Four areas deserve the closest look at a garage door company you just bought: redo work, installs the seller made before closing, vans and tools, and customer contracts that ask for more than the policy gives. Each has a place to check (the declarations page, the endorsement list, the deal documents or the contract) and a next step. Some are fixed with a policy change and others are a pricing, warranty or contract matter. This guide is for owners who already have the core policies (see what insurance a new garage door company owner needs) and want to find what the seller's program left out.
The short answer
- Redo work is usually your cost. The standard general liability form excludes the cost of repairing or replacing your own faulty work, and recall and withdrawal costs.
- Pre-closing installs are a long-tail gap. Whether your policy responds to an injury caused by a door the seller installed depends on deal structure and wording, so ask early.
- The standard general liability form does not cover vans, your own tools or customer property in your care. Other policies or endorsements may, depending on the wording.
- Contract wording and umbrella limits are separate gaps. A customer can require more than your policies provide, and a certificate of insurance is not the policy.
Where might a seller's program fall short for a new owner?
The table lists the gaps in the order a new owner can check them. Each row names how the gap shows up in this trade, where to look and the usual fix. The seller's broker built a program for the old owner, and a new owner may simply need more or different coverage.
| Gap | How it shows up | Where to look | Usual fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Redo and repair of your own work | A mis-sized door or botched install must be redone | Exclusions in the general liability form | Price it into jobs and warranty reserves; the standard form generally does not pay for redoing your own work, so check your wording |
| Installs made before closing | Injury or damage from a door the seller put in | Deal structure, occurrence wording, and the "your work" and "your product" definitions | Ask counsel about indemnity and escrow; ask the broker how the policy reads |
| Recall and withdrawal costs | A manufacturer recalls a part you installed | Recall exclusion in the general liability form | Keep installation records so affected customers can be found |
| Customer property you hold | You take away a customer's old door, opener or tools | Care, custody or control exclusion | Ask whether any policy addresses property in your possession |
| Personal vehicles on jobs | A technician drives a personal truck to a call | Auto schedule, hired and non-owned auto | Add hired and non-owned auto coverage or ban the practice |
| Tools and doors not yet installed | Theft from a van or loss at a customer site | Inland marine schedule | Equipment or installation floater |
| Sizing and specification mistakes | Wrong wind rating or spring for the door weight | Professional services wording in the policy | Ask whether it is excluded; if you buy claims-made professional liability, ask the insurer to set the retroactive date (the earliest date of work covered) early enough to reach pre-closing installs, and get its answer in writing |
| Umbrella and contract limits | A builder wants an umbrella and completed operations wording | Contract insurance exhibit versus policies | Raise limits or negotiate the requirement |
What does general liability leave out for a door installer?
On the standard Insurance Services Office (ISO) general liability form (the 12 07 edition), several exclusions bite in a way particular to this work.
| Exclusion | Plain meaning | Garage door example |
|---|---|---|
| Where you are working (exclusion j(5)) | Damage to the part of the customer's property where you are doing the work | A cracked floor slab or split header where you mounted the track |
| Work done wrong (exclusion j(6)) | The cost to fix property because your work on it was done incorrectly. It does not apply to damage in the products-completed operations hazard | Replacing and rehanging a mis-sized door |
| Your own completed work | Damage to your own finished work, with an exception where a subcontractor did it | Replacing a door that failed after the install |
| Impaired property | Other tangible property that cannot be used or is less useful because it incorporates your product or work that is defective or thought to be, where the loss can be cured by fixing or removing your product or work. There is an exception for loss of use after sudden and accidental physical injury to your product or work once it is put to its intended use | A customer's garage that cannot be used while a defective door is removed |
| Recall and withdrawal | The cost of pulling back a defective product, which is excluded on the standard form | Re-inspecting every opener of a model the manufacturer recalls |
In practice, a door you installed that drops and damages a customer's car or hurts someone can be a covered claim, while taking the door down, correcting it and rehanging it is generally your cost. Carriers modify these forms, so your own wording controls. The same form excludes auto liability and injury to your own employees, which is why the van and the crew each need their own policy. The exclusions that quietly kill coverage guide shows how to read an exclusion list.
What about doors the seller installed before closing?
This is a gap that can matter a great deal to a buyer, and one that is easy to overlook. Doors and openers stay in service for many years, and the injuries that matter, such as a child caught under a closing door, can occur long after the install. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) tells owners to test that an opener reverses when a closing door hits a 2x4 laid on the floor.
A hypothetical example. Eight months before you buy the company's assets, the seller installs a new door and opener. A photo-eye sensor is knocked out of alignment during the job. Four months after closing, a child's arm is caught under the closing door. The seller has cancelled its policy. Your new policy is an occurrence form that was in force on the injury date, but the standard definition of "your work" has no language for a predecessor you bought, and the "your product" wording may bear on the door and opener but is less clear on the installation itself (see below).
Does your insurer treat the claim as covered? The seller's old policy generally cannot respond to an injury that happened after it ended. Who pays between you and the seller depends on the wording of your policy and the purchase agreement. In a stock deal the company is the same legal entity, so the picture is different.
