If you are a shop owner, you may consider it essential to have your business covered by the relevant insurances.
Shop insurance can be purchased in a comprehensive retail package. Although not all types of shop insurance are obligatory, you may need or decide to insure your shop in some, if not all of these areas: Employers’ and public liability; business interruption; buildings and money; and contents cover.
Employers’ liability insurance could be considered a key policy in the retail sector as it is one of the only compulsory insurances (if you have employees of course) mandated by UK law.
Whether they are cleaners, checkout assistants, shelf-stackers or supervisors your employees could be at risk of a workplace accident if the correct health and safety measures are not implemented. However safety-conscious you may be, it can be all too easy for discrepancies in safety to go unnoticed.
This guide hopes to help you better judge how to transfer this type of workplace risk by providing you with a straightforward explanation of the shop insurance options available to you.
Employers’ Liability Insurance
The vast majority of businesses that have employees are required by UK law under the 1969 Employers Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act to have employer’s liability insurance. If you are found to be trading without this, you could be landed with a substantial fine.
If you are a shop owner, your employees could be doing a wide range of jobs in order to ensure the smooth running of the store. Although some of these jobs appear to be relatively low-risk compared to working in a factory or a building site, a surprisingly large number of work-related accident compensation claims occur within this sector. Risks include: accidents, injuries or illness as a direct result of their employment and even damage to personal property.
The law requires that you hold a minimum of £5 million employers’ liability insurance – however most insurers include £10 million as standard.
It is worth noting that employers’ liability insurance cannot be purchased a standalone product; therefore public liability insurance would also be required.
Public Liability Insurance
This could be considered as another fundamental aspect of shop insurance; especially if you legally require employers’ liability insurance.
If a customer or member of the public were to become injured, suffer an illness or damage to their personal property as a result of health and safety failures and general business operations then you may face litigation.
To find out more about Public Liability insurance visit our Ultimate Guide here.
Business Interruption Cover
This is included within a shop insurance package. It means that if your shop suffers a fire or another insured risk and you need to close down for some time, you can recover your costs for lost net profits and the necessary continuing expenses via your shop insurance policy.
Buildings and Contents Insurance
If required, this is included within a shop insurance package.
It can provide cover for your building against the following risks: fire, flooding, storm damage, vandalism and theft.
The potential cost to your business if something goes wrong with your machinery, stock, computer records, documents or fixtures and fitting could be many thousands of pounds. The extent of cover provided for contents varies. Cover can be provided on an all risks basis or on a fire or perils basis only. It is important to note that the contents cover could also prove useful if you need to obtain new keys & locks after a theft.
As no two businesses are the same, there are a range of different packages available to shop owners. Higher levels of cover are available depending on your specific needs.
Money Cover
Under this cover, if money kept on the business premises is stolen you may be able to recover the loss. It is worthwhile mentioning that cheques and items such as stamps, gift vouchers, tokens and postal orders are also considered as money in this case.
Accidental Damage to Fixed Glass
In addition to providing cover for the cost of replacing broken glass and window frames, it could cover the cost of boarding up as a result of accidental damage to fixed glass in windows, doors, show cases, counters and shelves.
Some policies may also cover the cost of removing and replacing any contents outside of the window in order to replace the glass. However, it is worth noting that non-fixed glass is usually excluded.
More Information and Quotes
This guide is part of our series on shop insurance, for product information, links to further guides or to get a quote, visit our shop insurance section here. You can also call our UK based insurance executives on 08081686868.
