Bookshop insurance
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Rated 4.7/5
Based on 39,717 reviews
Claims paid in 24 hours
For 80% of settled claims
Bookshop insurance – why is it important?
Booksellers face their own unique set of risks – whether that involves managing stock, looking after customers, or the day-to-day operations of running a bookshop. Fortunately, this doesn’t have to put a stop to your business activities. We offer tailored cover to protect you against the cost of a claim if the worst should happen.
- compare cover from expert UK brands and protect your business
- rated 4.7/5 based on 39K+ public liability customer reviews
- public and product liability between £1 million and £10 million
What does bookshop insurance cover?
It’s quick to add covers to your quote and build a policy that suits your needs as a bookshop. Most businesses start with public liability insurance, which protects your business against third party claims for injuries or property damage. Then, you can add covers that protect against other risks.
Public liability insurance
In case your business and products cause an injury or property damage.
Employers’ liability insurance
In case anyone gets ill or injured while working for your bookstore
Contents insurance
In case something happens to your fixtures, fittings, or operational equipment.
Business legal insurance
In case you’re hit with legal expenses connected to your bookshop.
Personal accident insurance
In case anyone you’ve covered is accidentally injured, at work or off-duty.
Stock insurance
In case something happens to your products and consumables.
Buildings insurance
In case something happens to your business premises.
Excess insurance
In case you need to make a claim on your insurance policy.
Public liability insurance
In case your business and products cause an injury or property damage.
What’s typically covered by bookshop public liability insurance?
Claims against your business for:
- damage to someone’s property, because of your business
- injuries or illness caused by your business activities
- an employee (if you have any) accidentally damages property or causes injury
For example:
- a client is injured by a forklift operator while visiting your business, and makes a claim against you
- a maintenance professional slips on your shop floor following a spillage, fracturing their knee
- your employee uses a new product with a client, and they have an allergic reaction to it
**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 bookstore
What’s typically covered by employers’ liability insurance?
Claims against your business for:
- an injury that happens as a result of working for you (including temps and casual workers)
- an employee, including a contractor or casual labourer, suing you after falling ill because of working for you
**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:
- your employee injures their lower back while moving furniture at your premises and holds you responsible
- an employee cuts their hand on a damaged countertop and sues you for operating an unsafe workspace
- a member of staff trips over while unloading business equipment, injuring their knee
Contents insurance
In case something happens to your fixtures, fittings, or operational equipment.
What’s typically covered by business contents insurance?
Claims against your business for:
- damage to your contents or business equipment
- destruction or damage caused by theft and vandalism, as well as fire and flood
For example:
- a vintage glass cabinet is badly damaged following a break-in at your premises
- a leaking radiator damages some office furniture, which needs replacing or restoring
- the camera you use to take photographs of stock is stolen from your office
Read more about business contents insurance
Business legal insurance
In case you’re hit with legal expenses connected to your bookshop.
What’s typically covered by business legal insurance?
Claims against your business for:
- VAT disputes
- theft of your company’s identity illegally
- compensation under data protection legislation
For example:
- HMRC is investigating your VAT affairs, triggered by seemingly incorrect figures on your return
- a fraudster steals your company’s bank details and buys goods to set up a new line of credit with banks or retailers
- a client is claiming you didn’t process their data in accordance with GDPR, and is seeking compensation
Read more about business legal 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?
Claims against your business for:
- if someone named on the policy is accidentally injured or dies while at work or elsewhere
- any hospitalisation benefit or medical costs, plus lost income
For example:
- you fall off a ladder while decorating your home, breaking your elbow
- a member of staff, who’s named on the policy, dislocates their shoulder while playing tennis and can’t work to full capacity
- an insect bite you got on holiday becomes infected and you need to take time off work for hospital treatment
Read more about personal accident insurance
Stock insurance
In case something happens to your products and consumables.
What’s typically covered by stock insurance?
Claims against your business for:
- the cost of replacing the stock you use to run your business
- stock that’s been destroyed, lost, stolen, or damaged
- stock includes food and drink products as well as branded materials and sellable items
For example :
- your stockroom gets vandalised – products you need to operate are stolen and damaged
- a fire caused by faulty electrics spreads to your stockroom and destroys sellable items
- a leaking pipe floods your business premises, destroying stock that you intend to sell
Read more about stock insurance
Buildings insurance
In case something happens to your business premises.
What’s typically covered by business building insurance?
Claims against your business for:
- the cost of structural repair (or rebuilding from scratch) following damage to your building
- damage to fixtures and fittings
- underground pipes and cables that you’re responsible for
For example:
- someone tries to force entry into your shop, damaging the door, which needs replacing
- a burst pipe causes water damage to floorboards and walls – they need to be replaced
- equipment catches fire and damages your building, which will need to be completely rebuilt
Read more about business buildings insurance
Excess insurance
In case you need to make a claim on your insurance policy.
What's typically covered by excess insurance?
Claims made by you for:
- when you make a claim on a cover included in your business insurance policy, you won’t need to pay excess
For example :
- strong winds cause severe damage to the roof of your property – you don’t have to pay the £250 excess thanks to your excess insurance
- a guest accidentally breaks a television during their stay at your property and thanks to your excess insurance, you don’t need to pay excess on the claim
- a guest’s child trips on a loose carpet and breaks their arm – they claim compensation and you don’t pay excess due to your excess insurance
This content has been created for general information purposes. Make sure you have the right level of business insurance by checking your policy documentation for details. Read our full Terms and Conditions
How much does bookshop 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
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|
Public liability | No excess | £750 |
Employers' liability | No excess | No excess |
Contents | £200 | £4,000 |
Stock | £200 | £4,000 |
Main building | £200 | £400 |
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.
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How do insurance claims work for a bookshop?
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 team 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.
Chosen by 900,000 small businesses and landlords
We started out as a team of 5 back in 2005. We’ve grown since then with 900,000 customers across 1,500 trades now trusting us to provide their insurance.
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Rated 4.7/5
Based on 39,717 reviews
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Bookshop insurance FAQs
Whether you’re new to buying business insurance or you’ve been trading for a while, here are the answers to some commonly asked questions about insurance for off licences. You can also check out our business insurance FAQs.
Yes. You may start offering additional services that require you to use different skills or carry out different tasks. If you find yourself in this situation, it’s important to give us a call on 0333 0146 683 to update your policy before you take on this new work.
If you don’t have the correct type of cover in place for the work you do, you may be unable to claim on your policy if something goes wrong.
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 installments.
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.
Make sure you’re covered for the services you provide:
- View all business insurance covers
The types of businesses we insure:
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
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