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Shop insurance

Join over 13,250 shops like you with PL cover from £3.19 per month*

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  • Compare tailored shop insurance quotes from trusted brands
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Rated 4.7/5

Based on 39,755 reviews

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Claims paid in 24 hours

For 80% of settled claims

What's on this page

  • Why is insurance important?
  • What does it cover?
  • How much does it cost?
  • How do I choose insurance?
  • How do claims work?
  • FAQs
  • Helpful articles

Why do you need shop insurance?

From locking up at night to taking your business online, shops face a unique set of risks. It sounds unlikely, but accidents hit hundreds of businesses every day, and the average shop public liability claim can cost thousands. Our cover works hard to protect the business you’ve built, letting you focus on the products, not the what-ifs.

  • shop liability insurance including cover for the public and your products
  • rated 4.7/5 based on 39K+ public liability customer reviews
  • claims paid in 24 hours for 80% of settled claims

Start your quote

What does shop insurance cover?

Your shop insurance quote usually starts with public and product liability (built to cover damage and injuries), plus employers’ liability for team members. It’s a legal requirement for most UK employers. We can add shop contents insurance cover in too – a priority for lots of our shop customers – and other commercial shop insurance options.

Public liability insurance

In case your shop and products cause an injury or property damage.

What’s typically covered by shop public liability insurance?

Claims against your business for:

  • damage to someone’s property, because of your shop
  • an injury or illness caused by your business activities or products
  • accidental damage or injuries caused by your employees

For example:

  • while leaving your premises, a customer falls down some steps and fractures their hip – they need hospital treatment and time off work
  • you spill oil on the shop floor and a customer slips, hitting their head and suffering concussion

What you’ll need additional cover for

  • road accidents – we can cover incidents related to food delivery like theft, damage, slips, and trips, but you’d need specific insurance for accidents involving a vehicle
  • if you do employ anyone, you’re usually required by law to have employers’ liability insurance too.

Read more about public liability insurance

Employers’ liability insurance

In case anyone gets ill or injured while working for your retail business.

What’s typically covered by employers’ liability insurance?

Claims against your business for:

  • an injury or illness that happens as a result of working for you (including temps and casual workers)

**Employers’ liability insurance is required by law if you have people working for you. Without it, you could be fined up to £2,500 a day for each employee.**

For example:

  • while stacking shelves, your Christmas temp knocks a bottle onto the floor which smashes and cuts their foot – they need stitches and a few weeks off work
  • your employee trips while carrying a large box to the storage room, fracturing their wrist and cutting their leg. They need a skin graft and time off work for recovery

Building insurance

In case something happens to your shop premises.

What’s typically covered by building insurance?

  • the cost of repairing damage to the structure of your building (or rebuilding it from scratch)
  • damage to fixtures and fittings
  • damage to underground pipes and cables you’re responsible for

For example:

  • your shop door and frames are badly damaged during an attempted break-in, and need to be repaired or replaced
  • a burst pipe causes water damage to your floorboards, internal doors, and walls, which all need to be replaced

What you’ll need additional cover for

  • tenants’ improvements – changes to the property’s structure which you’ve organised and paid for yourself, like partition walls or wooden flooring

Read more about buildings insurance

Shop contents insurance

In case something happens to your shop’s fixtures and fittings or operational equipment.

What’s typically covered by business and office equipment insurance?

  • accidental damage to your shop’s fixtures and fittings, or the equipment you use to run the business
  • theft, flood, and fire damage

For example:

  • your till and tablet are stolen during a break-in
  • an employee is moving a display cabinet across the shop and it collapses, causing significant damage

Read more about contents insurance

Stock insurance

In case something happens to your shop’s stored items.

What’s typically covered by stock insurance?

  • loss, damage, or theft of things like prepared food items, sellable products, and other materials you use to stock your shop

For example:

  • a flood damages all the stock you keep at low and floor level
  • someone breaks into your shop and damages your new summer stock order

Read more about stock insurance

Legal expenses insurance

In case you’re hit with legal expenses connected to your shop.

  • legal costs attributed to your shop or retail business
  • property damage, nuisance, or trespass – specifically, the associated legal claims and compensation payouts
  • tax and compliance disputes and investigations you need help with
  • includes a tax advice helpline, a 24/7 confidential legal helpline, and crisis PR support to help you protect your reputation as a popular shop or retailer

For example:

  • you get into a dispute with a supplier over your stock order, and need to pay legal costs
  • a contractor refits your shop, but there are multiple issues with their work – you need to delay reopening and pay legal costs while suing the company

Read more about legal expenses insurance

Personal accident insurance

In case anyone you’ve covered is accidentally injured, at work or off-duty.

