(972) 681-6297

Mon - Fri 8:30am - 4:30pm

337 Oaks Trail

Ste 200 Garland, TX 75043

(972) 681-6297

Mon - Fri 8:30am - 4:30pm

2021

I Lost My Title… Now What?

If you simply lost your title, replacing it is easy, does not require a bond and can be completed in four easy steps.

Bonded titles are a whole other story. If a vehicle arrives in Texas with ownership questions, the owner of the vehicle is likely to be asked to obtain a bonded title. Attach a surety bond to a title and you have created a bonded title. There are options to a bonded title, such as a legal hearing, but getting a surety bond is typically much less expensive and certainly faster. There are five steps to take in obtaining a bonded title…

I Lost My Title… Now What? Read More »

Car Dealership with Glass windows

When Should I Buy Property Insurance?

When should I buy property insurance? That may seem like a strange question, but let’s pretend you are a brand-new dealer, probably leasing a location. The question becomes appropriate when considering what insurance is applicable to BOTH your operations exposures and your insurance budget. In that context, property insurance falls now in the line of priority.

In this helpful article we break down the insurance types and priorities for when to purchase the insurance you need.

When Should I Buy Property Insurance? Read More »

Black and White Cars in a Car dealership

Should I Insure My Inventory?

Should I Insure My Inventory? This question comes up much more often than one might think and, in working with my clients, I know why:

There are so many options available…And no two dealers think exactly alike!

Insurance philosophies are different.

Insurance budgets are different.

Business goals are different.

Lienholder requirements are different.

In this blog, let’s forget the source, i.e. the agent, of solving your dealer insurance need and just think about the many insurance options available to fill the blank.

Should I Insure My Inventory? Read More »

Surety Bond Paper Work

The Cost of Surety Bonds

As of September 1, 2021, we have another change in the Texas dealer bond requirements:

“Texas House Bill (HB) increases the amount of the surety bond from $25,000 to $50,000 that an application must provide to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles as a condition of a new or renewed motor vehicle dealer or wholesale motor vehicle auction general distinguishing number.
HB 3533 was approved by the governor on June 14, 2021 and becomes effective on September 1, 2021.” (Corporate Compliance Bulletin TX -2021-37)
Because the rate per thousand is currently unchanged, the resulting cost of dealer bonds will double for the same two year period to correspond with the doubling of the protection.

The Cost of Surety Bonds Read More »

Cyber Liability Insurance

Cyber-Liability – Just the word has a science-fiction sound and feel to it! Add the bitcoin ransom requests we hear about every day and I wonder if I have entered some sort of Twilight Zone. Be that as it may, the truth is every business, large, small and in-between, is subject to some sort of cyber liability claim.

If you use a computer to send, receive or store electronic data, your business is at risk. Tax records, company documents, customer information, etc., all such data can be lost, damaged or stolen. Most of us have our employees’ information stored: social security numbers, health records, maybe even credit card numbers. Regardless of how the information is lost, restoring it is likely to be both time consuming and difficult. Bad enough to think about losing our data, but that thought can quickly morph into a nightmare when we realize that a data breach can be the onset of third-party claims and/or lawsuits.

Deciding what to do about our cyber loss exposures is the question, not if we have any exposures.

Cyber Liability Insurance Read More »

Another New Beginning – Insurance Checkup

Some things lend themselves to regular check-ups and some things do not.  Insurance too often falls into the latter category.  

With the speed of today’s life and our day-to-day activity, it can be too easy to sign the renewal paperwork, write a check and move-on.  That works very well for a lot of dealers for a lot of years.  As long as your insurance needs remain unchanged, it is likely your current policy is providing the correct protection — likely, but not positively.  And the scary part is that you will not realize where the coverage is lacking until you have a loss jeopardized by inadequate protection.  

The best time to review your insurance is:

Another New Beginning – Insurance Checkup Read More »

Insurance Policy

A Question Answered – Garage Insurance

I’m pleased to announce we have begun to receive e-mail feedback from this column.

David W Scott posed the first question:

“I saw recently a packaged Business Owners Policy for an auto paint and body shop which had been endorsed with garagekeepers coverage, but did not say anywhere the $1M/$2 M liability on the policy would also extend to the employees driving the vehicles in/out and around the shop. Is there a garage liability endorsement that should be added to the coverage page?”

A Question Answered – Garage Insurance Read More »