Looking for Shop Insurance?
No matter the type of shop you own, whether you’re selling food, clothes, gifts or something niche, you’ll need shop insurance to help you out financially if something happens to your business.
There’s no blanket policy for shop insurance. Depending on the type of shop you’re running you’ll need to think about taking out a number of policies to help cover loss of earnings due to fire, theft or damage.
Different types of shop insurance policy
Many insurers will offer a variety of policies that you may, or may not, want to take out in order to protect your business. Depending on the nature of your shop there are some that by law you’ll need to take out and others that although not legally required, are recommended in order to minimise financial loss if something does go wrong.
Whether you’ve got a shop on the high street or you’re based online, there are policies to suit every business. There are plenty of shop types that benefit from shop insurance especially:
- Newsagents
- Chemists
- Florists
- Post offices
- Furniture shops
- Audio/visual
- Department stores
- Clothing, shoes or tailors
- Greengrocers
- Butchers
- Bakers
- Pet shops
- Toy shops
- Kitchen or bathroom shops
Shop insurance and liability
There are two important types of liability involved with shop insurance. Employers Liability, which covers you in the event of claims made against you by your staff, and Public Liability should you liable for accident or injury to the public.
This type of policy is one of the most important as it’s legally required. Should one of your employees become ill or are injured at work, they may want to claim compensation. Employers liability covers you in the event of a compensation claim and also legal costs.
If you operate your shop from a physical premises rather than online, you’ll need cover in case a customer is injured or becomes ill. Even if you’re found to be not at fault and don’t need to pay compensation, you’ll still have to pay legal fees which can be high and might cause you to struggle especially if you’re a relatively small shop.
Shop insurance – protecting your investment
The physical nature of running a shop, the buying and selling of goods, the necessity of stock, of premises, of equipment – all of this means that you potentially have a lot of money tied up in your shop. It is a good idea to protect that investment.
Your stock is your business and it can be heartbreaking if something happens to it. Whether it’s through fire, damage or theft, you’ll want to make sure that you can recover costs and replace stock and contents quickly in order to minimise the impact on trading. Plus, contents insurance can also cover you if you’re out and about for work, for example at trade fairs or working off-site. So, if something like a laptop is damaged or stolen then you could make a claim to replace it.
Hopefully your shop is a great success and with so many transactions happening every day it's likely that there will be a great deal of cash on-site. Although you may take precautions and remove it overnight, you could face situations during trading hours that may result in it being taken. This type of policy can cover you against theft from yourself, your premises or any of your employees too.
Especially important if you own the premises that your shop operates from, this type of shop insurance is handy in case of flood, fire or building damage. You can sometimes also receive cover for debris removal or architect fees if rebuilding work is necessary.
Virtual shop insurance
Trading online comes with its own set of problems such as data breaches, viruses and even malicious hacking. Some insurers offer policies that can help to recover the loss of income, and can even offer advice on crisis management and how to protect yourself from it happening again.
Lowering your monthly shop insurance premiums
Whether you’ve taken out only the essential shop insurance policies, or have opted to have more comprehensive cover, you’ll want to make sure that you’re not unnecessarily paying over the odds each month. There are things you can do to help keep your premiums down that in turn can actually help improve your business too – so it’s a win-win!
Make sure you’re carrying out measures to keep your shop as secure as possible. Alarm systems and CCTV on points of access can help to lower monthly premiums and help to catch perpetrators if you do experience a break-in.
Avoid unnecessary accidents, trips or falls from employees or customers by keeping both front and back of house clear, tidy and clean.
If your shop sells large items like fridges or furniture that might need moving around, then make sure your employees know the correct way to lift and handle stock to minimise the risk of injury.
Make sure you’re removing cash and valuables from your shop at the end of the day and following process whether it’s keeping it secure in a safe off-site, or depositing takings at the bank.
Shop Insurance – Useful FAQs
Even if the damage isn’t to your premises, there can be huge repercussions if there’s a stall or delay in business along your supply chain. If your supplier has experienced theft or damage that has a direct impact on your business and causes it to have to close temporarily, then you may be covered under a business interruption policy. Always make sure you thoroughly read through your policy documents before signing up to make sure.
There are some periods of the year that you’ll want to have more stock than normal to account for demand. Seasonal uplifts such as Christmas and Mother’s Day can mean that the true value of stock on-site isn’t covered. During these times speak to your insurer who may be able to automatically uplift your coverage to ensure you’re covered.
Not necessarily. If your stock is seen as high-risk, such as cigarettes, alcohol, big ticket items or precious jewels, then you may need a different type of policy that will most likely result in higher premiums. When you’re valuing your stock for the insurer it’s important to be as honest as possible to help make sure your claim isn’t denied if the time comes.
If you live in an area prone to flooding and your shop is situated in the catchment area that you may find it difficult to get specific flood cover, however buildings insurance can usually cover damage or rebuilding due to flooding. Don’t forget that you’ll also need to make sure that you’re taking out contents insurance as this will help towards the cost of any lost or damaged stock, fittings and fixtures.
This will depend solely on your current home insurance policy and insurer. Make sure you’re making them aware that you’re trading from home and they should be able to advise as to whether you’re still covered or if you need to take out additional shop insurance.