Here is the wording in more detail. The standard definition of "your product" does reach goods sold by a business whose assets you acquired, which can bear on the door and opener themselves, while "your work" has no predecessor language, so the installation side is less clear. Ask the carrier whether any exclusion or endorsement on the policy limits coverage for work completed before the policy began, ask for its position in writing before you bind, and ask counsel how successor liability rules in your state apply to an asset purchase.
Steps to take: list installs by date from the work-order system, keep the manufacturer's installation records and any test photos, and ask your broker in writing how your policy treats work done before closing. The completed operations claims from the seller's past jobs guide covers the stock and asset paths in detail.
Where do vehicles, tools and inventory fall through?
Vans and trailers carry heavy product and expensive tools every day. Three coverage lines fill the space general liability leaves open.
- Commercial auto covers vehicles you own and operate. Many policies also need hired and non-owned auto coverage for personal vehicles used on jobs. In a crash with a technician's personal pickup, general liability does not respond to an auto loss.
- Inland marine covers movable property. The International Risk Management Institute (IRMI) describes an installation floater as coverage for equipment or other property a contractor is installing, often written like builders risk. A separate floater for tools and test equipment is the usual route for the crew's own gear.
- Commercial property covers the shop and stock. Check whether stock is on replacement cost and whether special-order doors paid for by customers are covered while waiting at the shop.
The installation floater glossary page and the inland marine page explain the options. A technician's personal truck is also a driver-standards question, covered in the fleet and driver standards guide.
Are contract and umbrella limits a separate problem?
Yes. Builders, property managers and homeowner associations often ask for endorsements and limits the declarations page does not show: additional insured status for ongoing and completed operations, primary and noncontributory wording, waivers of subrogation and umbrella limits. There is no standard requirement across the trade, so read each contract. A shortfall can become a contract problem as soon as a customer checks the certificate or the policy, before any claim, and a claim for failing to provide required insurance is generally not something your policies pay. Ask your deal counsel how your contracts treat a missing endorsement.
Severity is the other side of the same gap. A death or serious injury from a falling door or a failed spring can exceed an underlying liability limit, and an umbrella sits above general liability, auto and employers liability but generally not over professional liability. Ask which policies are scheduled underneath yours.
The contracts, licenses and bonds guide goes through the endorsements one by one, and contracts that require coverage you don't have explains how to compare contracts with policies.
How do you close the gaps without overbuying?
Rank the gaps by what a single bad claim would cost and how likely the gap is to matter, not by which fix costs least. One reasonable order is finished-work coverage and limits first, then vehicles, then equipment, then the contract-driven endorsements, adjusted to your own contracts and loss history.
- Gather the declarations pages, the full endorsement lists, five years of loss runs (the insurer's reports of past claims) where available, the customer contracts, and the work-order list of installs made before closing.
- Mark each row of the table above as covered, partly covered or unknown.
- Ask the broker to explain each unknown in writing and to request quotes for the real gaps.
- Decide what to retain (higher deductibles on tools and stock) and what to transfer (completed operations and umbrella limits, which a failed spring or a door that did not reverse can test), with your lender's requirements in mind.
Remember that a quote is not coverage, and nothing is in force until the carrier binds it. A Morrow review can go through the documents with you and flag gaps, and any new terms depend on carrier underwriting. The wider approach is in coverage gaps new owners find.
Keep reading
- Just Bought a Garage Door Company? What Insurance Do You Need?
- Contracts, Licenses and Bonds for a Garage Door Company
- What Drives Insurance Cost for a Garage Door Company?
- Completed Operations Claims From the Seller's Past Jobs: Who Pays?
- 15 Coverage Gaps New Owners Find in Owner-Run Businesses
- All guides for new business owners
Frequently asked questions
Does general liability pay if I have to redo a bad garage door install?
Generally no. The standard form excludes the cost of repairing or replacing your own faulty work. It can respond when the finished door injures someone or damages other property, subject to the exclusions and limits.
Am I covered if a door the seller installed hurts someone after I buy the company?
It depends on whether you bought stock or assets, when the injury happened, and the wording of your policy and your purchase agreement. Ask your broker and deal counsel before relying on any assumption.
Does my commercial auto policy cover a technician using a personal truck?
Not necessarily. Many owners add hired and non-owned auto coverage for that. Check the policy and your driver rules.
Are tools and doors waiting at a customer's home covered?
General liability and auto do not cover your own property. Inland marine coverage, such as an installation floater or a tools floater, is the usual route.
Is a certificate of insurance enough proof that a customer's requirements are met?
No. A certificate is a summary and does not change the policy. Check the endorsements on the policy itself against the contract.
References
- ISO: Commercial General Liability Coverage Form CG 00 01 12 07 (carrier-hosted copy)
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission: Non-Reversing Automatic Garage Door Openers Are a Hazard (Pub. 523)
- IRMI: Care, custody, or control
- IRMI: Installation floater
- IRMI: Completed operations
Just bought a business? Get your insurance reviewed.
Send Morrow the declarations pages, loss runs and key contracts you inherited. Morrow can review them against the business you bought, flag gaps and request quotes where it makes sense. Any new terms depend on carrier underwriting.
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This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice, and not a coverage determination. Coverage depends on the actual policy wording, carrier underwriting, your purchase agreement and your contracts. Ask your attorney and accountant about deal and legal questions.