Convenience stores, also known as corner shops and bodegas, are stores selling a variety of everyday items. The types of items sold vary bases on the store, but most of them sell toiletries, groceries, snacks and soft drinks, tobacco, newspapers and magazines, and alcoholic beverages. Some also provide additional services like the use of a fax machine, money orders, check cashing, or wire transferring. Convenience stores can guarantee your cash flow for many years, but the risks are high, especially concerning crimes like theft and vandalism. Business insurance for convenience stores is the only way to protect yourself from losses.
Types of Convenience Store Business Insurance
From general liability to property insurance, there are many different types of insurance for convenience stores that will cover every risk your store is exposed to.
Convenience Store General Liability Insurance
One of the most important insurance policies for convenience stores is general liability insurance. General liability includes three different types of coverages; premises liability, product liability, and completed operations liability. The below two coverages will be of most concern to you as a convenience store business owner.
- Premises Liability – Premises liability is part of general liability insurance and covers any type of accident or damage done on the premises of your store. This includes accidents inside your store and just outside your store or in the parking lot. If a customer trips over a display near the front door and hurts themselves, they can sue you for damages. Premises liability will cover these costs.
- Product Liability – Your business is built around the products you provide A lawsuit can come from any product you sell that causes an illness or harm in some way to your customers. Products liability also covers these types of legal costs.
Convenience Store Business Owners Policy
You can also get a business owners policy (BOP) for your convenience store, which combines several different types of coverages into a single package policy. Choose what risks you feel you are exposed to, and have those covered. Common policies within a BOP are business income and extra expense, buildings and contents, electronic data, employee dishonesty coverage, and newly acquired buildings.
Convenience Store Commercial Auto Insurance
As a convenience store owner, you undoubtedly use a vehicle for business purposes, such as dropping off your nightly deposit or picking up supplies. Every time you use a car for business, it should be covered by commercial auto insurance. This insurance covers business vehicles in the event of an accident, as well as theft or vandalism in many cases. It ensures your business income is not affected as a result of damage caused from a motor vehicle accident.
Convenience Store Property Insurance
Your convenience store is open to damages, ranging from flood to fire to extreme weather conditions. Certain items in your store, such as matches and lighter fluid, can raise the risk of fire. If this was to occur, the merchandise in your store can be destroyed. Property insurance helps to cover any convenience store repairs and replace goods destroyed in the store.
Convenience Store Workers Compensation
By law, your employees need to be covered by worker’s compensation insurance. Worker’s comp provides coverage for employees who suffer a work-related illness or injury. If an employee is picking up a heavy box of supplies, sodas, or water held as inventory in the storage room and get a back injury, his medical care and recovery period is covered by worker’s comp.
Convenience Store Umbrella Insurance
Regardless of the type of convenience store business insurance policy, there will be maximum amounts of coverage available to you from your standard liability policies. An umbrella liability insurance policy is a great way to increase your liability limits for all of your risks under one policy, helping protect your business for claims that exceed your policy limits. If your claims exceed your standard liability policies, your umbrella policy covers the difference up to the amount covered under the umbrella policy.
Convenience store business insurance is important as you can’t always protect your business and customers from these types of risks. Consider all the risks you’re exposed to when deciding which types of business insurance are most important.
