Florida Dealer Insurance Quote Checklist: What to Gather Before You Apply

A complete insurance submission helps an agent approach the right carriers, compare terms accurately, and reduce follow-up questions. An incomplete one can produce delays or a quote based on assumptions that do not match the dealership’s actual operations.

Use this guide before requesting a new policy, replacing a current policy, adding a location, or making a significant change to your dealership.

Download the printable Florida Dealer Insurance Quote Worksheet (PDF)

Disclaimer: This checklist is for informational and application-preparation purposes only. It is not an insurance binder, coverage opinion, or guarantee of eligibility or price. Requested information and underwriting requirements vary by carrier.

Key points in 30 seconds

• Gather business, location, ownership, driver, inventory, sales, and loss information before applying.
• Report what the dealership actually does, including service work, towing, rebuilt vehicles, and off-site storage.
• Separate annual sales from average inventory, maximum inventory, and the highest value of any single vehicle.
• Include every owner or employee who may drive dealership vehicles.
• Attach current policy declarations and loss runs when available.
• Choose requested coverages based on the dealership’s exposures, not only the minimum needed for licensing.

1. Business and license information

Gather the exact information used on the dealership’s legal and licensing records:

• Legal business name.
• Fictitious name or DBA.
• Entity type and formation date.
• Federal Employer Identification Number.
• Florida dealer license number, or application status for a new dealership.
• Dealer license type.
• Years in business under the current and any prior entity.
• Primary contact name, title, phone number, and email address.
• Ownership percentages for all owners.
• Description of related automotive businesses under common ownership.

Small differences matter. If the lease, dealer license, application, and requested named insured use different names, explain the relationship before the submission reaches underwriting.

2. Every dealership and storage location

List each place where vehicles, records, employees, or customers may be present:

• Street address and county.
• Whether the premises are owned or leased.
• Lot size and building square footage.
• Office, showroom, service, and storage areas.
• Number of indoor and outdoor vehicle spaces.
• Fencing, gates, lighting, cameras, alarms, and key-control procedures.
• Flood zone or prior weather-loss information, if known.
• Distance between the main location and any supplemental lot.
• Off-site, overflow, auction, or temporary storage locations.
• Other businesses operating at the same property.

Do not leave out a location because it is new, temporary, shared, or used only for overflow inventory. Ask the agent how each location should be listed or scheduled.

3. Sales and inventory values

Prepare realistic figures for:

• Estimated annual gross sales for the next policy term.
• Prior-year gross sales for an established dealership.
• Average number of vehicles in inventory.
• Maximum number of vehicles expected at one time.
• Average total inventory value.
• Maximum total inventory value.
• Highest value of any single vehicle.
• Percentage of retail, wholesale, auction, consignment, and brokered transactions.
• Percentage of cash, outside-financed, and in-house-financed sales.

Annual sales and inventory values are not interchangeable. Sales measure the volume of operations over time. Inventory values measure the property exposed at a particular moment.

Use peak-season numbers when the lot changes significantly during the year. Understating inventory can create a serious mismatch between the reported exposure and the vehicles the business expects the policy to protect.

4. Vehicle types and dealership activity

Describe the inventory and how it is acquired:

• New or used vehicles.
• Passenger cars, pickup trucks, commercial vehicles, motorcycles, RVs, or mobile homes.
• Luxury, exotic, classic, or high-performance vehicles.
• Salvage or rebuilt vehicles.
• Consignment vehicles.
• Vehicles acquired at physical or online auctions.
• Imported or exported vehicles.
• Rentals, loaners, or demonstrators.
• Buy Here, Pay Here operations.

Tell the agent about any category that represents only a small part of the business. A five-percent activity can still affect carrier eligibility or policy terms.

5. Owners, employees, and drivers

Create a driver list that includes anyone who may operate a dealership vehicle:

• Owners and officers.
• Salespeople.
• Lot attendants and porters.
• Buyers who attend auctions.
• Mechanics and service employees.
• Delivery or pickup drivers.
• Temporary, part-time, and contract drivers.

For each person, gather the full legal name, date of birth, driver’s license number and state, job duties, and driving frequency. Be ready to explain recent accidents, violations, suspensions, or unusual license history.

Also document your rules for test drives, personal use, overnight use, minimum driver age, license verification, and vehicle checkout. If owners or employees take inventory vehicles home, disclose that practice.

