As a retail business owner, one of the greatest rewards is seeing happy, satisfied customers.
But that reward doesn’t come without risks. Retail stores, boutiques, specialty shops, convenience stores, mom-and-pop establishments, warehouse retailers, and even internet retailers carry a unique set of hazards to owners, employees, and patrons that may be alleviated through proper retail insurance coverage.
If you own a retail business, your employees may face risks such as slips, falls, or repetitive stress injuries. Your customers could become injured by falling products or display hazards. Your establishment could be damaged due to fire or catastrophic weather. And you could be held liable for all of these damages.
However, when you carry the right types of retail insurance, your customers, business, and employees may be covered.
What are the common types of retail insurance?
Workers’ compensation insurance helps protect your retail business and covers your employees if they become ill or injured on the job. Check your current workers’ comp rate.
General Liability
General liability insurance helps protect your retail company against third-party claims that involve property damage, bodily injury, or advertising injury.
Business Owner’s Policy
BOP offers bundled insurance that may include business interruption insurance, property insurance, and liability coverage for your retail business.
Cyber Insurance
Cyber liability insurance helps cover your company for events such as a data breach in which your customers’ or employees’ personal information or your company data is stolen or held hostage.
Additional Retail Insurance Options
Additional coverage options such as business crime insurance may be built into your business owner’s policy or purchased separately to customize your retail business insurance package.
What are some retail business risks, and which type of insurance may cover them?
Selecting small business insurance can be confusing. Here are some sample scenarios to point you in the right direction. We recommend consulting with a trusted advisor to make sure you get the right types of coverage for your business.
An employees develops a back injury from unloading heavy boxes
Workers’ compensation insurance may cover the worker’s medical bills and lost wages.
Falling items from a display injure a customer’s arm
General liability insurance may cover the customer’s medical bills and lost wages due to bodily injury and may protect the company from further liability.
The warehouse and products are damaged by fire
Property insurance (often through a bundled business owner’s policy) may cover the costs to rebuild the warehouse and replace products.
In addition to the damage, the business is interrupted due to the fire
Business interruption insurance (often through a business owner’s policy) may cover lost profits, temporary location moving costs, and certain operating expenses related to business loss from the fire.
An employee runs the delivery truck into a parked car
Commercial auto insurance may cover the auto repair costs and the third party’s car repair bills.
Who needs retail insurance?
Any business that resells products to customers should have adequate retail business insurance to cover themselves, their customers, and their employees, including salespeople, cashiers, stock clerks, merchandisers, and managers. Retail industry businesses may include:
- Retail stores and shops
- Grocery stores
- Boutiques and specialty shops
- Convenience stores
- Mom-and-pop establishments
- Warehouse retailers
- Home-based retailers
- Internet retailers