What’s typically covered by personal accident insurance?

  • accidental injury or death at work or elsewhere, for anyone covered on the policy
  • lost income, medical costs, and hospitalisation benefit

For example:

  • you drop a heavy item of stock on your foot, breaking three toes and causing bad bruising
  • your business partner breaks their leg while playing football, and needs time away from active work

Read more about personal accident insurance

Making sure you have the right type and level of business insurance can be the difference between getting a claim paid and having to cover the cost of an expensive accident yourself. Always check policy documentation for details. Read our full Terms and Conditions

How much does shop insurance cost?

Find out how much you’ll pay by comparing prices from a range of trusted insurers. You choose what goes into your policy, so you only pay for what you need.

Prices start from £3.19 per month

Get your quotes in 7 minutes – prices are guaranteed for 30 days.

Get your tailored quotes in 7 minutes

Start your quote

10% of our customers paid up to £38.32 a year for a public liability insurance policy between 1st April 2023 - 30th June 2023. Equivalent to £3.19 per month based on a monthly cost when paying for the policy in one annual payment. Paying monthly is usually more expensive as you'll pay interest. Most customers pay more than this but some pay less.

Example shop insurance uk quotes, real prices

churchill insurance

£32.66 /month

£290.32 /year

A small high street clothing shop (not online)

  • 1-2 years' experience
  • Shop
  • 1 employee
  • Based in Leicester
  • Public liability

    £2,000,000

  • Employers’ liability

    £10,000,000

  • Stock

    £5,000

maltings insurance

£58.69 /month

£521.65 /year

A medium-sized family-run discount store, also selling stock online

  • 5+ years' experience
  • Limited company
  • 3 employees
  • Based in Edinburgh
  • Public liability

    £5,000,000

  • Employers’ liability

    £10,000,000

  • Contents & business equipment

    £10,000

  • Stock

    £20,000

How we work out example quotes These examples are real quotes from our online system (created 03/03/2023). They’re based on a range of factors, like employees and location. Your own quote will be based on what you tell us about your business. Prices may go up or down from day to day, so the prices you’re quoted may differ to the ones you see here.

What kind of excess should I expect?

An excess is an amount you pay towards any claim you make on your insurance. For example, if your excess is £250 and you make a claim worth £1000, your payout will be a maximum of £750.

Insurance cover

Lowest excess

Highest excess

Main building

£200

£4000

Stock

£200

£4000

Contents

£200

£4000

Employers liability

No excess

No excess

Public liability

No excess

£750

Product liability

No excess

No excess

The figures above are for guidance only and any excess applying to your quote may differ. You’ll get a breakdown of the excesses for each quote when you compare with us.

How it works

  • Pick what goes into your policy

    Only pay for what you need

  • Get prices from a range of insurers

    Choose the best fit for you

  • Buy online in minutes

    Get your documents the same day

Start your quote

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Compare policies from a range of trusted insurers

Buy online or over the phone in minutes

How do I choose insurance?

Making sure you have the right type and level of business insurance can be the difference between getting a claim paid and having to cover the cost of an expensive accident yourself. Read our tips for guidance on what to consider when buying a policy.

Can I just cover my most expensive tools?

Make sure you cover the total cost of replacing all your tools or you’ll only get a proportion of your claim paid out if something happens to them. Learn about tool cover.

Which type of workers do I need insurance for?

Employers’ liability insurance is a legal requirement if you employ people.

If you have people working for you, including bona fide subcontractors (BFSC), labour-only subcontractors (LOSC), part-timers, or full-time staff, employers’ liability insurance is required by law.

Read on for our simplified guide to the difference between labour-only subcontractors and bona fide subcontractors.

Will tools insurance cover all my equipment?

Depending on what you use to do your work, you may need other covers.

You may need more than tools insurance – for example, business equipment insurance if you have a work laptop, plant insurance if you use machinery.

Does shop insurance cover my work correctly?

Make sure you're picking the right cover to protect you properly. It's important to know that if you have another trade or job, you'll need additional cover. For example, do you need to consider online retailer insurance or off licence insurance?

Which public liability cover limit should I choose?

Think about the maximum possible loss your business could face in the event of a claim, and make sure you take legal fees and damages into consideration. You can choose from three levels of coverage – £1 million, £2 million, or up to £5 million.

