Not automatically. A customer’s own comprehensive policy may respond, but a workshop should not rely on it. The workshop’s ordinary public-liability section commonly excludes property in its care, custody or control.
A motor traders internal-risks section is designed for vehicles at the premises. External or road-risk cover is needed once an authorised person drives the vehicle on a public road.
Match the event to the policy section
Fire or theft at the workshop, damage while shunting a vehicle and a road-test collision are different events. The schedule must insure the relevant peril, vehicle category and use.
- At the premises: internal risks or custody cover
- On a road test: external risks or road-risk cover
- Damage caused by faulty repair: workmanship or completed-operations wording
- Injury to a visitor: public liability
Check-in records protect both parties
Photograph all sides, the interior, mileage, fuel level and warning lights. Record accessories and existing damage on a signed job card. Keep keys in a controlled cabinet and record who removes them.
These controls do not create insurance, but they reduce disputes and help establish when and how damage occurred.
The limit must cover the busiest day
The insurer needs the highest total value at the premises, including vehicles waiting for parts or collection. A single R2 million performance vehicle can also exceed the any-one-vehicle limit even where the total limit seems adequate.
A customer’s SUV falls from a lift and damages a nearby hatchback. A correctly structured internal/customer-vehicle section may cover both vehicles. Public liability alone may not, because both were in the workshop’s custody.
Questions an insurer will ask
- How many customer vehicles can be on site at once?
- What is the highest individual vehicle value accepted?
- Where are keys and vehicles kept overnight?
- Are vehicles collected, delivered or road-tested?
- How is pre-existing damage recorded?
General information only. RMI requirements, fees and processes can change; confirm current requirements directly with RMI. Insurance cover depends on the insurer’s schedule, wording, limits, excesses and conditions.