Car Dealerships/Fleet
Car dealerships assume varied and often substantial risks. These businesses must insure themselves against a wide range of potential damages, losses, and errors.
Many car and truck dealers operate a business out of a large building. Some keep the entire inventory on an open lot or showroom floor 24 hours a day, seven days a week. A risk-management concerned car dealer will seek to insure everything from the dealership structure to the vehicles on the car lot as well as business interruption coverage and other liabilities associated with maintaining the continuity of business transactions.
Car Dealership Insurance Disputes
A commercial property insurance dispute involving commercial insurance claims could involve anything from the damage or destruction of the dealer’s building to the units sold by the business. A severe interruption of operations could also prompt the business to claim lost revenues.
Some car dealerships have in-house auto body shops as well as service centers to assist customers in regular maintenance of their vehicles. These shops may also submit garage keeper claims to the commercial insurance agency.
The bottom line is, a car dealer’s insurance dispute could involve property damage, damaged fixtures, lost revenues, building replacement costs, other ongoing expenses, or additional business claims that mount from a commercial property insurance dispute.
Used car dealer property insurance disputes
Large and small used car dealers need to actively manage their risks. Whether the dealer is small or large with multiple locations, or the dealer dedications a portion of its business to pre-owned cars and trucks, the dealer may have property insurance results involving:
- Garage liability: This coverage protects the dealer from liability from garage ownership or maintenance.
- Dealers open lot: This cover protects the dealership from physical damage to its vehicles from collision and comprehensive coverage, e.g. malicious mischief, fire, vandalism, lightning, hail, explosion, windstorm, or theft.
- Garage keeper’s liability: This coverage protects the business if it performs repair or body work on cars or trucks that the dealership doesn’t own. This coverage is necessary to protect the dealer’s business against potential damage to the customer’s vehicles in its temporary possession.
- Auto liability: This coverage protects the dealership in the event of an auto accident that results in a lawsuit.
- False pretense: This insurance coverage protects the dealer against law in the event you’re cheated or scammed. For instance, if a would-be buyer arrives to test drive a vehicle and you approve the test drive, and he or she leaves the premises with the vehicle after claiming he or she is someone else, the dealer is covered for the loss. (This isn’t bad credit insurance.)
- Bonds: This coverage helps used car dealers to issue bonds in compliance with state laws involving the operation of a used car business.
- Error and Omissions Coverage (E&O Coverages): This coverage helps to protect the used car dealer from errors and omissions in Title Errors and Omissions, Truth in Lending, Leasing Liability, Prior Damage Disclosure Liability, and Federal Odometer Disclosure Liability.
Severe Weather Events and Car Dealership Insurance Disputes
A severe weather event or disaster can leave car dealer businesses with the need to pay for extensive repairs as well as the disruption of day-to-day operations. When the car dealer’s business is interrupted, shut down, or closed for any period of time, the event will be reflected in the dealer’s bottom line profitability.
The legal work required to fully represent an auto dealer’s commercial property insurance claims requires exceptional attention to detail. The work requires extensive management. It’s expert-intensive. For the law firm managing the process, the effort can also be expensive.
Our commercial property insurance claims lawyers have represented small car dealers in rural Texas and large dealer franchises throughout the Southeast. Quite often, a property insurance claim submitted by an auto dealer involves hail damage to building interiors or roofs along with lost or damaged vehicles in inventory.
We are a leading Texas law firm when commercial property insurance disputes require experience in auto dealership insurance disputes. We will aggressively hold commercial insurers responsible for the many agreements they make to policyholders. We will represent the dealership’s interests at any location across the country in defending these claims against private commercial insurance companies.
Contact Mindiola Law Firm, the Experienced Texas Car and Truck Dealer Property Damage Lawyers
If a commercial insurer delays, denies, or underpays a valid claim of a car dealer and thus results in the car dealer’s commercial insurance dispute, the Mindiola Law Firm will be steadfast in protecting our clients’ business interests during claims negotiation or litigation.
Our first party property insurance team’s experience includes the representation of many business owners in a wide array of industries, including transportation and vehicle fleet businesses. If a commercial insurance company has created a property insurance dispute for your business, you need a property insurance dispute lawyer with deep experience. Contact the Mindiola Law Firm in Houston at to discuss your case.