Heading to a shop is more of a personal experience. A lot of shops are part of a community and people love to chat to shop owners, workers, and other shoppers, or meet their friends, making it a social outing.
The retail industry is also incredibly varied, ranging from large chain stores with recognisable brands and the retail floor space or storeroom space to carry a large amount of merchandise, to small, independent boutique shops with quirky, unusual goods, to your local convenience store where you can pick up your daily paper or dash out to buy a bottle of milk in the evening.
However, all shops have important similarities and a shared responsibility, whether they’re a grocer or butcher, optician or dry cleaner, clothes shop or furniture store: they all have a duty of care to everybody who enters their premises, whether a customer, supplier, employee or member of the public, and a need to protect their business and its assets. This is why obtaining adequate business insurance for your shop is essential.
We appreciate that shop owners are incredibly busy juggling a multitude of different ‘hats’ throughout their day, from manager to customer service assistant, cashier to accountant, and stock manager to health and safety adviser. Finding time to determine what sort of insurance you need to protect your business can be a very time-consuming task to add to your to-do list.
So we’ve made life easy for you. We offer flexible shop & retail insurance that can be tailored to suit your specific requirements. With many years’ experience in supporting shop owners around the UK, our knowledgeable team can advise you on the right level of business insurance for your shop.
There are a number of key insurance covers a shop owner typically needs.
Employers liability insurance is the one cover you may be required to have if you employ anybody to work in your shop, whether on a casual, temporary, or permanent basis. This provides cover should an employee be injured or fall ill as a consequence of working for you. It could cover the cost of any claim, along with associated legal fees.
While not a legal requirement, public liability insurance is another important cover for shops. This provides cover if a customer, supplier, or member of the public is injured or their belongings damaged as a result of your negligence.
Your premises, along with any fixtures, equipment, and stock are often your most important business assets; without them you may struggle to trade. So you need buildings cover along with protection for your fixtures and stock. If you lease your premises, shop contents insurance might be adequate for your needs.
In addition, you may want to consider financial protection for your takings and money stored either on the premises or being taken to a bank, vehicle cover if you use a vehicle for your business, and business interruption insurance so you can continue to pay the bills should you be left unable to trade while your shop is closed for repair.
If you require an insurance quotation for your business, please call us on 0207 691 2409