A business owner of any kind comes with a lot of responsibility and regardless of whether you run a bakery, local convenience store, hairdressers or dry cleaners, you will have a certain level of responsibility and duties to carry out to ensure that both your customers and employees are safe and looked after.
However, sometimes accidents or incidents can occur that result in one of your employees or a customer suffering from an accident or injury while in your shop and in this instance, you will need the appropriate level of insurance to help protect you and your business against any claims made.
What is shop insurance?
Shop insurance is just one of the many types of insurance policies you can take out as a business owner, but this type of policy is specifically for shop owners who run and operate high street retail businesses such as bakeries, butchers, hairdressers and more.
A shop insurance policy will protect your shop against numerous types of claims that can be made against your business from both employees who work at your shop and from customers and clients who go into your shop or use products that they’ve purchased from you.
What does retail shop insurance cover?
Shop insurance can cover myriad things, depending on the type of shop you run and the level of cover you want to take out.
For example, if you run a butcher or bakery where you’re selling produce to customers, you might want to take out shop insurance to cover you in the event that a customer makes a claim against your business saying that they became unwell as a result of eating something that your shop produced.
You can also be covered for things like your shop’s actual building, its stock and equipment and your employees.
When taking out cover for shop insurance, you might want to consider adding some of the following things to your policy to ensure that you’re covered for as many eventualities as possible.
- Employers’ liability insurance - if you employ anyone at your shop who isn’t directly related to you, you are required by law to have an employers’ liability insurance policy in place.
- Stock insurance - if you run a shop, you will more than likely keep a lot of stock on your shop’s premises so it’s important to get cover for stock in the event that it is stolen or damaged.
- Public liability insurance - this type of policy offers you protection if a customer is injured while in your shop.
- Buildings insurance - if you own the building that you operate your shop from, you will need to add buildings insurance to your policy so that you’re protected against structural damage to your shop.
Do I need retail insurance for my shop?
The only type of business insurance that is a legal requirement is employers’ liability insurance which protects your company against claims made by any current or former employees.
Shop insurance isn’t technically a legal requirement, but it can be very handy to have as a customer-facing business so that you’re protected if someone makes a claim against you.
If your shop is your livelihood, it makes sense that you’d want to protect your income at all costs and taking out the right level of shop insurance can give you peace of mind that you’ll be able to settle any compensation costs or legal fees that might occur if someone makes a claim.
Shop insurance can also cover things like loss, theft or damage to your shop’s stock, compensation costs for customers who suffer from an injury or illness when in your shop or if they’ve bought something from your shop and it can also help to support any loss of income you may suffer from if you need to close your business for whatever reason.
In some cases, you may need to add extras to your shop insurance policy such as specific stock insurance or public liability insurance, so before you take out cover, you should check exactly what the policy entails and what kind of things you’ll be covered for.
Do I need shop insurance for an online shop?
Even if you don’t have a physical shop for your business and you operate everything online, it is still advised to take out shop insurance so that you’re protected against any claims made by customers or employees.
You will still need employers’ liability insurance if you employ anyone for your online shop and you may want to add stock insurance to your policy as you’ll likely have stock that may be at risk of damage or theft.
How much store insurance do I need?
The amount of cover you need for your shop insurance policy depends on the type of business you run and the things you want to be covered for.
For example, if you run a shop where you sell a lot of expensive jewellery or high-value electronics, you will likely pay more for shop insurance as you have more expensive things to cover on your policy.
If you choose to add public liability insurance to your shop insurance policy, you will need to think about the risks associated with your shop so that you can ensure you’re protected against many eventualities.
How to find affordable shop insurance quotes
You can find affordable shop insurance by getting in touch with us here at Complete Business Assist and we will compare quotes from different providers for you.
In order for us to get you the best quotes for a shop insurance policy, it’s important to be as honest as possible with regard to the type of business you run, how many people you employ and the level of cover you need to ensure that all your stock will be covered if you need to make a claim.