Garage Keepers vs On-Hook Towing Coverage

Customer vehicle IN YOUR STORAGE YARD / IMPOUND LOT. Vehicle is parked at your facility awaiting pickup, repair authorization, or judicial release. Damage from fire, theft, vandalism, weather, on-yard collision (you backing into it), etc.

Customer vehicle IN TRANSIT on your hook. Vehicle is loaded on your wrecker/flatbed during an active tow. Damage from collision (you hit something while towing), the towed vehicle falling off the hook, weather damage during transit, etc.

$500-$1,500/year depending on storage yard capacity (number of vehicles you can simultaneously hold). Scales with declared yard limit. Full tow-truck cost breakdown.

$400-$1,200/year typical. Scales with declared On-Hook coverage limit (typically $50K-$100K per vehicle on the hook, with aggregate limits depending on operation size).

Does NOT cover your own tow trucks (that's Commercial Auto). Does NOT cover the vehicle while being towed (that's On-Hook). Does NOT cover customer property INSIDE the vehicle (typically excluded — the contents of a customer's vehicle are not your insurable interest under standard GKLL).

Does NOT cover your own tow trucks. Does NOT cover the vehicle once it's at your yard (that's Garage Keepers). Does NOT cover damage you caused that's clearly your tow-truck's fault — that's Commercial Auto liability. The line gets fuzzy on partial-blame scenarios.

Excluded. Commercial Auto covers YOUR vehicle's liability + collision + comprehensive — it does not cover damage to OTHER PEOPLE'S vehicles you've stored. GKLL is the explicit endorsement that picks this up. Without GKLL, a yard fire that damages 5 customer vehicles is entirely on you.

Excluded. Commercial Auto's collision coverage extends to YOUR truck, not to the customer vehicle you're towing. On-Hook is the explicit endorsement that covers the towed vehicle while it's on your equipment. Without On-Hook, a customer vehicle damaged mid-tow leaves you exposed for full repair/replacement cost.

Most states use 'Garage Keepers Legal Liability' (GKLL) or 'Garage Keepers' for the storage-yard coverage. Texas + Virginia use 'Garagekeepers Legal Liability' as the name for what other states call 'On-Hook' — different scope, same words.

Most states call this 'On-Hook' coverage explicitly. Texas + Virginia name conventions differ — what's labeled 'On-Hook' in NY/CA/FL may be labeled 'Garagekeepers' in TX/VA, even though it's the same in-transit coverage. Always read the policy form, not just the schedule name.

Typically declared as a TOTAL yard limit (e.g., $250K total coverage for all vehicles at the yard) OR a per-vehicle limit with aggregate (e.g., $50K per vehicle, $500K aggregate). Match the limit to your peak yard inventory dollar value.

Typically declared as a PER-VEHICLE on-hook limit (e.g., $50K-$100K per towed vehicle at any one time), with annual aggregate. Larger limits required for heavy-duty rotator operations towing high-value commercial vehicles.

Every tow operator with a storage yard. If you hold customer vehicles even overnight, you need GKLL. Police-impound contractors with large impound lots need particularly high GKLL limits.

Every tow operator doing actual towing. If you put a customer vehicle on your hook, you need On-Hook. Repo operations, light tow, heavy-duty, rotator — all need On-Hook proportional to the value of vehicles they typically tow.