Coverage for Florida wrecker operators — built for Chapter 323 wrecker rules, §713.78 storage liens, and the county and municipal wrecker systems and rate caps that govern non-consent towing.
Florida regulates towing largely at the local level, framed by two key pieces of state law: Chapter 323, which governs wrecker operators and their storage facilities, and §713.78, which sets out the lien you hold when you tow and store a vehicle. Counties and municipalities then run their own wrecker systems and rate caps on top of that. Here is what that means for your coverage.
Florida law defines a “wrecker” as any truck or vehicle used to tow, carry, or transport motor vehicles equipped with a boom, winch, car carrier, or similar equipment. Chapter 323, Florida Statutes (Wrecker Operators) governs wrecker operator storage facilities and authorizes county and municipal wrecker operator systems, with penalties for operating outside an established system. Much of the day-to-day regulation — who can be on a rotation, what rates may be charged for non-consent tows — is handled by the county or municipality under that authority.
On top of Chapter 323, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) handles vehicle and registration matters, and statute requires a wrecker to display the company name, address, and phone number on both sides of the vehicle — the name in letters at least three inches tall — and to secure its storage facility with a fence at least six feet high.
When you recover and store a vehicle in Florida, §713.78, Florida Statutes gives you a lien for the towing and storage charges and sets out the notice you must provide to the owner and lienholders on department forms. Failure to make a good-faith effort to comply with those notice requirements can preclude you from imposing storage charges at all.
That lien process means vehicles routinely sit in your lot for days or weeks while notice runs — which is exactly the exposure garagekeepers legal liability is designed for. Your on-hook coverage protects the vehicle while it is on the truck; once it is parked on your lot awaiting release or lien sale, garagekeepers responds to fire, theft, vandalism, or collision. Most Florida operators who store vehicles carry both.
Because Florida runs towing through county and municipal wrecker systems, the required limits come from your local ordinance and rotation contract plus any motor-club agreement you sign — they are not a single statewide number. The consistent reality is primary commercial auto liability, on-hook/in-tow cargo for vehicles on the truck, and garagekeepers legal liability for the §713.78 storage exposure, generally with the local agency or motor club named as additional insured. We confirm the limits your county or municipal system and your motor clubs require and build the certificate to match.
Tell us about your operation and your loss history — we’ll confirm we can write Florida and structure the limits to match.