Talk to an expert

Our team of UK-based insurance experts are here to help, Mon 09.00am - 05.30pm, Tues 09.00am - 05.30pm, Weds 09.00am - 05.30pm, Thurs 09.30am - 05.30pm, Fri 09.00am - 05.30pm, Sat 09.00am - 02.00pm

Call our team

0333 043 8527

Online

Contact us on our website whenever suits you

Phone

Call our insurance experts during office hours (calls are charged at a local rate)

FAQs

Find answers to common insurance questions

How do store insurance claims work?

Unlike price comparison websites, we take the hassle out of claims for you. We know how important it is to get your business back on track quickly – and with a minimum of fuss. That’s why you get access to your dedicated claims any time, day or night. Call them on 0333 207 0560 or claim online. They’ll do their best to be fair and supportive.

£39 million in claims paid out in 2022

Paying 80% of settled claims within 24 hours in 2022

The figure above is rounded across our range of products. Our claims process may vary for different products and operates on a ‘claim by claim’ basis.

Example claim

Having shop insurance through Simply Business has saved UK businesses thousands of pounds when the unexpected happened.

Maurice saved more than £12,200

An electrical fire at Maurice’s (not his real name) shop premises broke out overnight, damaging his Christmas stock, expensive equipment, and decor. The stock, building and contents cover in his shop insurance policy covered Maurice’s replacement costs and lost income.

  • Insurance payout

    £12,268.95

    Covering the cost of fire damage

  • Maurice’s costs

    £100

    The excess amount stated in Maurice’s policy terms

Chosen by 900,000 small businesses and landlords

We started out as a team of five back in 2005. We’ve grown since then with 900,000 customers across 1,500 trades now trusting us to provide their business insurance.

  • Compare and buy in minutes

    Documents arrive today

  • Rated 4.7/5

    Based on 39,755 reviews

  • Here to help

    Help from UK-based experts

  • 24/7 claims

    Make a claim any time

Shop insurance FAQs

Whether you’re new to buying insurance for retail shops or you’ve been trading for a while, here are the answers to some commonly asked questions about shop public liability insurance, plus other popular covers. You can also check out our business insurance FAQs.

  • Public and product liability insurance is often an important cover for shops – it’s designed to protect you if someone is injured or suffers an illness, or their property is damaged, because of your retail business.

    Are you hiring staff? If so, you’re usually required by law to take out employer’s liability insurance, even if it’s for a temporary team member, or seasonal staff. You’ll face fines of up to £2,500 a day for anyone you haven’t covered correctly.

    From there, you can pick and choose from other specific protection for your shop’s stock, equipment, fixtures and fittings, and the building(s) you use. Our shop insurance quotes are flexible – you can bundle everything into one policy or go for just one or two covers, depending on what you need.

  • Yes. It’s important to make sure you have the right type and level of insurance for the different types of work you do. For example, if you’re a food and drink retailer, you may also do the odd catering job – you’ll need additional cover for this, but you can have it all on the one policy. If you need to add a second trade, give us a call on 0333 0146 683 and one of our insurance experts will help you set up your policy in minutes.

  • Each insurer looks at CCJs and IVAs differently – some apply stricter rules than others, but having a CCJ or IVA doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t be able to buy insurance.

  • You can choose the payment type that suits your business and cash flow best. Some customers prefer to pay in one go, while others prefer to pay a regular monthly amount, like you do with lots of other bills. Simply Business offer three ways to pay for your policy:

    • one-off credit or debit card payment
    • BACS payment
    • Direct Debit

    If you choose to pay by Direct Debit, our credit provider, Premium Credit, pays Simply Business the full amount for your policy up front. You then repay Premium Credit in 10 monthly instalments.

  • This will depend on whether you have employers’ liability insurance in place. Public liability insurance is designed to protect your business against the consequences of legal action brought by members of the public for injuries or damage to their belongings. But when it comes to your employees causing injury or damage, this protection only activates if you also have employers’ liability insurance.

    If you employ people, you’re required by law to have employers’ liability insurance.

    There’s one exception here. Family businesses that aren’t incorporated as a limited company are not legally required to have employers’ liability insurance. The government defines a “family business” as one where all your employees are closely related to you (as a spouse, civil partner, sibling, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, step-parent, stepchild or half-sibling). So if you run an unincorporated family business and you choose not to get employers’ liability insurance, it’s important to know that your public liability insurance wouldn’t cover you against damage or injury caused by your team.

We create this content for general information purposes and it should not be taken as advice. Always check policy documentation for details and seek professional advice. Read our full Terms and Conditions

Helpful articles for shop keepers

Photographer taking a photo of a product to sell online

16 Jun 2021 • 10-minute read

How to set up an online shop

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