Skip to content
CoverMatch
MATCH GUIDE

Matching bailee coverage: how the comparison works

QUICK ANSWER

Bailee coverage pays for loss of or damage to customers' property in your care: garments at a cleaner, instruments at a repair shop, animals at a kennel, goods in a warehouse. General liability excludes property in your care; bailee coverage answers it. Carriers quote it on the value on hand, the type of property and the premises. CoverMatch compares the limits at the premises and in transit, the valuation basis and the perils.

Add your policies Get matched
Reviewed by Michael LaBarbera, Licensed property & casualty agent, Provident Financial Group · Reviewed Oct 12, 2026 Updated
Coverage scoreEvery policy in one wallet
Bailee / Customers' PropertyRenews in 47d
Workers' CompensationLive cert ✓
Business Owner's PolicyCan switch
CoverMatch Your shop holds more customer property on a Friday than the bailee limit on two of the quotes. The comparison shows the gap.
01 / WHAT UNDERWRITERS ASK
  • What customers' property you hold and its typical and peak value
  • Where it is held: premises, vehicles, third-party storage
  • Security, fire protection and climate control at the premises
  • Your contracts or tickets and what they say about liability
  • Prior losses of customer property
02 / WHAT MOVES THE PRICE
  • Value on handThe rating base; the limit should match the peak.
  • Property typeFine art, animals and electronics are rated differently from garments.
  • Premises protectionAlarms, sprinklers and climate control lower the rate.
  • TransitProperty in vehicles adds a transit exposure with its own limit.
  • Contract termsTickets that limit liability reduce the exposure the carrier prices.
Direction only — the carriers' quotes carry the figures.
03 / HAVE READY
  • An estimate of customer property value on a normal day and a peak day
  • A description of the premises and its protection
  • Your customer contract or claim ticket wording
  • Prior claims from the last five years
  • The general liability declarations, to show the exclusion being filled

What bailee coverage responds to

Direct physical loss or damage to customers' property while in your care, at your premises and in transit, from the covered perils, regardless of fault when written on a direct basis or only when you are liable when written on a legal-liability basis. The valuation clause sets what is paid.

How CoverMatch compares the quotes

Limits at premises and in transit, direct or legal-liability basis, valuation, perils and exclusions, deductible, and whether property at third-party locations is covered. The AI summary states the differences; a licensed agent explains them.

What to watch for

A limit set below a busy day, legal-liability-only coverage where customers expect to be paid regardless, and property in vehicles or at a subcontractor's shop left out.

Questions people actually ask

Doesn't general liability cover damage to a customer's item?

No; property in your care, custody or control is excluded on standard forms. Bailee coverage, or a care, custody and control endorsement for small exposures, is what pays.

How is customers' property valued?

By the policy's valuation basis: actual cash value, replacement cost or the amount stated on the contract. For a cleaner that is the garment's depreciated value; for an art handler, an agreed value. The comparison labels each quote.

Does it cover property in our trucks?

When transit coverage is included, with its own limit. For movers, restorers and mobile services that limit is the one to check.

Does it cover theft by our employees?

Usually not; employee dishonesty is a crime coverage. Bailee covers fire, theft by others, water and the perils named.

MANAGE IT IN THE APP

Every policy, renewal and live certificate in one wallet.

Scan a dec page and the card appears. Share a live certificate link that updates itself. Get matched when a renewal comes around.

Add your policiesGet matched

Keep reading

MATCHMatching abuse and molestation coverage: how the comparison works MATCHMatching builders risk: how the comparison works MATCHMatching business income coverage: how the comparison works MATCHMatching a business owner's policy MATCHMatching commercial auto MATCHMatching commercial crime coverage MATCHMatching commercial earthquake coverage: how the comparison works MATCHMatching commercial flood coverage: how the comparison works