Your creative prowess has finally bloomed into a full-blown business venture with a store location to match! While this is definitely an exciting new chapter in your life, there are many other responsibilities associated with your retail location besides a standard business license…like retail store insurance.
Your hard work, merchandise, employees, and every new customer must be protected by the proper retail insurance policies. However, with all the commercial insurance coverages available, it can be overwhelming to determine what type of coverage is best for your unique business. We’re here to help you crack the code on retail store insurance – what it covers, what it doesn’t, and how much you might need to support your business.
What is Covered By Retail Store Insurance?
As a rule of thumb, the risks you need to be protected from as a retail store owner are:
- Customer injury
- Employee injury
- Property & merchandise damage
- Losses due to criminal activity
- Reputational damage
- Fees associated with eliminating and replacing false advertising
- Costs associated with lawsuits
The goal is for your retail store insurance to cover all of these risks. When in doubt, ask your agent about what coverage works best for your specific business, what it covers, and how much coverage it allows. It’s important to know how each will protect your business.
What Type of Insurance Do I Need for a Retail Store?
General Liability
The core of any of any retail store insurance plan is general liability. This helps you handle a liability claim brought against your business for bodily harm, property damage, alleged breaches of contract, or reputation mismanagement. For example, if a customer slips and falls, your insurance will help cover their medical bills and your legal expenses if they choose to sue.
You may want to pay special attention to the amount of coverage offered by your general liability policy if you:
- Have a higher risk business (such as a factory or a scientific lab as opposed to an office building)
- You make or sell higher risk products or services (such as chemical sales or an indoor skydiving facility)
- Your state tends to award injured parties large amounts if a business is found liable
So, be sure to speak with your agent about getting the right general liability insurance for your business!
Worker’s Compensation
Almost everyone has heard of worker’s comp, and the rumors are true! Worker’s compensation covers medical costs and a portion of the wages lost if one of your employees is injured at work. You may be legally required to have worker’s compensation for your store, so check your state laws and make sure that your policy includes the coverage you need.
The cost of workers’ comp and the amount of coverage for the employee will vary from carrier to carrier, so grab a quote from InsuranceHub.
Business Property Coverage
Business property insurance will help cover any damage done to store merchandise or the actual store’s structure if Mother Nature decides it’s just not your day. For example, this part of your insurance plan can help you replace a roof ripped off by a tornado.
Examples of losses that could be covered by your commercial property insurance are:
- Fire
- Lightning
- Windstorm damage
- Hail damage, and
- Vandalism
Business Crime Insurance
Unfortunately, there are so many ways in which a business can lose money. However, business crime insurance can turn a major loss of income into a minor setback. Depending on your policy, crime insurance can help cover losses due to:
- Employee dishonesty – if an employee steals from your business
- Theft – whether it happens inside of your store or outside of your store with business funds
- Fraud – including balances taken from your account due to bad checks or money orders
- Forgery – should your name or your business’s name end up in hands where they don’t belong
- Damage to important documents – including replacement and backup of those documents
- Hacking and cyber security – which can help you investigate a breach, notify your customers, and provide them with a free credit monitoring service through some plans.
Business Interruption Coverage
Business interruption Insurance can help you cover the expenses and recover a portion of revenue lost if your retail store has to close due to a covered loss – for example, fire or vandalism. To see exactly what’s covered by your business income insurance policy, don’t be afraid to ask your insurance agent about breaking down parts of your plan.
(You could also think about equipment breakdown insurance to cover mechanical breakdowns of any necessary business machinery.)
Signs & Advertising Insurance
Depending on the policy, a signs and advertising endorsement can help you cover the costs of everything from removing stickers and rebranding logos to repairing a sign attached to your property to paying fees associated with false or misleading advertising. Again, this type of insurance may go by different names, such as “Brands & Labels Insurance” and “Signs Insurance” (the last of which will only cover the damage of signs attached to your property).
Commercial Auto Insurance
If you have a business full of road warriors, you may want to consider commercial auto insurance for your company vehicles. Some insurance carriers can even insure your company’s drivers if they’re driving a non-company vehicle for work purposes.
Summing Up
Opening up the business location of your dreams can be overwhelming, especially when it comes to all of the different retail store insurance coverages available. Finding a plan that best fits the what and whom you need to protect can be tricky on your own. So, call us at 770.497.1200 to get a quote for a retail liability plan that’s as unique as your new location!
Sources:
https://www.irmi.com/term/insurance-definitions/commercial-general-liability-policy
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/liability_insurance.asp