What Types Of Insurance Coverage Do Consignment Shops Need?
Out of all the types of business industries available throughout the vase country of Canada, it is hard to match what the consignment sector offers. It’s not only easy to get into and requires some some interest and knowledge, but it could potentially be more lucrative than one might imagine. Well, to say that it’s easy to get into would be a long reach. And, one of the reasons that it’s not easy is because you have to safeguard yourself against all the potential threats. That being said, the consignment sector might not seem so high-risked. After all, you are just taking used goods and reselling them, right? How risky could that possibly be? Well, it’d be a lot riskier than you’d imagine.
The only way to fully protect yourself, your employees, and your family are to ensure that you have the right retail insurance policies in place. What are the right policies?
Bundling Business Owner’s Insurance With General Liability Insurance
Whether you are checking out policies online, speaking with an agent in person, or chatting over e-mail, you’ll find that there are two basic policies that most insurance providers will offer upfront. These would-be business owner’s insurance and general liability insurance. While it might seem like one or the other is enough, it pays to bundle. Not only will this offer the most protection possible, but it’ll potentially save you money. And, this is because providers like ProessionalsCoverage offer discounts and special rates when you bundle policies. Bundle even more policies and you stand to save even more!
Now, that you are aware of this, it’ll be time to look at just how these policies protect you. When bundled these policies have the potential to protect you from customer injuries, stolen or damaged inventory, business interruptions, slip and fall, damaged customer property, and libel or slander suits. While some of the protection offered might seem a bit far-fetched, you’d be surprised to learn that these incidents are more common than you’d imagine.
For instance, there are a number of Canadian consignment shops that have been sued for claims of slander. When they advertised, certain competitors claimed that their advertisements targeted them and damaged their business. While these claims were eventually unfounded, the case spent years in the court system. Having a case tied up in courts could cost any business hundreds to thousands of dollars. The longer it goes on, the more you end up paying. These policies protect in these situations. Not only will they pay for the medical expenses injured parties face, but they’ll cover any court-related costs.
Some specific policies might even be willing to cover the entirety of the settlement in the event that you are deemed liable for the case. Regardless, it offers the protection that your business needs to operate with a free and clear mind.
Workers’ Compensation Insurance And What It Does
Do you plan on hiring employees? Any good businessman that wants to take his business to its full potential would do so. If this is the case for you, you’re going to need what is known as workers’ comp insurance. First, you need to know that in Canada, this insurance is required by law. If you want to legally open a consignment shop and hire employees, you have to cover them with this coverage. However, that’s not really the only reason you’ll want this coverage. Even if this policy wasn’t required by the law, it’d be wise to snatch it up. Why?
Because it protects you from your employees. You might be wondering why you’d need protection against your employees? Believe it or not, any employee you hire poses a major threat to you. Just the slightest mishap and an employee could end up injured. He or she could be injured to the point where they are completely disabled. It happens all the time. You’d be shocked to learn how easy it is to end up paralyzed. The human body might be a true marvel, but it can be fragile in some senses. Nonetheless, in these situations, you are responsible for that employee.
Any time an employee is injured on your job site, you are required to cover the medical expenses. In some cases, you might even have to cover mental anguish, rehab, and missed payments. You can easily see how this could add up. Just imagine if three or four employees are injured in the same incident. You’d be looking at three to four times this amount. What if one or all of these employees want to pursue the case even further, meaning a lawsuit?
It would not be good, but luckily, workers’ compensation insurance can offer the protection that you need. Workers’ comp will cover any court-related costs with the incident. The policy will pay for a lawyer as well as the defense of that lawyer.
Umbrella Insurance Coverage And What It Does
Umbrella insurance coverage, also sometimes referred to as excess coverage, offers coverage for whatever exceeds your original coverage. Confusing? Well, what you need to know is that insurance providers can only offer so much coverage. Whether you go with a quality provider like ProfessionalsCoverage or another known local Canadian company, you’ll only be offered so much protection with certain policies. For instance, you might only be offered anywhere from $1 to 1.5-million in workers’ comp insurance.
Meaning that the insurance provider will only cover up to a million is expenses for the claim. Anything that exceeds this amount will be expected to come from your business or your pocket. If the case has already reached $1 mil and still climbing, how much more do you think it’ll go? Whatever the case, it won’t likely be pocket change. It’ll be in the amounts that financially corrupt even the most profitable of businesses. Luckily, umbrella insurance is designed to offer the extra coverage that you need. If your original plan only offers $1.5 in protection and the suit goes to $3 mil, the plan will cover it. However, just be aware of the fact that this coverage also has its limits.
And, the limit of extra coverage offered by this plan might depend on anything from the provider to the type of industry that you are in.
What Will You Pay For Consignment Insurance?
Unfortunately, this is a hard question to answer because each provider is unique. Providers like ProfessionalsCoverage sometimes base their rates on specific factors like the number of years you’ve been in business or the number of employees that you have on hand. Other providers might more closely focus on the area that you are located in or the total amount of revenue your business brings in each year. Whatever the situation is, just know that this is why insurance quotes and rates are different from provider to provider.
Need coverage in effect? Compare the market!
Other Types of Retail Insurance We Provide:
If your business is not mentioned below, have no worries. Our insurance markets can provide liability coverage for the majority of retail industries.
- Art stores
- Bridal shops
- Clothing store insurance
- Computer and electronics store insurance
- Convenience and drug store insurance
- E-commerce and online retailer insurance
- Florists insurance
- Furniture stores
- Gift shops
- Grocery stores insurance
- Hardware stores
- Jewelry store insurance
- Music shops
- Smoke, tobacco, and vape shops
- Store insurance
- Toy stores
- Vending machines