Business owners often find that it is both pleasurable and challenging running their own retail shop. An important aspect of running a small successful retail unit is that you must ensure that your business is insured for all unforeseen eventualities. Failure to have a correct shop insurance policy in place will ensure the business is well equipped to face any unexpected disasters such as theft and liability claims.
A simple inventory of your shop retail business can highlight what sort of sum insured you need. If your business stops trading for a day, week or even longer period due to a fire claim for example could cripple most companies under this scenario. Obviously there is the cost of replacing the lost stock, loss of revenue and legal costs. All these items and more can easily be covered under a single shop package insurance policy. Getting the right cover in place ensures your business is protected now and for the future.
How to assess what you need insuring?
The most simplest way to understand exactly what the best package is suitable for your shop is to speak with a professional insurance broker that specialise in commercial insurance solutions for small businesses. Explain to the broker your current setup and they will then tailor a shop insurance package that will meet the needs of your retail business. Other options include utilising the power of the internet. There are many guides and small business portals available that have information on all types of things such as tax, legal, regulatory and insurance.
Getting a shop insurance quote online
There are many online quote systems catering for small business owners such as newsagent, salon, pub, café, grocers etc. Some of these quote forms simply catch the information you enter and pass this onto an advisor who then will contact you with a quotation or request additional information. Other systems will provide instant online shop insurance quotes and some even compare prices with a wide range of insurers and underwriters. To get a quote you usually require certain information to hand. Typical questions asked include:
- Name and address
- Type of business
- Contents sum insured
- Building sum insured (if applicable, you could be renting and landlord has the premises insured)
- Previous claim history
- Security measures
The above are just a few examples of the question set that may appear on a quote form. It is the duty of the policyholder to disclose all material facts to the insurer. Failure to do so could invalidate the policy and claims not honoured. It might be tempting to say that your premises are fitted with a burglar alarm system to get cheaper premiums. This is false economy and almost always ends in a disaster for the shopkeeper.
There many excellent commercial insurance brokers who offer highly competitive shop insurance policies that can be paid on flexible monthly terms. The shop owner can then budget this into their monthly expenses sheet.