Direct coverage
Also called Direct primary or direct excess
Definition
Direct coverage is a garagekeepers option that pays for covered damage to customers’ vehicles in your care whether or not your shop was at fault.
How it works
Garagekeepers insurance covers customers’ cars while they’re in your shop’s care, and it’s usually offered in two forms. Legal liability pays only when your shop is legally responsible for the damage. Direct coverage pays for covered damage, such as fire, theft, vandalism, weather and, when included, collision, whether or not you were at fault. Either way, payment is subject to the policy’s limit, deductible and terms.
Direct coverage itself usually comes in two versions:
- Direct primary pays first, regardless of fault and regardless of whether the customer has their own auto insurance.
- Direct excess also pays regardless of fault, but only after the customer’s own auto insurance has paid, if they have any.
Garagekeepers is needed in the first place because general liability usually excludes property in your care, custody or control, and a customer’s car in your bay is exactly that.
Why shops choose it
The difference shows up when nobody at the shop did anything wrong. Under legal liability, a hailstorm or a break-in you couldn’t have prevented may not be your shop’s responsibility, so the customer is left to call their own insurer and pay their own deductible. Direct coverage lets the shop take care of it, which keeps the customer relationship intact. It typically costs more than legal liability for the same limit.
Where you’ll see it
You choose between legal liability and direct coverage when you buy garagekeepers, and the choice appears on your policy. Shops that keep cars overnight, park them outside or handle high-value vehicles often weigh direct coverage most carefully. The guide to who pays when a customer’s car is damaged walks through common situations.