Trades / Automotive repair and maintenance
NAICS 8111 · low injury risk
Insurance for automotive repair and maintenance
Automotive repair and maintenance log 1.9 recordable injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers — 17 percent below private industry's 2.3 and number 29 of 37 trades here. The injury record is not the hard part of insuring this trade; the liability and contract requirements are.
- 1Automotive repair and 1.9 per 100
- 2Private industry 2.3 per 100
- 3Rank of 37 #29
What goes wrong in this trade
Lifts, burns and chemical exposure in the shop; the distinctive liability is the customer's vehicle in your care — garagekeepers — and faulty-repair claims after the car leaves.
The checklist for automotive repair and maintenance
- GLGeneral liabilityCustomer injury on premises and faulty-work claims.Not required by federal law. Required in practice by most contracts, landlords and many state contractor licences.
- CargoMotor truck cargoGaragekeepers coverage for customer vehicles in your care.Not an FMCSA filing requirement for general freight carriers; required by nearly every broker and shipper contract.
- WCWorkers' compensationRequired once you have employees in nearly every state.Required by state law in nearly every state once you have employees; the employee-count threshold and exemptions are set state by state and are not reproduced here.
- AutoCommercial auto liabilityTest drives and shop vehicles (garage liability).State minimum auto liability applies to business vehicles. Interstate for-hire carriers of vehicles 10,001 lb GVWR and up must carry the 49 CFR 387.9 minimums ($750,000 non-hazardous property; $1,000,000 oil; $5,000,000 bulk hazmat).
- Tools
Red tags mark policy types that a law or licence usually requires; green tags are what contracts, landlords and clients ask for. Tailor the list for your situation (no employees, no vehicles, alcohol) with the checklist tool.
What the injury record means for the premium
With 1.9 cases per 100 workers the workers' compensation base rate for this class is comparatively modest, and only 58 percent of cases involved days away, restriction or transfer. Where the premium goes instead is liability: customer injury on premises and faulty-work claims, and that is a general-liability and professional-liability question rather than a payroll one. Expect the certificate requirements in your contracts to matter more than your loss history.
The nearest trades by injury rate are masonry contractors (1.9), nonresidential building construction (1.9), child care services (1.9); the same payroll insured in those classes would start from a similar workers' comp base.
Legal, licence or contract?
Fixed by law
- Workers' compensation once you have employees, in nearly every state (threshold and exemptions set by the state; not reproduced here).
- Public liability of at least $750,000 for interstate for-hire carriage of non-hazardous property in vehicles of 10,001 lb GVWR or more; $1,000,000 for oil; $5,000,000 for bulk hazmat — 49 CFR 387.9. Details.
- State minimum auto liability on any vehicle the business operates.
Asked for by contracts and licences
Sources: BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, Table 1 (2024), incidence rates per 100 full-time workers; BLS SOII Table 3 (2024), hours worked by detailed industry; BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, Table A-1 (2024); 49 CFR 387.9 — Schedule of limits, public liability (eCFR). Fatal rate per 100,000 FTE is derived (count ÷ hours × 200,000,000) and approximate. Checked 2026-10-23.