Study guide
9.5 Garage and Truckers Coverage Forms
Property & Casualty Insurance Exam
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1 Introduction
0.1 About the Property & Casualty Exam 0.2 How to Use This Course
2 Chapter 1: Insurance Fundamentals
1.1 Risk and Risk Management 1.2 Types of Risk 1.3 Principles of Insurance 1.4 The Insurance Contract 1.5 Policy Structure and Components
3 Chapter 2: Property Insurance Concepts
2.1 Property Coverage Basics 2.2 Perils, Hazards, and Exclusions 2.3 Valuation Methods 2.4 Coinsurance and Insurance to Value 2.5 Deductibles and Policy Limits
4 Chapter 3: Dwelling Policies
3.1 Dwelling Policy Overview 3.2 Dwelling Policy Forms (DP-1, DP-2, DP-3) 3.3 Dwelling Property Coverages 3.4 Dwelling Exclusions and Conditions
5 Chapter 4: Homeowners Policies
4.1 Homeowners Policy Overview 4.2 Homeowners Policy Forms (HO-2 through HO-8) 4.3 Section I: Property Coverages 4.4 Section II: Liability Coverages 4.5 Homeowners Exclusions 4.6 Homeowners Conditions 4.7 Common Homeowners Endorsements
6 Chapter 5: Personal Auto Policy
5.1 Personal Auto Policy Overview 5.2 Part A: Liability Coverage 5.3 Part B: Medical Payments Coverage 5.4 Part C: Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists 5.5 Part D: Physical Damage Coverage 5.6 PAP Exclusions 5.7 No-Fault Insurance and PIP
7 Chapter 6: Liability Insurance Concepts
6.1 Liability Insurance Basics 6.2 Negligence and Tort Law 6.3 Types of Legal Liability 6.4 Personal Umbrella Policies
8 Chapter 7: Commercial Property Insurance
7.1 Commercial Package Policy (CPP) 7.2 Building and Personal Property Coverage Form 7.3 Causes of Loss Forms 7.4 Business Income Coverage 7.5 Businessowners Policy (BOP)
9 Chapter 8: Commercial General Liability
8.1 CGL Policy Overview 8.2 Coverage A: Bodily Injury and Property Damage 8.3 Coverage B: Personal and Advertising Injury 8.4 Coverage C: Medical Payments 8.5 CGL Exclusions 8.6 CGL Limits and Conditions
10 Chapter 9: Commercial Auto Insurance
9.1 Business Auto Policy Overview 9.2 Covered Auto Designation Symbols 9.3 BAP Liability Coverage 9.4 BAP Physical Damage Coverage 9.5 Garage and Truckers Coverage Forms
11 Chapter 10: Workers Compensation
10.1 Workers Compensation Overview 10.2 Part One: Workers Compensation Insurance 10.3 Part Two: Employers Liability 10.4 Workers Compensation Exclusions 10.5 Other States and USL&H Coverage
12 Chapter 11: Other Commercial Lines
11.1 Inland Marine Insurance 11.2 Ocean Marine Insurance 11.3 Commercial Crime Insurance 11.4 Surety Bonds 11.5 National Flood Insurance Program 11.6 Professional Liability Insurance 11.7 Commercial Umbrella and Excess Liability 11.8 Boatowners and Personal Watercraft Insurance 11.9 Farm and Ranch Insurance 11.10 Mobile Home and Manufactured Housing Insurance 11.11 Title Insurance
13 Chapter 12: Insurance Regulations and Ethics
12.1 Producer Licensing 12.2 Producer Authority and Responsibilities 12.3 Unfair Trade Practices 12.4 Claims Settlement Practices 12.5 State Insurance Department 12.6 Penalties and Disciplinary Actions
9.5 Garage and Truckers Coverage Forms
Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI
The Garage Coverage Form (now the Auto Dealers Coverage Form, CA 00 25) bundles auto AND premises/operations liability for dealers, repair shops, and service stations into one form.
Garagekeepers coverage is BAILEE coverage for customers' autos in the insured's care and comes in three options: legal liability (negligence required), direct primary, and direct excess.
The Truckers and Motor Carrier Coverage Forms serve trucking risks; the Motor Carrier Form (CA 00 12) added trailer-interchange and is used by carriers needing federal filings.
The MCS-90 endorsement is a federal financial-responsibility endorsement that guarantees payment to the injured public — FMCSA minimums are $750,000 for non-hazardous freight and $1,000,000 to $5,000,000 for hazardous materials.
Trailer interchange coverage insures the insured's legal liability for physical damage to NON-OWNED trailers held under a written interchange agreement.
Last updated: June 2026
The Garage / Auto Dealers Form
The Garage Coverage Form insures businesses whose core operation is autos — and combines coverages a standard BAP and a separate general liability policy would otherwise split. ISO modernized the dealer market with the Auto Dealers Coverage Form (CA 00 25) for franchised and used-car dealers; smaller non-dealer auto risks (repair shops, service stations) are handled on the business auto/garage approach. The defining feature is that a single form provides both auto liability and premises/operations (general) liability .
