What Retailers Need To Know About Business Insurance
While there are currently tons of business and investment opportunities available in Canada, there aren’t many that are as rewarding and fruitful as that of the retail industry. This is an industry where you not only stand the ability to make tons of money, but you get to help people along the way. It might not seem like much, but providing people with the goods that they need to get through everyday life can be exciting. Not only this, but the retail industry is versatile. It gives you the option of pursuing something that you are really passionate about. Whether it be art supplies, jewelry, musical instruments, or pets and put supplies, providing people with the everyday items that they need is a treat in itself. All that aside, the retail industry is not all cupcakes and unicorns.
Just being in the industry poses a lot of risks. Risks that could potentially lead to the closing of your doors or the financial ruin of your family. Sounds scary, right? It should because the risks are real. Luckily, there are ways that you can go about arming and protecting yourself. One of those ways is by investing in the right insurance policies. What policies are those and how can they protect you, your business, your employees, and your family?
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
- Consignment and thrift 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
- Pet and pet supply store insurance
- Smoke, tobacco, and vape shops
- Store insurance
- Toy stores
- Vending machines
Business Owner’s And General Liability
You call an insurance agency in Canada and it doesn’t matter what type of business you are running, they will immediately recommend business owner’s insurance and general liability insurance. At the very heart, both of these insurance coverage plans are as basic as it gets, but they are more than pertinent for the retailer. Why? Because they protect you when your customers are on your premises. Customers, vendors, partners, and employees are constantly going to be coming and going from your store. They’ll be in and out during repairs and other events. Whether you are getting the AC repaired or it is just a regular business day, there is always the chance for an incident in the store.
Maybe a customer slips on ice outside. Maybe he or she has someone hit their car and runoff in the parking lot, and your cameras fail to capture the footage. Whatever the situation is, you, as the business owner, are going to be held financially responsible in these situations. Could you afford to pay for a broken arm out of pocket or business profits? While healthcare in Canada is great, it is likely you could afford to cover these charges. Especially not if they pop up unexpectedly, out of the blue.
With a business owner’s insurance and general liability insurance policies, you won’t have to. That’s exactly what both of these policies cover. Not only do they cover these incidents, but they cover business interruptions as well as libel and slander. These specific policies will not only cover the medical expenses of the above scenario, but they’ll cover your court costs just in the event that the customer wants to take the case to court. Oftentimes, just covering medical expenses isn’t enough. Some people suffer major mental traumas when going through an ordeal like this, and this leaves them feeling like they are owed retribution in return. Some people are just swindlers. Whatever the situation is, these policies will protect you in those events.
Workers’ Compensation Insurance
It is nearly impossible to run a successful retail store without employees. In fact, it is the employees that are the lifeline of most businesses. They are the ones out there interacting, serving, and dealing with the customers. Regardless, those employees are just at as much of a risk as you are. Not only this, but they pose you, as the owner, great deals of risks. How? Well, just imagine if an employee falls off a ladder while hanging a sign. What if your employees come into contact with some kind of chemical on-site or something that makes them sick.
Whatever the situation is, the end result would be your employee ending up out of work and laid up in the hospital. This is exactly what workers comp insurance covers. It’ll pay your employee’s medical expenses, their rehab, and it’ll also cover any court-related costs in the event that they want to sue you. Sometimes cases like this end up in court. It is unfortunate, but it is just a natural part of doing retail business. This insurance policy will also cover the lost wages of an employee for a specific amount of time.
An important thing to note is that in a lot of areas in Canada, workers’ comp insurance is required by law. If you are going to own a retail store with employees, you’ll be required by law to obtain workers’ comp insurance for each and every employee. Regardless, you can clearly see that this coverage is necessary for the protection and betterment of your business.
Umbrella Liability Insurance
Like all good things in life, there are limits! This is even true for insurance. You can see how both of the policies above could potentially protect your business in a variety of real-world scenarios. The only problem with these types of coverage plans is that the insurer can only offer so much protection. Whether you are dealing with companies like ProfessionalsCoverage or others, there will be limits as to the coverage offered. It is usually a million dollars. While a million might sound like a lot of money, it’ll quickly dissipate when you start adding in medical costs, lawyer fees, rehab charges, doctor’s visits, and other expenses.
Simply put, a million-dollar coverage won’t go far, which means the rest of the expenses will have to come out of your pocket or the store’s profits. That is unless you invest in umbrella liability insurance. This policy kicks in when your current coverage limit is exceeded. For instance, say that an employee slips in a puddle of water, bangs his head, gets a concussion, and sues you because there were no wet floor signs out. If the lawsuit comes to $1.5 million, but your coverage only offers $1 million in protection, you are going to be liable for the rest. That would be $500,000 out of the store’s profits.
It would be hard for even the most successful businesses to come up with this kind of money on the spot. Or, even just making payments overtime would become expensive and troublesome. This is where umbrella liability insurance offers its protection. Umbrella liability insurance can pay for the expenses that exceed your policy’s current limit. In the above scenario, the policy would cover the additional $500,000. An important note is that this type of extra coverage will come with limits as well, meaning there might be a price point when it stops offering coverage and protection.
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