[Rachelsdad]

Another thing to consider is whether the car is at home for the frame-off work or at a shop with its own garageman's insurance. In those cases, the shop's insurance should cover you. The caveat, of course, is what else is in the shop during the time your car is there and the limits on the policy (and whether your spare parts which may be there are also covered).

During the 19 years the Bonneville was laid up at my client's shop, I carried Hagerty for the first few years (they reduced the premium greatly), then let it lapse, relying on his insurance, and then probably 2-3 years before taking the car back, I put my Hagerty policy in place again.

The biggest problem with HO in this regard is proving that the car was "in pieces" at the time of a catastrophic incident and not normally qualifying for its own policy. As a rule, I hate insurance companies. Not their fault; they are in business to collect as much premium money as possible while paying out the least without getting a bad reputation or having to litigate.

Not quite as bad, in some cases at least, as BC/BS denying my angioplasty claim in 2010, and leaving me hanging with a $60K+ hospital bill. That was classy (not).

[The Champ]

Originally Posted by Rachelsdad

Another thing to consider is whether the car is at home for the frame-off work or at a shop with its own garageman's insurance. In those cases, the shop's insurance should cover you. The caveat, of course, is what else is in the shop during the time your car is there and the limits on the policy (and whether your spare parts which may be there are also covered).

During the 19 years the Bonneville was laid up at my client's shop, I carried Hagerty for the first few years (they reduced the premium greatly), then let it lapse, relying on his insurance, and then probably 2-3 years before taking the car back, I put my Hagerty policy in place again.

The biggest problem with HO in this regard is proving that the car was "in pieces" at the time of a catastrophic incident and not normally qualifying for its own policy. As a rule, I hate insurance companies. Not their fault; they are in business to collect as much premium money as possible while paying out the least without getting a bad reputation or having to litigate.

Not quite as bad, in some cases at least, as BC/BS denying my angioplasty claim in 2010, and leaving me hanging with a $60K+ hospital bill. That was classy (not).

Most shops (not all) buy "garagekeeper's coverage" for customer's vehicle that they are legally liable for. But I wouldn't want to depend on that to cover my vehicle. If the place is struck by lightning and burns to the ground, the shop owner is not legally liable for damage for your vehicle (act of god).

"Garagekeepers Coverage can be structured in several ways, each defining how claims are handled and under what circumstances coverage applies. The most common type is Legal Liability coverage, which provides protection only when the business is legally responsible for the damage to the customer’s vehicle. If an employee’s negligence or error leads to damage, such as a mechanic crashing a vehicle during a test drive, this coverage would apply. However, if the damage occurs due to circumstances for which the business is not legally liable, such as a natural disaster, Legal Liability coverage would not respond."

There is a second type of coverage that would make them the primary insurance, but this type is more expensive.

I would only rely on my shop owners insurance if I was provided a certificate of insurance that documented the limits of their policy and was a primary coverage.

I insured many auto dealers and repair shops back in the day. Some places bought the legal liability coverage and a few purchased the primary coverage. Some took their chances.