Off licence insurance

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Off licence shop insurance – why is it important?

From stock deliveries to shutting up shop, off licences face a unique set of risks. The average UK public liability claim costs thousands, and alcohol retailers have a lot to factor in. Our cover steps up to protect the business you’ve built, letting you focus on the till, not the what-ifs. There’s cover for public and product liability, plus employee claims, stock, legal expenses, and more.

  • rated 4.7/5 based on 39K+ customer reviews
  • stock, accident, and employee cover – you choose what you need
  • 24/7 UK-based claims support from an expert team


Insurance for off licences – what’s covered?

Your shop insurance quote usually builds around public and product liability insurance, built to protect against damage or injury claims, plus employers’ liability for your staff. For most UK employers, it’s a legal requirement. From there, stock, contents, and buildings cover are popular options, along with legal expenses insurance and personal accident protection for your own injuries, or anyone you choose to cover.


How much does off licence business 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 £4.74 per month

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

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Example off license insurance quotes, real prices

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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

£400

Stock

£200

£4000

Contents

£200

£4000

Employers’ liability

No excess

No excess

Public liability

No excess

£750

Product liability

No excess

No excess


How it works

Pick what goes into your policy

Get prices from a range of insurers

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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

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0333 043 8527

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Contact us on our website whenever suits you

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

FAQs

Find answers to common insurance questions


How do 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 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.

£51 million in claims paid out in 2023

83% of claims were settled in 2023

Example claim

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

Tom saved more than £11,900

An electrical fire at Tom’s (not his real name) shop premises broke out overnight, damaging his Christmas stock, wooden shelving, and lighting. The stock, building and contents cover added to his off licence insurance policy helped cover Tom’s repair and replacement costs.

Chosen by nearly 1 million small businesses and landlords

Off licence insurance FAQ

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.

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 business. For example, if you’re running a sandwich shop, is there a risk that someone may get food poisoning? However unlikely, incidents like this do hit thousands of retailers every day, making liability insurance an important backstop.

Are you hiring staff? If so, you’re usually required by law to take out employers’ 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. 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.

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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