<HTML>Shane-The coverage that you've been quoted for is a General Liability (GL)policy. It looks like it's the broadened (as opposed to standard or limited) form.
GL coverage is good to have and all businesses should have it. Now, ask your agent if this coverage includes any garage operations such as Garagekeepers (GK) Liability. If it's a standard biz policy, it shouldn't or at the very most, coverage is limited to a very few, specified types of incidents.
You also want to ask your agent if, for example, you (and not an employee) damages a car while working on it (i.e. burn through the c/c or scratch the hell out of it because there was a piece of debris in your wash mitt & you didn't know until you rinsed the car off, you power wash an engine and damage it, etc.) will your policy pay the full repair/replacement cost arising out of the damage casued by your work. Ask the same question if the damage is done by an employee.
Also, if your shop has a hydraulic lift in it, your insurance rates could double and you could be put in a body or mechanical shop classification. Keep that in mind if you're looking for space. Try and avoid lifts. They're an insurance nightmare because if they malfunction with someone working under them, the results are catastrophic or fatal over 90% of the time, so big, big premiums for that type of risk. Besides, as detailers, why would we want to be working under a lift anyhow. If you're doing undercarriage flushes, you can use a small floor jack or put the car on ramps to do it. This is one way around it. Or just get down on your hands & knees & spray.
You also want to ask your agent if you're covered if a customer is out in your shop for some reason and they trip and fall over a hose, drain cover, etc. and are injured, will your policy cover that claim. This falls under the bodily injury-premises liability coverage. How your lease is worded will be important here, but most building owners have a hold-harmless clause in the lease which means that the party leasing the premises is responsbile for any injuries or property damage occurring while the tenant occupies the premises. You should have signs posted all over the place that customers are not allowed in the work area. The bigger, the better, the more, the merrier. And if a non-employee wanders into the work area, immediately escort them into the waiting room and point out the signs. It goes a long way toward defending the claim if you can show that adequate notice was plain and visible. There are people out there who will wander into a work area and fake a slip/fall claim and collect thousands of dollars from insurance companies. You can never be too careful. But, on a more serious note concerning legitimate claims, the average cost of a broken leg or severe ankle sprain is in the $25-$50,000 range depending on several factors such as age, employment status, etc. of the injured party.
Make sure you ask your agent a ton of questions. Give him all kinds of different scenarios and clarify whether you're covered. You can never ask too many questions and as your situation changes, make sure you keep your agent advised so he can add any endorsements to your policy to make sure that you maintain adequate coverages.
Finally, premiums on all types of insurance are going up across the board, due in part to insurance companies losing investment income due to the recent downward tend in the stock market and especially due to 9/11. That single incident cost the insuranc industry tens of billions of dollars in losses paid out. The ripple effect is still continuinig and all facets of business were affected. From direct damage to property and loss of life to income being lost due to reduction in travel, industry, etc. It was the single greatest blow to the insurance industry, ever. That's why every carrier is altering their policies to limit or exclude loss and damage due to terrorist acts. It's too big a risk for them to undertake.
I know a lot of us complain about insurance companies taking advantage of people and costing too much, but you just have to look at it as another business expense. I can tell you this...you only get taken advantage of if you choose to remain an ignorant, uninformed consumer. Educate yourself, ask questions and shop around. The cheapest premium may not always give you the best coverage for your particulat situation. It's quite different for each of us. That's why you not only have to shop around for the best coverage, but for the best agent as well. And as far as carriers being unfair, try to imagine if there were no insurance at all and it was left up to the government to try and help you in the event of a loss. It would just be disastrous as it is with flood programs where people are lucky to get 40 cents on the dollar. The insurance industry in America is the largest privately funded social relief program ever created. And all things considered, does a great job of helping individuals and businesses in times of loss. I'd rather place my trust there than with a government funded program. The insurance companies do a much better job and I get much more for my money, lol!!!
And with that, I'll step down off my soap box.</HTML>