Mobile detailing insurance: garage keepers, liability, auto and what it costs

What insurance does a mobile detailing business need?

A mobile detailing business needs three policies from day one: general liability for damage and injuries around the job, garage keepers for the customer’s car itself, and commercial auto for the van or trailer rig. Workers’ compensation comes when you hire, and tools and equipment coverage when the pressure washer, polisher, generator and water tank are worth more than you can replace from cash.

Progressive’s auto detailing insurance page lists commercial auto as crucial for mobile detailers because personal auto insurance often does not cover vehicles used for business, general liability for third-party claims such as scraping another vehicle while hauling equipment, and a business owner’s policy and workers’ comp as the other common pieces. What that page does not spell out, and what a surprising number of detailers find out after a claim, is that none of those policies pays for the car you are working on. That is garage keepers.

Insurance for mobile detailing business work overlaps with cleaning insurance, and the common policy types are explained in our cleaning business insurance guide. For the rest of the setup, from water runoff rules to package pricing, see how to start a mobile detailing business. This page is general information, not insurance advice; policy wording and state rules differ, so read your own policy and ask your agent.

Garage keepers: the coverage detailers forget

Garage keepers legal liability insurance protects you if a customer’s vehicle is damaged by fire, theft, vandalism or collision while in your possession. Progressive’s garage keepers page names auto detailers, auto mechanics, garage owners, dealerships and towing companies as the businesses that need it, and The Hartford describes it as the coverage for businesses that take responsibility for customers’ vehicles while they are in their care.

For a mobile detailer the car is in your care from the moment you take the keys to move it or open the doors to work. A paint correction that goes wrong, a wheel scuffed on a curb while repositioning, a steam burn on a dash, an interior soaked because a window was left down in the rain: these are garage keepers claims, not general liability claims, because the damaged property is the very thing you were hired to work on.

How the policy is set up

• Per-occurrence limit. Progressive says available options vary by state and that most of its policies offer a maximum limit of $2,500 per occurrence, with a per-vehicle deductible that is typically $500. Ask every carrier what limits they can write; a detailer working on $80,000 trucks needs to know the ceiling before signing.
• Legal liability versus direct coverage. The standard form pays only when you are legally liable (you were negligent). Some carriers offer a broader form that pays regardless of fault, for example hail on a car parked at your location. Ask which one you are buying.
• State naming. In Texas and Virginia the coverage is called storage location insurance. Progressive notes that if you ask for garage keepers in those two states you will get on-hook towing coverage instead, which only applies while a vehicle is being towed. Use the right name.
• Where coverage applies. Some forms are written for a fixed location. Mobile work means the “location” is the client’s driveway or a dealership lot, so confirm in writing that off-premises work is covered.

A detailer who skips this coverage is self-insuring every car. That is manageable at $150 washes on ten-year-old sedans and reckless at ceramic coatings on new luxury vehicles.

What does general liability cover for a detailer?

General liability pays for injury or property damage to people other than your employees and property other than the car in your care. For a mobile detailer, that is the driveway, the garage, the neighbor’s car, the client’s landscaping and the client themselves.

Typical detailing claims that fall under general liability:

• Wheel cleaner or degreaser etches a client’s concrete, pavers or natural stone.
• Overspray from a ceramic or polymer sealant lands on the car parked next to yours.
• A client walks across wet pavement where you were rinsing and falls.
• Your extension cord trips someone, or your generator exhaust sets off a complaint and a claim.
• Runoff carries soap into a storm drain and the city fines the property owner, who sends the bill to you (pollution claims may be excluded; ask).

What it does not usually cover: the vehicle you are working on (garage keepers), your own equipment (tools coverage), your rig on the road (commercial auto), bad advice such as recommending a coating that then fails (professional liability), and employee injuries (workers’ comp). Most small businesses buy $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate limits, which is also what dealerships ask to see.

NEXT Insurance publishes average general liability costs by profession from its customer data: $60 a month for house cleaners, $95 for handymen and $220 for auto repair. Detailing is usually rated between cleaning and auto repair, because the work is on vehicles but without lifts, welding or fuel systems.

Commercial auto for the van, truck and trailer

A detailing rig is a business vehicle, and a loaded one: water tank, generator, pressure washer and chemicals add weight and shift the center of gravity. Progressive’s detailing page calls commercial auto crucial because personal policies often exclude business use, and that exclusion is the first thing an adjuster checks after a crash with company lettering on the door.

Insureon reports an average of $245 a month for commercial auto among its small business customers, with 40% paying under $200 and state averages from $154 a month in California to $412 in Florida. Progressive Commercial reports 2025 medians for its business policies (general liability $55, BOP $80, workers’ comp $76 a month) and, on its auto page, a $207 median for business autos used by cleaning services, restaurants and shops. A van with a trailer will usually quote above a plain car.

