A Guide to Insurance for Retail Stores

A customer trips on a rug, injuring themselves. Or, a hurricane damages your roof, flooding your inventory. Without the proper insurance, these scenarios could be financially disastrous for your retail store. That’s why having the right insurance for your business is so important. In this guide, we’ll discuss the unique needs of retail stores and the most common insurance policies you should consider.

Retail Store Insurance Essentials

• General Liability Insurance: This coverage protects your business from claims of bodily injury or property damage arising from your business operations. Think of it as a safety net for everyday mishaps like slip-and-falls or accidental damage to customer property.
• Commercial Property Insurance: This insurance protects your owned or rented building, plus equipment, tools, inventory, and more from many sources such as fire, burglary, theft, wind, and lightning. If you need coverage for flooding, you’ll need to purchase a separate commercial flood insurance policy.
• Business Interruption Insurance: This covers lost income and operating expenses, ensuring financial stability if you are unable to operate due to covered property damage. For example, if your building experiences fire damage, this insurance helps cover your lost income until you can reopen.

Beyond the Basics

Every retail store is unique, so some additional policies you should consider are:

• Product Liability Insurance: If you are worried about a customer claiming your product caused them harm, this insurance will cover your legal fees and potential settlements in such cases.
• Cyber Liability Insurance: Today, data breaches are a serious threat. This policy will protect you from the financial fallout of cyberattacks, covering data recovery, legal fees, and reputational damage.
• Workers’ Compensation Insurance: If you have employees, you’ll need to make sure you have an adequate Workers’ Comp policy. So, if an employee gets injured on the job, this insurance will provide medical expense coverage and lost wages to that employee. This is essential to protect both you and your employees.

*Bonus Tip: Regularly review your insurance policies as your shop evolves to ensure your coverage adapts to keep pace with your changing needs.

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Knowing the exact insurance coverage you need can be complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. When you work with an independent insurance agency, like Lewis Mohr, we analyze your business to understand your unique needs. Then we shop your policy to different insurance providers to get you the best rate. This will give you peace of mind to focus on your business rather than worrying about the ins and outs of insurance. If you have questions about insurance for your business, give us a call or send us a message. We’re here to help!