If you are a valet parking attendant who should pay for the auto insurance?

Answer 1

All valet parking attendants need to have their own personal automobile insurance, however the bigger question is regarding the garagekeeper's insurance (that pays for damages to non-owned vehicles) that is required in the valet industry. In operating a valet parking company, we've run the gamut of different options regarding insurance and how to pay our employees. In states (like MN) that do not allow a tip credit, you must pay your employees the Fed or State minimum wage, unless they are 1099 contractors. It's important to clarify this difference prior to answering the question above because that will change who pays for the (very expensive) insurance coverage required in the valet industry. If a valet parking attendant is an actual employee of a parking company, then the financial burden of insurance must fall upon the parking company. If a parking company hires staff as 1099 contractors, then they could force the attendants to get their own insurance. The problem here is that I don't know of anybody that could afford the massive premiums for garagekeeper's liability coverage on the pay of a valet attendant, let alone take that amount of risk exposure personally. While this answer may not be applicable nation-wide, this is what we've found in our research into labor laws and insurance for the valet parking industry so far.

Erik Voge Vice President Tradition Valet, Inc. www.traditionvalet.com erik@traditionvalet.com