What to ask for

• The trailer listed on the policy, with liability extending to it while attached.
• Physical damage on any financed vehicle or trailer.
• Hired and non-owned auto if a technician ever drives their own car to a job.
• Tools and equipment or inland marine for what is inside, because the auto policy covers the vehicle, not the $6,000 of gear in it.
• Drive-other-car coverage if you move customers’ cars on public roads between a lot and your work area; some carriers fold this into garage policies.

When do you need workers’ comp as a detailer?

Most states require workers’ compensation once you have an employee, and some require it from the first part-timer, so check your state before you hire. A solo owner with no employees is usually exempt but can often buy coverage voluntarily, which matters when a dealership contract requires it anyway.

Detailing injuries are chemical burns from wheel acids and degreasers, eye injuries, slips on wet floors, repetitive strain from polishing and heat illness in summer. Premiums are priced per $100 of payroll for your class of work; Progressive reports a 2025 median of $76 a month for its new workers’ comp customers, though your payroll and class code set your own figure. Honest payroll estimates matter because the policy is audited at year end and adjusted.

Paying technicians as contractors to avoid the premium rarely survives a state audit when they use your rig, your chemicals and your schedule. Our guide on classifying workers covers the IRS and state tests; they apply to detailers the same way.

How much does mobile detailing insurance cost?

A solo mobile detailer should budget roughly $300 to $450 a month for general liability, garage keepers and commercial auto together, based on published figures of $45 (Insureon average) to $69 (The Hartford average) a month for general liability and $207 to $245 for commercial auto, plus a garage keepers quote that depends on the vehicles you work on and the limit you choose. Car detailing business insurance costs more with employees, a second rig or high-value clientele.

A worked budget (hypothetical numbers)

Say your agent quotes general liability at $65 a month, garage keepers at $70, commercial auto for a van and trailer at $230, and tools coverage at $25. You detail 60 cars a month at an average ticket of $180. Replace every number with your own quotes.

At $6.50 a car, insurance is a rounding error inside a $180 ticket and belongs in your overhead rate. The profit calculator shows what the premium does to your monthly margin once fuel, chemicals and your own pay are in.

What dealerships, fleets and property managers ask for

Commercial accounts will ask for a certificate of insurance before you touch their vehicles, and the certificate has to show the right policies with the right limits. Have it ready before you pitch.

• Dealerships. General liability at $1 million per occurrence, garage keepers with a limit that covers their inventory, and commercial auto if you move cars on the lot. Most want to be named as additional insured.
• Fleet accounts (delivery vans, rental cars, utilities). The same, plus workers’ comp even if you are solo, because their vendor policy says every contractor must carry it. Voluntary coverage or a state waiver form solves this; ask your agent.
• Office parks and apartment communities. General liability naming the property owner, and sometimes proof that your wash water is captured rather than sent to the storm drain, which is a permit and equipment question as much as an insurance one.
• Individual clients. Rarely ask, but “insured” on your booking page and a certificate on request wins the ceramic coating job over a detailer who shrugs.

Keep a current certificate as a PDF you can send in a minute. Online insurers issue them instantly; agencies may take a day, which is too long when a service manager wants to start Monday.

How to buy it and keep the premium down

Describe the work precisely, get three quotes for the same limits, and buy garage keepers from the same carrier as general liability where you can, so there is no argument about which policy owns a claim.

1. Write down the services. Exterior washes, interior, paint correction, ceramic coatings, headlight restoration, engine bay cleaning, and whether you move customers’ cars. Coatings and corrections are rated higher than washes because the claims are bigger.
2. List the rig and gear. Vehicle, trailer, tank size, generator, pressure washer, polishers, with replacement values.
3. Decide the garage keepers limit from the most expensive vehicle you expect to handle, not the average.
4. Quote packages. Progressive, NEXT, Insureon’s marketplace and a local commercial agent will all quote detailers; compare the same limits and deductibles, not the headline price.
5. Add workers’ comp and tools coverage when you hire or when the gear is worth more than you could replace tomorrow.

What lowers the cost

• Photographing every car before you start, with notes on existing damage; it prevents disputed garage keepers claims, and a clean claims record lowers renewals.
• Wash-water capture mats and a written chemical safety routine, which underwriters ask about.
• A $500 or $1,000 deductible you can cover from cash, instead of a $250 deductible you pay for every month.
• Annual payment where the carrier charges installment fees.

The before-and-after photos also belong in the job record. Booking software such as Broombook keeps photos and notes on each visit, so when a client calls a week later about a scratch, you can pull up what the car looked like when you arrived.