FEATURED SPECIALTY INDUSTRIES WE COVER

CONTRACTORS

At Elite Insurance, we insure contractors of just about every kind of trade type, small and mid-sized operations. These types include general contractors, roofers, electricians, plumbers, HVAC technicians, framers, painters, masons, excavators, and specialty subcontractors across the southeast. With over 25 years of experience, we understand contractor risk and know how to handle the problems that most often catch contractors off guard.

A policy that looks fine on paper but excludes completed operations can leave a sub on the hook for a callback job months after the work is done. Missing or outdated certificates of insurance can get a contractor pulled off a job site or held liable for a General Contractor's additional-insured requirements. Builder's risk gaps can turn a mid-project fire or storm into a major setback. Missing tool and equipment coverage can mean a stolen trailer or a broken piece of machinery comes out of pocket. Workers compensation policies can potentially contain misclassified employees or sub contractor costs, outdated payroll records, and unproductive year-end audits.

We offer dedicated subcontractor coverage for the subs who make up so much of a job, and for qualifying owners and partners we can also write workers' comp exemption policies, so you're not paying to insure yourself when you don't need to. Our claims background is also what built our network of trusted contractors, so when you work with us you're not just getting a policy — you're plugging into a community of tradespeople who've been vetted, referred, and backed by real experience.

RESTAURANTS

We love to consult with restaurants and food service businesses of every size and concept, from full-service restaurants, quick-service types, fast-casual spots, coffee shops, bakeries, bars, taverns, taprooms, caterers, and food trucks. We love to serve the service industry!

A general liability policy without liquor liability can leave a bar or restaurant completely exposed if an over-served patron causes an accident on the way home. Management liability coverage is often an overlooked coverage and can cause an owner to pay out of pocket to defend against a lawsuit from an investor, a vendor dispute, or any type of regulatory action.

We recommend employment practices in the event of wrongful termination, harassment, or discrimination claims from employees. Restaurant owners are among the most common industries to see these types of claims with staff turnover and multiple franchised operations. A single claim could potentially equal a years worth of profit in legal fees alone.

A walk-in cooler failure or a lost-power spoilage event without food spoilage coverage means thousands of dollars of inventory is wasted paired with business interruption coverage where a fire, storm, or extended closure doesn't set the business owner back several months of profit and operating costs during the repair process.

We build restaurant policies to avoid future scale and growth obstacles, and we stay involved through renewals so coverage keeps pace as a the business grows, adds locations, or starts serving alcohol for the first time. That claims background is also what built our referral network in the local restaurant and hospitality community, so when you work with us you're not just getting a policy, you're working with an agency that's seen what actually goes wrong in this industry and built coverage around it!

AUTO SERVICE AND MECHANICS

Given our background in collector car insurance, we love to help auto service shop owners and mechanics within general repair shops, body and collision shops, tire shops, transmission and brake specialists, oil change/quick-lube shops, and even mobile mechanics.

We tailor our policies with garagekeepers coverage for customer's vehicle that are damaged, stolen, or destroyed by a fire while it's being worked on in the shop, which is not covered by a standard general liability policy. We can even do agreed value coverage for specialty shops that work on collector cars and custom vehicles.

If you are towing vehicles back to your property, we ensure that coverage for the customer’s vehicle and any resulting liability is completely covered if a vehicle were to fall of or become involved in an accident on the way back to the shop, or out for a test drive after repair.

A repair job that fails afterwards such a brake job, a suspension repair, an engine or transmission rebuild, can turn into a products and completed operations claim, even in some cases months after the car has left the lot.

Shops that handle oil, coolant, brake fluid, and other fluids also carry a pollution liability exposure that does not extend from a standard liability policy, especially when it comes to spills, disposal, or contamination incidents.

Lifts, diagnostic equipment, and specialty tools represent a big part of your shops investment, and without the right replacement equipment and tools coverage, a theft, fire, or breakdown can be very costly to the bottom line.

When you work with us, you're getting coverage built around how your shop actually operates and functions while you dilligently service your community!

MANUFACTURING

East TN has really started to see a surge of manufacturing businesses with lots of different types of products manufacturers and we are eager to help! From metal fabrication, machined parts, industrial supply companies, and product distributors, we have great markets for your business to thrive with.

One coverage we light to highlight is products liability, extending to a defective part or component that fails downstream, and in cases of another business’ finished product. These types of claims can trigger a lawsuit years after leaving the building and in use by the end consumer. During the process of manufacturing, we can layer in equipment breakdown coverage to cover equipment like a blown motor, a failed press, or an electrical failure on the production line which can potentially shut down output for weeks. This also ties in to business interruption coverage when a fire, storm, even a key supplier's shutdown can cost far more in lost production and missed orders than the physical damage itself.

Manufacturing and metal work jobs carry some of the higher injury class risks of any industry, making an accurate job classification and clean payroll records vital when heading into an insurance audit. Let us make that process easier for you and ensure that year after year, your business is able to stay running and free from surprise audits.