When you own a dealership, the most noticeable part of your business is by far the dozens if not hundreds of cars that line your lot, waiting to catch the eye of a curious shopper driving by. However, with so many cars just sitting out there, it’s inevitable that something may happen to them. This is where dealer’s open lot insurance, otherwise known as auto physical damage insurance, comes into play. If you’re curious about this particular brand of insurance, or are planning to start your own dealership and want to know if you need it, read on for a brief walkthrough.
If you own a dealership, get this insurance now
The sub header above is as succinctly as this statement can be put. If you are in ownership or plan to acquire ownership, of a car dealership in the future, then your first step, first and foremost, is to get dealer’s open lot insurance. Your cars are going to be sitting out there in the elements, unguarded and vulnerable. While this makes for great eye-catching advertisement, it also puts them at risk. Any number of things can happen to those cars, and that is money out of your pocket. Unless, of course, you have dealer’s open lot insurance.
The Difference from other insurance
Now, you’re probably thinking “but why not just use normal liability insurance?” And the answer is that dealer’s open lot insurance is the objectively better answer for this particular brand of business. Owning a dealership is a unique business arrangement, so you want an insurance option specifically tailored for the various risks involved in it. Things like vandalism, theft, damage by the climate or natural disasters, etc.
How is value established?
When it comes to establishing the value of this type of coverage, you have two options. You can either go with monthly reporting, which requires the dealer to send a monthly report to the insurance carrier, with the exact value down to the dollar of the entire inventory. This method is commonly used to insure an inventory whose value tops over $1,000,000. And on the other hand, there’s non-reporting. This requires the same dealer to state the total value of the inventory on the same date the policy starts.
If you’re interested in a good insurance company from which to get a good deal on dealer’s open lot insurance, try Boardwalk Insurance Group. Their highly experienced staff will go over any details of this particular brand of insurance that you may not be clear on yet.
