Book and magazine stores sell a large selection of books and magazines, including fiction, non-fiction, biographies, college textbooks, and books on religious, history, poetry, and many more. Often times, book and magazine stores carry other items such as bookmarks, book covers, coffee mugs, and other accessories. Lastly, a book and magazine store can also have an in-store coffee shop. Common business risks of these types of stores is the risk of a customer getting injured, whether it is from a heavy book falling off the shelves and hitting them, or coffee served in the café that is too hot and burns their mouth. Other risks exist so you should protect your business with book and magazine store insurance.
Types of Book & Magazine Insurance
Rather than one business insurance policy, you should obtain different types of book and magazine insurance policies. Each insurance policy is designed to cover different risks of loss that your shop may have.
Book & Magazine Store General Liability Insurance
At the very least, your book and magazine store should have general liability insurance. General liability includes three main coverages: products liability, premises liability, and completed operations. Products liability covers any claims from products you sell, such as a keychain that had a sharp edge and cut the hand of a customer. Completed operations is for any services you provide that later cause damage to the customer which you can, in turn, be liable for. With premises liability, your business assets are safe, even if a customer was to have an accident in the store, such as harming themselves on a bookshelf, or burning their mouth on hot coffee.
Book & Magazine Store Property Insurance
Another risk to be aware of is damage caused to your book and magazine store’s physical location. The building structure and contents could be damaged quickly from a fire. Natural disasters and extreme weather conditions could cause this kind of event quickly and without much warning. Property insurance helps cover any loss caused by the event and replace what needs replacing.
Book & Magazine Store Commercial Auto Insurance
If you make deliveries of books or magazines, pick up supplies, or have other business errands, the vehicle used is considered a company vehicle and should be covered by the right kind of commercial auto insurance. Business auto insurance is a special type of policy used to cover costs relating to a vehicle accident while running business errands. You can also add other coverages in the policy, such as uninsured motorists, vandalism, and theft coverage.
Book & Magazine Store Cyber Liability Insurance
If you run an online book and magazine store, you should get a cyber liability insurance policy as an important component of your book and magazine business insurance portfolio. This kind of policy protects you from legal implications resulting from cyber crimes. Even with advanced internet security on your site, you are at risk for talented and malicious hackers getting into your site, affecting your network, obtaining personal customer or business information, and using it for dishonest acts such as theft. You should always protect yourself from these types of crimes with cyber liability insurance.
Book & Magazine Store Spoilage Insurance
If your book and magazine store is local and sells coffee, sandwiches, or baked goods, you will need spoilage insurance. Spoilage insurance offers coverage for any food or drink items that have become spoiled, such as from a power outage. This could cause your refrigerators and freezers to stop, possibly for several hours. In the meantime, your expensive ingredients and food items might spoil and will need to be replaced. Spoilage insurance helps you re-stock your shelves.
Book & Magazine Store Workers’ Compensation
As a business owner, it is your responsibility to also obtain a worker’s compensation policy for each and every employee. This provides coverage for employees who might suffer a work-related injury or illness, but also keeps your business from being liable for these costs. If an employee is re-stocking bookshelves in the store and a handful of books fall on their head, it could mean a trip to the ER, stitches, and other medical costs. With worker’s compensation insurance, these costs are covered by the policy and your employee can’t sue you for damages.
Book & Magazine Store Crime Insurance
Your book and magazine retail store is at risk of various crimes, including theft by employees or passersby, customers forging checks or using stolen credit cards, or vandalism of the store, books, and other contents. To protect against these crimes, obtain a business crime insurance policy. This offers coverage in the event of a theft or other crime and saves your business from the loss.
Book and magazine store insurance ensures you are as protected as possible from probable and unexpected risks. As a business owner, you can’t always prevent certain risks from occurring, but with insurance, you save yourself from financial turmoil as a result.
