Bakery stores sell an assortment of freshly baked goods to either consumers or businesses. Some bakery stores are local and will not only sell baked bagels, cakes, cookies, donuts, chocolates, bread and pastries, but bake them fresh on a daily basis. Others don’t have local stores but sell and ship to businesses that carry these types of products. Some bakery stores have local stores as well as shipping opportunities for restaurants, cafes, and other businesses.
Since they provide food products, bakery stores are at risk for customers getting ill from the baked goods, whether because they were made with something the person was allergic to, or there was contamination with spoiled ingredients. Other risks include liabilities and damage to the store from unexpected events like fire, flood, or natural disasters. Protect your potential risks by purchasing bakery store insurance.
Types of Bakery Store Insurance
Bakery store insurance policies are available for a wide range of risks, including liabilities, equipment breakdown, spoilage insurance, and more. Consider your most probable risks and get insurance policies that will offer coverage for them.
Bakery Store General Liability Insurance
General liability insurance is one of the most important policies to have as a bakery store owner. It will cover different types of legal liabilities, including products liability, premises liability, and completed operations. Baked goods you sell could cause stomach illness to a customer which you would be liable for, but is covered under products liability. Injuries in your store, such as an employee getting cut from a sharp counter edge could also result in a lawsuit. This type of injury is covered by premises liability. If any damage occurs from a catered order that was incorrect or contaminated, it would be covered according to the completed operations portion of the general liability policy.
Bakery Store Business Owners Policy
If you want one policy that includes different types of coverages, a business owner’s policy (BOP) is the way to go. You can include different types of policies in one such as business income and extra expense, employee dishonest acts, electronic data coverage, and buildings and contents. If you had an employee who stole cash from you and you had employee dishonesty coverage in your BOP, the loss would be covered. A BOP also includes general liability coverage along with the property coverage.
Bakery Store Commercial Auto Insurance
If you or your employees use a vehicle for your business, it’s critically important to obtain business auto insurance. For example, if you’re making a quick trip to pick up ingredients for a new seasonal muffin you are offering and get into an accident, any resulting injury for you or the other driver involved would be covered by the insurance policy. Many business auto policies also offer coverage for property damage, vehicle damage, theft, and vandalism.
Bakery Store Business Interruption Coverage
Business interruption insurance exists to assist you, if for some reason you aren’t able to run your business properly. This could be from equipment breaking down or damage to your property from a flood or fire. These events can’t be prevented, but with business interruption insurance, your loss of income will be covered while you get the business up and running again.
Bakery Store Equipment Breakdown Insurance
As a bakery store owner, you rely on your equipment such as baking ovens, stoves, electric mixers, and your cash register. If any pieces of this equipment were to break down, you would be unable to perform normal business operations which results in a loss of business income. Equipment breakdown coverage helps you pay for repairs quickly as well as benefits for the lost business income.
Bakery Store Spoilage Coverage
Spoilage coverage is an important insurance policy to have when you own and operate a bakery store. Your goods might go bad as a result of a power outage or other peril. This coverage will replace your spoiled goods.
Bakery Store Property Insurance
Unanticipated events like extreme weather, natural disasters, or fire could occur at any time causing significant damage to your building and baking equipment. The loss from these can be tremendous but with property insurance, most of the costs of repairing or replacing damaged items or equipment is covered.
Bakery Store Workers’ Compensation
Employees of a bakery store or at a high risk for on-the-job injuries such as cutting themselves while slicing pastries or bread, or getting a burn from getting a new batch of muffing out of the oven. However these injuries can be covered with a worker’s compensation insurance policy. This offers help with medical costs and care as well as loss of income, and keeps you from being liable for the injury.
Bakery Store Crime Insurance
Your biggest crime risks as a bakery store owner is from employee dishonest practices along with theft or vandalism by passersby and customers. Take necessary precautions like installing surveillance equipment in your shop and performing background checks on employees. While this helps reduce the risk of crimes, it doesn’t prevent them. However you can protect your bakery store by getting a crime insurance policy.
You have worked hard to create a successful bakery business; don’t put it at risk by failing to have proper business insurance. Bakery store insurance policies ensure the protection of your business and assets for unexpected events.
