Care, Custody & Control

A common exclusion for damage to property in your care — why a mover or repairer needs specific coverage, not just GL.

Care, custody and control refers to a standard exclusion in general liability policies: GL generally will not pay for damage to property that’s in your care, that you’re working on, or that you control at the time. It’s one of the most misunderstood gaps in commercial insurance.

The logic is that GL is meant to cover damage to OTHER people’s property caused by your operations — not the specific item you were hired to work on or entrusted with. So a cleaner who scratches a client’s antique table, a repair shop whose customer’s car is damaged on the lift, or a mover who drops a client’s couch may find those exact losses excluded, because the property was in their care, custody or control.

The fix is buying the right coverage for the exposure: an auto/garage shop needs garagekeepers; a cleaner or restorer needs a care, custody and control endorsement or an inland-marine bailee form; a contractor may need installation or property-of-others coverage. If your work means holding, transporting, or operating on other people’s valuable property, don’t assume GL alone has you covered — this is exactly the kind of gap we check for.

This is a friendly general explanation, not legal or policy language. Exact coverage depends on your policy, carrier, and state. 🤝

Written and reviewed by the We Insure Things team — licensed independent insurance agents. Last reviewed July 23, 2026. Questions? Ask a licensed agent.