6. Service, repair, towing, and customer vehicles

Answer these questions even if vehicle sales are the main business:

• Does the dealership perform mechanical repairs, body work, detailing, or installation?
• Is work performed for customers, only on inventory, or both?
• How many service bays and technicians are present?
• Are vehicles road-tested after service?
• Does the dealership tow vehicles or transport them on trailers?
• What is the maximum number and value of customer vehicles in the dealership’s care at one time?
• Are keys stored securely and is vehicle condition documented at intake?

These answers help distinguish liability arising from dealership operations from physical damage to customer vehicles in the business’s care.

7. Current insurance and loss history

For an existing business, collect:

• Current carrier and policy number.
• Policy effective and expiration dates.
• Current limits, deductibles, and endorsements.
• A complete copy of the declarations pages.
• Three to five years of carrier-issued loss runs when requested.
• Details about each claim, including what happened and what changed afterward.
• Notices of cancellation, nonrenewal, or coverage restrictions.
• Gaps in coverage and the reason for each gap.

Do not report only paid claims. Include open, reserved, and recently reported matters when the application asks for them. If a loss was caused by a security, staffing, or procedural weakness, describe the corrective action taken.

8. Coverage to discuss with your agent

Florida licensing requirements are only one part of the coverage conversation. Ask which of these apply to your operation:

• Garage liability: Third-party bodily injury and property damage arising from covered dealership operations.
• Dealer’s open lot: Physical damage to vehicles the dealership owns and holds for sale.
• Garagekeepers: Physical damage to customer vehicles in the dealership’s care, custody, or control.
• General liability: Non-auto business liability exposures, subject to the policy terms.
• Commercial property: Buildings, office contents, equipment, signs, and other covered property.
• Workers’ compensation: Employee work-related injuries and statutory obligations.
• Umbrella or excess liability: Additional limits above specified underlying policies.
• False pretense coverage: Certain losses involving a vehicle obtained through fraud or deceptive means, subject to policy definitions and conditions.
• Cyber coverage: Data breaches, ransomware, payment fraud, and other covered technology events.

Coverage names are not enough. Ask about limits, deductibles, exclusions, driver restrictions, location schedules, vehicle-value reporting, and any protective safeguards required by the carrier.

Final review before submitting

• Confirm that names and addresses match the dealer license and business records.
• Reconcile annual sales and inventory values with current financial records.
• Include peak inventory, not only today’s lot value.
• Review the driver list with a manager who knows day-to-day vehicle use.
• Disclose all service, towing, delivery, and off-site storage activity.
• Explain salvage, rebuilt, exotic, commercial, or consignment inventory.
• Attach current declarations and loss runs when available.
• Read every warranty and signature statement before submitting.
• Keep a copy of the completed application and attachments.
• Report material changes to the agent during the policy term.

Submitting an application does not create coverage. Do not cancel an existing policy or assume a new policy is active until an authorized representative confirms the effective date and binding terms in writing.

Quick FAQ

• What documents should I gather for a Florida dealer insurance quote? Start with your dealer license or application information, business formation details, location information, current policy declarations, driver details, inventory values, annual sales, and recent loss runs if available.
• Why does an insurer ask for both annual sales and inventory value? They measure different exposures. Annual sales describe the scale of dealership operations, while average and maximum inventory values help measure the vehicles exposed to physical loss at a given time.
• Should I include every employee who may drive a dealership vehicle? Yes. Identify owners and employees who may drive inventory, demonstrate vehicles, deliver vehicles, run errands, or move vehicles between locations. The insurer will determine which drivers must be scheduled or otherwise addressed.
• Does submitting a quote application create insurance coverage? No. An application or quote request does not bind coverage. Coverage begins only when it is confirmed by the authorized insurance representative in accordance with the policy and binder terms.

Related resources

• Florida dealer insurance requirements: /isba/resources/florida-dealer-insurance-requirements-explained
• Garage liability explained: /isba/resources/what-is-garage-liability-policy
• Florida dealer bond requirements: /isba/resources/florida-dealer-bond-requirements

References

[1] FLHSMV, Motor Vehicle, Recreational Vehicle and Mobile Home Dealers FAQ: https://www.flhsmv.gov/motor-vehicles-tags-titles/dealers-installers-manufacturers-distributors-importers/mv-rv-mh-dealer-broker-licenses/mv-rv-mh-dealers-faqs/

[2] ISBA, Florida Dealer Insurance Quote Application: https://isba.miami/dealer-insurance-quote/

Last reviewed: August 3, 2026.