5 questions every manufacturer should ask about their dealer agreement!

Do you have a dealer agreement with the dealers who sell your products? Do you have an agreement that outlines what insurance they should be buying and how the risk will be transferred in the event of a claim? What if something is damaged or someone is injured?

Ask yourself these five questions…

1. Do I have something that is protecting me from an injury or damage claim?
2. Do I require the dealer to add me as an additional insured?
3. Do I have a waiver of subrogation?
4. Do I require them to have minimum limits to protect my interest?
5. Do I have anything in the agreement that prevents them from making changes to the truck or trailer without my prior authorization?

I’ve seen it happen many times. A trailer manufacturing or a truck body manufacturing company ends up taking on liability for something that they did not do or should not be responsible for. Maybe there was a modification to the truck or the trailer after it was sold to the dealership. What does your dealer agreement say about those things?

That’s where a good attorney comes in. They can help you understand things like your bill of lading and how that works, when you get paid, is it COD or is it paid in advance, when the title is going to change hands, all those different things that you deal with on a day-to-day basis.

We’ve worked with some great people across the country to help develop these agreements. Our expertise is in working with you and your attorney to help create the insurance language and the contractual risk transfer necessary to shift liability off you and onto the dealers that are selling and potentially modifying your products.

If you want to learn more about dealer agreements, I would love to hear from you and help you. Call me, have your attorney call me, or have somebody within your group call me and say, “Hey, I want to talk about my dealer agreement and how it can help protect my business from claims that really shouldn’t fall back on me.”

I hope to hear from you very soon.

Disclaimer: We are not attorneys. Nothing in the article, video or website should be considered legal advice. Always consult with an attorney when developing a dealer agreement or any other agreement.