Insure your Driving School
Huff Insurance is now offering Savings for Driving Schools by offering the best driving school insurance program.
You have a rookie driver behind the wheel, which maybe their first time. They are nervous, and you are too. They go to stop at the light and instead of hitting the brake they hit the gas. Whizzing into the intersection, they sideswipe a car. Now, is not the time to worry if you have the right driving school insurance insurance protection. If you are insured with Maryland Auto Insurance Fund (MAIF) for your driving school you may worry that you may not have the adequate coverage. But at Huff Insurance, we have markets other than MAIF to take care of your needs.
We can offer you a full package for your driving school insurance coverage. It will include the liability insurance protection coverage for your school and classroom time as well as the commercial auto insurance coverage. In addition, we can offer you worker’s compensation insurance coverage for the employees, including the instructors and the clerical staff. And, in Maryland, you are going to need an auto dealer bond.
In order to be adequately protected, you need to consider driving school insurance protection in the following areas:
Business Property Insurance — You have an office with classrooms and desks and chairs and usually some audio visual equipment for your classrooms. There could be fires due to electrical wiring, wear and tear or overheating of the equipment. If you own your location, you not only need to protect the property inside the building but also the building itself. Coverage would cover a tree falling, or a student driving a car through the building, or even vandalism.
Crime Insurance — Employee dishonesty and money and securities coverage can be a huge liability to your business. You need to do the proper background checks and have the appropriate procedures in place to be sure that all money is accounted for and there is no fraud. Using your accountant to conduct external audits is another way to help reduce the loss.
Premises Liability Insurance – You have students and visitors in and out of your office all day. If one of them is injured on the premises you could be held liable. Make sure that your location has the appropriate amount of exits and that they are unobstructed and they are well marked. Make sure that your fire extinguishers are charged and that you meet the requirements of the fire marshal. Also, you may be holding classes off premises at a school or non profit, make sure that your policy is protecting you at these locations as well.
Abuses and Molestation Insurance – Is a serious exposure when your instructors are working with teenagers. Coverage for Abuse and Molestation is generally not provided unless you obtain it through a specialty market. Therefore, you need to make sure that you do your due diligence and use background checks, monitor and supervise instructors, and report all allegations of abuse to the proper authorities.
Automobile Insurance — This is a huge exposure since the vehicles are used by inexperienced drivers. Make sure that vehicles are clearly marked as a drivers’ education vehicle. Make sure that these vehicles are serviced regularly. Review the motor vehicle reports on your instructors regularly. Review your coverage to ensure that you have an appropriate limit of coverage.
Workers Compensation Insurance – You have employees, some of them are in a dangerous situation where they are in a car with a new student. What if the student crashes the car and there is injury to the instructor? If you are using independent contractors as instructors then you want to be sure that your agreement has been reviewed by the attorney and both your attorney and accountant agree that this person meets all definitions of an independent contractor. If you are doing it yourself, it would also be a good idea to include yourself in the workers compensation coverage, because as we stated earlier, you are in the car with a brand new driver and that can be risky business…..
Driving School Bond – In Maryland you are required to provide a $15,000 bond to the MVA for your business. The purpose of the driving school bond is a surety bond that guarantees the faithful performance of the school, any fraud, fraudulent representative or violation that will constitute a claim. They will normally require a bond for each location as well.
Data Breach / Cyber Liability Insurance– You have confidential information of your customers as well as personal identifiable information that if stolen, would be considered a data breach by state laws. This information includes, full name, date of birth, address, credit card information, driver’s license numbers, etc. If there is a breach of this data, either electronically through the computers or the loss or theft of paper files, you are responsible for the cost to notify as well as monitor their report.
Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) – If you have employees, if an employee brings a claim of discrimination, unfair hiring practices, sexual harassment, etc. you want to have the protection for these items under employment practices liability insurance. Remember, even if you do nothing wrong, you could still be dragged into a lawsuit by a disgruntled employee. Without an EPLI policy, you will not have coverage for the cost to defend the suit should it happen.
Huff Insurance wants you to have a successful driving school business, having the right insurance protection will help you to succeed. With over 50 years in business we are able to help walk you through your protection needs. Call us today at 410-647-1111,