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Motor trade insurance
Bodyshop insurance is motor trade cover for accident repair and refinishing businesses, built around fire, staff health, customers' vehicles and liability for repairs. It matters because spraying adds fire and health risks that a mechanical garage does not have, and insurers rate them closely.
Part of: Motor trade insurance
In short
A bodyshop usually needs a combined motor trade policy covering the premises and spray booth, customers' vehicles, public and products liability, employers' liability of at least £5 million and road risks for collections and courtesy cars. Insurers focus on fire controls around booths, flammable paints and waste, and on how isocyanate exposure is controlled, because the HSE identifies isocyanates as one of the main causes of occupational asthma in the UK. Work referred by insurers or fleets may bring contract terms that affect your cover. Cover is subject to the insurer's acceptance and the policy terms.
A bodyshop shares many risks with a mechanical garage, such as customers' cars on site, staff working with tools and road tests. Three features change the picture:
Most bodyshops buy a combined motor trade policy and add sections for these exposures. The automotive trade insurance guide covers the wider repair sector.
The responsible person for any workplace must carry out a fire risk assessment under article 9 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, and record the significant findings where the Order requires it, for example if five or more people are employed. Where flammable substances such as paints and solvents are used, the HSE's DSEAR guidance also requires employers to assess the risks from dangerous substances before work starts, eliminate or reduce them as far as reasonably practicable, and plan for emergencies.
Insurers commonly ask about:
Answers here affect whether fire cover is offered and on what conditions. See our motor trade premises fire scenario for how a fire can affect several sections of a policy at once.
Vehicle refinishing can need a Part B environmental permit from the local council under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016. Bristol City Council lists vehicle refinishers in the Part B category, and Dudley Council states the trigger for respraying road vehicles as using more than 1 tonne of organic solvents in any 12 month period.
Check with your own council's environmental health team whether a permit applies. Insurers may ask whether you hold one, and a permit's conditions on solvent storage and emissions overlap with the fire controls above. Keeping solvent use records also helps you show which side of the threshold you sit.
The HSE's page on 2-pack isocyanate paints describes isocyanates as one of the main causes of occupational asthma reported in the UK. Its COSHH guidance for vehicle spray painters gives workplace exposure limits of 0.02 mg/m³ over eight hours and 0.07 mg/m³ over 15 minutes, and says exposure must be kept as far below those limits as reasonably practicable.
HSE guidance expects, among other things:
Local exhaust ventilation, including booths, must be thoroughly examined and tested at least once every 14 months under regulation 9 of the COSHH Regulations 2002, with records kept for at least five years. See COSHH explained.
For insurance, this matters most under employers' liability, which is compulsory at a minimum of £5 million under the 1998 Regulations. Disease claims can surface long after exposure, so insurers commonly ask for evidence of booth testing, health surveillance and training.
Cars waiting for parts, paint or collection need a customers' vehicles limit that reflects the busiest week, not the average. Key storage and out-of-hours security are commonly conditions of cover. See customer vehicles in your care.
For private customers, section 49 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 requires services to be performed with reasonable care and skill. Products liability is designed for injury or damage caused by faulty work, while the cost of redoing the repair or respray is commonly excluded.
Illustrative: overspray from a yard repair drifts onto cars parked next door. A claim from the neighbour would usually be looked at under public liability, subject to the wording and any exclusion for work outside the booth.
Many bodyshops take work referred by insurers, accident management companies, fleets or leasing firms. These arrangements commonly come with contracts setting repair standards, timescales, audits and minimum insurance limits, and sometimes indemnities in favour of the referrer.
Declaring these activities is part of making a fair presentation of the risk. See the fair presentation duty.
Bodyshops drive customers' cars more than many traders realise: collecting from home or work, moving cars between the yard and the booth on a public road, road testing after repairs and delivering them back. Each journey on a road needs insurance that meets section 143 of the Road Traffic Act 1988.
Check three things. One, that customers' vehicles are included in the road risks section and at a level that covers damage to the car itself if you want that. Two, that every employee who drives fits the policy's driver terms, including age and points. Three, how courtesy cars are insured when a customer, rather than your staff, is driving. See road risks cover explained and who can drive on a motor trade policy.
Apex arranges motor trade insurance for bodyshops, garages and MOT stations, including combined cover for premises, stock, liability and road risks. A broker reads your enquiry and comes back with options, with no fee for a quote. We need what the business does, the premises address, who drives (ages, licences, points), turnover, the values of your own stock and customers' vehicles, and claims history. Cover is subject to the insurer's acceptance and the policy terms. For a mechanical workshop see garage insurance.
A combined motor trade policy can cover fire damage to the building, booth, equipment and customers' vehicles, subject to the wording. Insurers commonly attach conditions on booth maintenance, filter changes, waste removal and hot work. If those are not followed, cover for a fire may be affected, so check the conditions before renewal.
Possibly. Vehicle refinishing can need a Part B environmental permit from your local council under the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2016. Dudley Council, for example, states the trigger for respraying road vehicles as using more than 1 tonne of organic solvents in 12 months. Check with your council's environmental health team.
Employers' liability insurance is designed to respond to employee injury and disease claims, including occupational asthma, subject to the policy terms. It is compulsory at a minimum of £5 million if you employ staff. Insurers commonly ask about booth testing, air-fed masks and health surveillance before offering cover.
Under regulation 9 of the COSHH Regulations 2002, local exhaust ventilation must be thoroughly examined and tested at least once every 14 months, unless a shorter interval applies, and records kept for at least five years. HSE also recommends simple daily and weekly checks with recorded findings.
Usually the work split between mechanical, bodywork and refinishing, booth details and maintenance, paint and waste storage, fire protection, staff numbers and wageroll, the most valuable customer car and total held, courtesy car use, referral contracts, drivers and claims history. Clear answers help the insurer rate the risk accurately.
Usually not. Products liability is designed for injury or damage to other property caused by faulty work, and the cost of redoing your own work is commonly excluded as faulty workmanship. If the faulty work damages something else, such as another panel or a neighbour's car, that part may be looked at under the policy, subject to the wording.
Tell us what your business does, who drives, your premises and vehicle values. A broker reads every enquiry and comes back with options. No fee for a quote. Or call 0117 325 0027.
Start a motor trade enquiry Request a callbackApex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England and Wales, company number 07014570. This page is general information, not advice on your individual circumstances, and it does not guarantee that cover will be available or on what terms.
