If you own a valet service company, you may be under the mistaken impression that you don’t need to own insurance. Many new valet owners think that any accidents will be covered by the vehicle owner’s insurance policy, but this simply is not true. If you own a valet company, here are five reasons that you need a motor trade insurance policy:
1. Minor Accidents
Even the most careful valets have minor accidents on occasion. Your valet may open a door too quickly and ding the car in the next parking space, he may run up a curb and damage a wheel rim, or he may scratch the vehicle’s paint with a key. No matter what type of minor damage is caused to your customer’s vehicle, you will be liable for the costs incurred to repair the damage.
2. Major Accidents
It’s rare, but major accidents do occur in the valet service industry. These accidents are more prone to occur if your valet will be parking a customer’s vehicle on the street or in a separate lot. Even if your valet is not at fault, the other party may not have insurance. If this is the case, your company may be held liable when it comes to the costs associated with repairing your customer’s vehicle.
3. Injury
If your employee is in an accident and incurs an injury, you may be held liable for his or her medical expenses. From paying for bandages, to paying for overnight stays, hospital costs can put you in the poor house if you aren’t careful. If your employee is involved in a major car accident and incurs severe injuries, he or she could be in the hospital for several days or more.
4. Customer Base
While some drivers won’t stop to consider whether your company has insurance, you can bet that your wealthy clients will. People who drive for their employers will also stop to consider whether or not your company has insurance before utilizing your services. If you want to expand your customer base, you should not think twice about purchasing motor trade insurance.
5. Bankruptcy
Stop to consider the costs of any car accident that you’ve ever been involved in. If you had to cover these costs yourself, chances are that you would not have been able to; that’s why we rely on auto insurance. If this same accident were to occur within your company, you could easily become bankrupt if you don’t have insurance. Not only may you be liable for car damages and medical expenses, but you may also be sued by your customer. When you consider these things, it’s easy to see how just a single accident can cause you to have to shut the doors of your business.
If you own a valet service company, it makes good sense to have motor trade insurance. In fact, depending on which state your company operates in, motor trade insurance may be a requirement for your business’s continued operation. Don’t think of having to carry insurance as a burden; look at your insurance policy as the protection that it is.
Matthew Duncan blogs about motor trade insurance and groups that would benefit from it, such as valet services. If you run a valet service and need insurance, you can compare trade insurance quotes here and get proper valet insurance coverage today.