Auto Repair Shop & Mechanic Insurance in California
Garage liability, garagekeepers, and workers' comp for the bays, lifts, and customer cars your shop is responsible for — quoted by a licensed California broker.
Commercial policies are quoted by a licensed agent — call or text with your business details, or request a quote online and we’ll follow up fast.
In short
Auto repair shop insurance is a package that protects a mechanic's business from the things that actually go wrong in a shop: a customer's car damaged on the lift, a faulty repair that causes an accident, a tech hurt on the job, or a fire that takes out your bays and equipment. The two coverages that set repair shops apart are garage liability (for the work you do on customers' vehicles) and garagekeepers (for cars left in your care, custody, and control). Auto World is a licensed California broker (CA DOI #6005606) that shops multiple commercial carriers so an independent shop pays the right price for the specific exposures of the auto-service trade.
What commercial auto insurance covers
Garage liability
The core coverage for repair shops — pays for bodily injury and property damage arising from your operations and completed work, including a faulty repair that leads to an accident after the car leaves your lot.
Garagekeepers (customers' vehicles)
Covers customer cars in your care, custody, and control — damaged on a lift, hit while parked on your lot overnight, stolen, or burned in a shop fire. Standard general liability does NOT cover vehicles you're holding, which is why repair shops need this specifically.
Commercial property / equipment
Protects lifts, diagnostic scanners, alignment racks, air compressors, tool inventory, and the building or unit you lease against fire, theft, and vandalism.
Workers' compensation
Required in California the moment you have any employee. Pays medical bills and lost wages when a tech is injured — brake jobs, battery acid, lifts, and heavy components make shops a real injury exposure.
Commercial auto / dealer-tag & loaner cars
Covers your own service trucks, tow vehicles, parts runners, and any loaner or shuttle cars the shop owns and drives.
Certificates of insurance (COIs)
Name a landlord, fleet account, or dealership client as additional insured so you can land and keep commercial repair contracts.
Who needs it
General automotive repair shops
Independent full-service shops doing brakes, engines, transmissions, and diagnostics on customer vehicles every day.
Specialty & import shops
European, performance, diesel, and transmission specialists working on high-value vehicles where a garagekeepers claim can be large.
Tire, brake & muffler shops
High-volume quick-service shops with constant lift work and a steady flow of customer cars on the lot.
Mobile mechanics
Techs who repair vehicles at the customer's home or job site need liability plus commercial auto on the service vehicle.
Body & collision shops
Paint booths, solvents, and stored damaged vehicles add fire and pollution exposure on top of standard garage risks.
Smog, oil-change & lube shops
Quick-lube and smog stations still take cars into their custody and still need garagekeepers and workers' comp.
Get a commercial auto quote today
Tell us what you drive and what you haul — we shop multiple California commercial carriers and get you covered, often same day.
Why Auto World for commercial coverage
We know the difference between garage liability and garagekeepers — and we make sure your shop has both.
Multiple California commercial carriers compared in one call, not a single company's rate.
We bundle the package — garage, property, workers' comp, and your service trucks on a coordinated program.
Same-day certificates of insurance for landlords, fleet accounts, and dealership contracts.
Licensed California insurance broker, CA DOI #6005606, with Spanish-speaking agents.
No online guesswork — call or text (619) 363-4466 and a licensed agent quotes your shop directly.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between garage liability and garagekeepers?▾
Do I need workers' compensation for my mechanics in California?▾
How much does auto repair shop insurance cost in California?▾
Does this cover a customer's car if it's damaged in my shop?▾
Can you cover my tow truck or parts-runner vehicle too?▾
More commercial coverage
Ready to insure your work vehicles?
A licensed California agent will compare commercial carriers and get you a quote. Call or text now — proof of insurance often the same day.