Who asks a gas station for what
| Who | What they usually want to see |
|---|---|
| Banks, lenders & SBA loans | Property or auto physical damage with the lender as loss payee, and liability proof at closing and every renewal |
| Franchisors | The brand's minimum limits across general liability, property, auto and employment practices |
| Cities, counties & permits | General liability, auto and workers' compensation at the limits in the permit or contract |
Each of them wants a certificate, and most want it again at every renewal. A live certificate link from the wallet shows today's coverage to every holder and tells them when it changes.
How to check what you already have
- Business owner's policy declarations. Liability limits on the first page, then the property section: building (if you own), business personal property, business income and the named extras such as spoilage, equipment breakdown or employee dishonesty. Confirm the property values are current.
- Pollution liability. Site-based or contractors form, claims-made or occurrence, the materials named (mold, asbestos, lead, fuels), and transport and disposal coverage.
- Workers' compensation information page. Item 3.A must list every state you work in, item 4 must carry the right class codes, and the employers' liability limits should meet what contracts ask. Check that the estimated payroll is close to this year's.
- Umbrella schedule of underlying insurance. Each primary policy listed with the limits the umbrella expects; a gap between the two is uninsured.
- Crime declarations. Employee theft, forgery, funds-transfer fraud and social engineering each have their own limit; third-party coverage if you work in clients' premises.
- Liquor liability declarations and forms. The limit, and the forms list checked for an assault-and-battery exclusion, which removes the most common claim.
- Business income. The limit or actual-loss-sustained wording, the waiting period, the period of restoration and whether extra expense is included.
- Property section. Limits for building, business personal property and tenant improvements against replacement cost, the coinsurance percentage, the deductible, and whether flood and earthquake are excluded (they usually are).
- Employment practices declarations. Limit and retention, third-party coverage for claims by customers, and whether wage-and-hour claims carry any defence sublimit.
What usually goes wrong for gas stations
- Underground tank financial responsibility treated as covered by the property policy.
- A canopy or dispenser fire on a site with no suppression test record.
- Tenant improvements insured by nobody, because the lease says one thing and the policy another.
- Property values set when the doors opened and never raised.
- A herbicide drift or fuel spill denied under the pollution exclusion.
- Inventory at its holiday peak insured at its January value.
What underwriters will ask a gas station
- Tank count and age and the financial-responsibility coverage in place, store sales mix, hours and night staffing, and brand requirements
- Square footage, whether you own or lease, the building's age and sprinklers
- Replacement cost of the equipment, fixtures and stock on site
- Products applied, applicator licences and how fuel and chemicals are stored
- Average and peak inventory values, and who handles cash and deposits
- Payroll by class of work, headcount and turnover
Have the answers in the wallet before the renewal and the quote request fills itself in; CoverMatch sends one application to every eligible carrier and lines the quotes up against what you have.
Renewal timing
Workers' compensation is audited on actual payroll and liability on sales, so a busy year ends with a bill unless the estimates were kept honest; pay-as-you-go billing through your payroll company removes most of that. Renewal autopilot starts the comparison sixty days out, prefilled from the wallet.