachable — are we covered?
This is a false pretense claim — and it's exactly what false pretense coverage is designed for. Payment fraud, check fraud, and title fraud are increasingly common in automotive retail. Standard property and GL policies don't cover this type of loss. False pretense coverage specifically addresses vehicle losses through deception, fraud, and misrepresentation — and it's one of the most important specialty coverages for Ohio auto dealers.