What Is Care, Custody, and Control in Insurance?

What Does Care, Custody, and Control Mean in Insurance? 

Care, custody, and control is a standard insurance exclusion that removes coverage for property you don’t own when that property is damaged, lost, or destroyed while you’re responsible for it. 

So, if you’re working on, storing, or transporting property that belongs to a client, and it gets damaged on your watch, it’s possible a standard policy won’t cover the claim. 

One wording detail worth knowing: most policies say “care, custody or control,” not “and.” That single word matters. It means the exclusion can apply if just one of the three conditions is met. You don’t have to check all three boxes for a claim to be denied. Read your policy wording, not the shorthand.

What’s the Difference Between Care, Custody, and Control? 

Care means you’re responsible for overseeing the property for a set period of time. Custody means you’ve been placed in charge of the property. Control means you have the power and authority to direct what happens to it.

In practice, the three overlap. A dry cleaner holding a customer’s suit has all three at once. A contractor storing a client’s materials on site might have care and custody but not much control.

There’s no single legal definition, and no fixed guideline that determines whether a claim gets paid or denied. Two businesses in near-identical situations can get different answers, because insurers weigh the specific facts – how long you had the property, whether you were being paid to work on it, how much say you had over it.

When Does a Care, Custody, and Control Exclusion Apply?

The exclusion typically comes into play whenever you’re holding, transporting, storing, servicing, or working on property that belongs to someone else. Some common examples: 

• You run an auto repair shop and drop a heavy wrench on a customer’s car, denting the hood. Your general liability insurance likely won’t cover it, but garage liability insurance can.
• Your restaurant’s coat check loses a customer’s jacket.
• You damage a leased photocopier or other equipment your business leased.
• A client drops off a laptop for repair and it’s stolen from your shop overnight.
• You’re moving a customer’s furniture into storage and drop a dresser down a flight of stairs.

Why Do Insurers Exclude Property in Your Care, Custody, and Control? 

Because that risk belongs in a different policy. General liability insurance is built to cover accidental damage to property you have nothing to do with, such as a client’s floor you scratch on the way in, or a bystander’s parked car. 

Once property is in your hands as part of your work, insurers treat it as a distinct exposure – with its own pricing, coverage terms, and limits. 

It’s not a loophole. It’s a signal that you need a specific add-on.

How Does Care, Custody, and Control Affect General Liability Insurance?

Commercial general liability (CGL) insurance covers third-party bodily injury and property damage, but not property that’s in your care, custody, and control.

The contrast is easiest to see side by side:

• Covered: You gouge a customer’s hardwood floors while delivering a couch to their home, and they sue you for property damage.

• Not covered: That same couch is damaged while it’s in your shop for reupholstering.

Same couch. Same customer. Two different answers, because in the second scenario the property was in your custody.

You can close that gap. Endorsements and standalone coverages exist specifically to insure property of others, and a licensed Zensurance broker can review your policy to tell you whether you’re exposed.

Does a Care, Custody, and Control Exclusion Affect Commercial Property Insurance?

No. A care, custody, and control exclusion doesn’t apply to real property, like land, buildings, and the fixtures permanently attached to them. Your commercial property insurance still covers your building and your business contents the way it always did.

The exclusion targets movable property belonging to others: equipment, inventory, vehicles, tools, personal effects, and goods you’re storing, hauling, or servicing.

What Coverage Fills the Care, Custody, and Control Gap?

The right coverage depends on what you’re holding and why. A few of the options that address property of others:

• Bailee’s coverage insures customers’ property while it’s in your possession – built for dry cleaners, repair shops, electronics technicians, and anyone who takes in goods to work on them.

• Garage liability and garagekeepers coverage protect auto repair shops, body shops, and dealerships handling customers’ vehicles.

• Installation floater insurance covers a contractor’s materials and equipment in transit or stored at a temporary job site.

• A tools and equipment floater extends to borrowed, rented, or leased equipment you don’t own.

• Animal liability endorsements (often written as a care, custody, and control extension) cover injury to pets in your charge – essential for dog walkers, groomers, kennels, and pet sitters.

• Warehouse legal liability – also called warehouseman’s legal liability – covers goods belonging to clients while they’re in storage at your facility. 

The pattern across all of them: your base policy handles liability to the world at large, and these add-ons handle the property that’s sitting in your shop, your truck, or your storage unit right now.

Frequently Asked Questions About Care, Custody, and Control in Insurance

What happens if my claim is denied because of a care, custody, and control exclusion?

You’d be responsible for the cost of repairing or replacing the property yourself, and for any legal costs if the owner sues. That’s why it’s worth reviewing your policy before a claim happens rather than after. A licensed broker can tell you exactly which of your exposures your current policy leaves open. 

Is care, custody, and control the same as a bailee?

They’re related but not identical. A bailee is a business that temporarily holds someone else’s property – a dry cleaner, repair shop, or valet. Care, custody, and control is the exclusion that removes coverage for that property from a standard policy. Bailee’s coverage is what puts it back. 

Can I remove the care, custody, and control exclusion from my policy?

Usually not. The exclusion itself typically stays in place, and coverage is restored through an endorsement or a separate policy that specifically insures property of others. 

Does a care, custody, and control exclusion apply to rented or leased equipment?

Often, yes. Equipment you lease doesn’t belong to you, so damage to it can fall under the exclusion. Check whether your lease requires you to carry coverage for it as many do. 

Understanding what your policy excludes matters as much as knowing what it covers. If your work puts other people’s vehicles, tools, inventory, or pets in your hands, a care, custody, and control exclusion could leave you paying a claim you assumed was covered. 

Get the Right Insurance for Your Small Business 

Protect your finances and business with a customized business insurance policy from Zensurance.

Fill out our online application for a free quote in less than 5 minutes.

Our knowledgeable team of licensed insurance brokers will find the right policy from one of 50+ insurers in our network, customize it to suit your specific needs and budget, and ensure there are no gaps in your coverage. 

– Updated August 19, 2026.

Recent Posts