Louisiana Auto Repair Shop Insurance

Essential Insurance for Louisiana Auto Repair Shops

Louisiana auto repair shops typically need two core coverages. Garage liability handles injuries and damage your operations cause to others. Garagekeepers protects customer vehicles while they sit in your care, custody and control. Most shops also carry workers' compensation, commercial property and commercial auto. Flood exposure needs its own review.

Aubert Insurance Agency has been writing coverage for Covington and Slidell businesses since 1910. In that time we've learned that shop owners rarely skimp on purpose. More often they buy a "garage package" without knowing which parts protect them and which parts protect the cars in the bay.

As an independent agency, we compare options from several carriers for you. We also walk through the exclusions line by line, because a policy is a legally binding contract. If you understand what it says before a claim, you won't have to argue about what it means afterward.

Garage Liability vs Garagekeepers Coverage

Protecting Customer Vehicles in the Bay

Garagekeepers usually comes in two main forms. Legal Liability pays only when the shop is negligent. Direct Primary may pay for covered damage to customer vehicles regardless of fault.

That difference shows up in real claims. Say a hailstorm damages six cars parked overnight in your lot. Under Legal Liability, you may owe nothing legally, so the policy may not respond. Your customers will still be upset and may still expect you to fix it. Direct Primary typically costs more, but it lets you take care of people without a fault fight. For shops that care about reviews and repeat business, we usually think it's worth pricing out.

Coverage for Test Drives and Road Risks

Road tests count as operations, so liability for injuring others or damaging their property typically falls under garage liability. Damage to the customer's own car during the drive usually falls under garagekeepers, depending on the form you choose and how "collision" is defined.

A few habits help both your coverage and your defense:

• Log every test drive with the driver, time, route and mileage.
• Allow only listed, licensed employees to drive customer vehicles.
• Don't let employees run personal errands in customer cars, since many carriers won't treat that as covered business use.

Louisiana's legal rules changed this year too. On January 1, 2026, the state moved to modified comparative fault, which bars recovery for any party 51% or more at fault. That may help shops in some disputed accidents, but you shouldn't count on a law change in place of solid limits.

Comparison of Coverage Scenarios

Here's how the two coverages typically line up. Actual results depend on your carrier, policy form and endorsements.

Risks of Lift Failures and Shop Injuries

Lift claims are messy because they often involve two or three coverages at the same time. Picture a two-post lift arm slipping. The customer's sedan drops, scrapes the car parked next to it, and pins a tech's hand. The dropped sedan and the neighboring customer car typically go to garagekeepers. The tech's injury goes to workers' comp. Damage to the lift itself falls under your property or equipment coverage, if you scheduled it.

Slip-and-fall claims usually go to garage liability. Oil sheen, coolant puddles and hoses stretched across walkways cause most of them. Many shops let customers wander into the bay to "see the problem," and that is how a routine estimate becomes a bodily injury claim. A rope line and a sign cost very little by comparison.

The 2026 reforms also affect what these claims are worth. Under Act 466, juries may now see the amount actually paid for medical care instead of the original billed price. That could narrow some injury awards. Your carrier will still look closely at your inspection records, so keep annual lift inspection paperwork where you can find it quickly.

Common Questions About Shop Insurance

Do I really need garagekeepers if I'm careful? Yes. Careful shops still have fires, storms and break-ins, and a regular liability policy typically won't pay for customer cars in your care.

Does my personal auto policy cover test drives? Usually not. Driving a customer's car for business is typically handled by your garage policy, not by an employee's personal coverage.

Are commercial rates going down in Louisiana? Some personal auto lines saw rate decreases of 6% to 7.5% finalized in March 2026. The Commissioner also noted that commercial auto rates remain extremely high, so comparing carriers is still worthwhile.

What if a customer's car floods on my lot? Garagekeepers may cover it, depending on your form and its exclusions. Check this with your agent before hurricane season, not after.

Who pays if my mechanic gets hurt? Workers' compensation does. Garage liability and garagekeepers don't cover your own employees' injuries.

Is the cost of Direct Primary worth it? For many shops, yes. It lets you pay for customer damage without having to prove fault first, which protects your reputation as much as your bank account.

Making the Right Choice for Your Garage

A sound shop program comes down to a few questions. Who's protected if someone gets hurt? Who pays when a customer's car is damaged? And what happens when the water rises? Garage liability, garagekeepers in the right form, workers' comp and a realistic flood plan cover most of what goes wrong in a St. Tammany Parish bay.

You don't need to work out the policy language alone. Our process is simple: start online, we shop several carriers for you, and you pick the plan that fits. We'll also explain the exclusions before you sign, so the policy matches how your shop actually runs, whether that's two bays in Covington or a full-service operation in Slidell.

Ready to see where you stand? Start a Quote with Kyle Beerbohm at Aubert Insurance Agency. Your customers trust you with their vehicles, and your coverage should back that up.