- Business Type Examples
- Auto dealers New/used dealerships
- Repair/body shops Mechanics, collision centers
- Service stations Fuel + service bays
- Storage garages & parking Valet, parking structures
- What the Form Bundles
- Component Covers
- Covered Autos Liability BI/PD from the insured's autos
- General (premises/operations) Liability Slip-and-fall, completed work on customer autos
- Garagekeepers Customers' autos in the insured's care
- Physical Damage The insured's own autos and dealer inventory
- Garagekeepers — Bailee Coverage for Customer Cars
When a shop takes custody of a customer's vehicle, it becomes a bailee . Garagekeepers coverage pays for damage to those customer autos from covered causes — fire, theft, vandalism, collision, and other perils — while in the insured's care. It comes in three flavors:
- Option When It Pays Trade-Off
- Legal Liability Only if the insured is legally liable (negligent) Cheapest; disputes over fault
- Direct Primary For any covered loss, regardless of fault Highest premium; best customer relations
- Direct Excess For any covered loss, but only after the customer's own auto insurance Middle ground
Exam point: Under legal liability , if a customer's car is stolen with no negligence by the shop, there is no payment . Under direct primary , the shop's policy pays first even without fault — the reason busy dealerships prefer it.
Truckers and Motor Carrier Forms
Long-haul and for-hire trucking risks use trucking-specific forms. The Truckers Coverage Form was the original; ISO's Motor Carrier Coverage Form (CA 00 12) is now the common choice because it suits both private and for-hire carriers and incorporates trailer-interchange handling.
- Feature Trucking Forms Standard BAP
- Target market For-hire & private carriers General commercial
- Trailer interchange Built-in provisions Not addressed
- MCS-90 capability Yes (federal filings) Generally no
- Cargo Endorsement/separate Separate policy
- Trailer Interchange
Carriers swap trailers under written interchange agreements . Trailer interchange coverage insures the insured's legal liability for physical damage to a non-owned trailer in its possession under such an agreement (comprehensive, specified causes, or collision can apply). It does NOT cover owned trailers — those are covered as autos.
Federal Financial Responsibility — the MCS-90
Interstate for-hire carriers must prove financial responsibility under 49 CFR Part 387 . The MCS-90 endorsement is attached to the auto liability policy and acts as a surety-like guarantee : the insurer will pay a judgment to a member of the injured public even if the specific loss would otherwise be excluded or uncovered — though the insurer can then seek reimbursement from the insured.
- Cargo Hauled FMCSA Minimum Public Liability
- Non-hazardous property (most freight) $750,000
- Oil/certain hazardous substances $1,000,000
- Hazardous materials / explosives $5,000,000
The BMC-91 / BMC-91X is the FMCSA filing that evidences this coverage (a surety bond, BMC-85, is the alternative). The MCS-90 protects the public, NOT the insured's own cargo or property — those still require cargo/physical-damage coverage.
Exam Cheat Sheet
Garage/Auto Dealers form = auto liability + premises/operations in one form.
Garagekeepers = bailee coverage; three options — legal liability, direct primary, direct excess.
Trailer interchange = non-owned trailers under written agreement only.
MCS-90 = guarantees payment to the injured public; $750K / $1M / $5M tiers.
Cargo is never covered by liability or the MCS-90 — buy motor truck cargo.
Garagekeepers: a Closer Worked Example
A detail shop holds eight customer cars overnight. A fire (no negligence by the shop) destroys three of them.
- Garagekeepers Basis Result
- Legal Liability Pays nothing — the shop was not negligent, so no legal liability attaches
- Direct Primary Pays for all three cars (subject to limit/deductible) regardless of fault
- Direct Excess Pays only the amount each customer's own auto policy does not
This is why high-volume dealers and valet operations almost always buy direct primary — it protects the customer relationship even when the business did nothing wrong.
Motor Truck Cargo — the Missing Piece
Neither liability, the MCS-90, nor garagekeepers insures freight the carrier is hauling for others. Motor truck cargo coverage (an inland marine line) insures the carrier's legal liability for loss to the property of others in transit . It is rated by commodity and limit per vehicle and is required by many shippers and brokers before a load is tendered. The exam pairs this with the care-custody-control exclusion: liability excludes cargo; cargo coverage fills the gap.
Form Selection Decision Table
- Risk Right Form
- Plumber with two service vans Business Auto (CA 00 01)
- Franchised new-car dealership Auto Dealers (CA 00 25)
- Independent repair garage taking customer cars Garage/Business Auto + Garagekeepers
- Interstate for-hire carrier needing FMCSA filing Motor Carrier (CA 00 12) + MCS-90
- Carrier swapping trailers under written agreements Motor Carrier with trailer interchange
- Common Federal-Filing Confusions
The MCS-90 protects the public, not the insured — and the insurer can recover from the insured what it pays under it.
Intrastate carriers follow state minimums, which may differ from the federal $750K/$1M/$5M tiers.
A BMC-91/BMC-91X is the FMCSA filing evidencing public-liability coverage; BMC-34/BMC-83 relate to cargo filings for household-goods and certain carriers.