Shop insurance

Expert insurance for your shop

When it comes to insurance, your shop comes with a unique set of needs and risks. That doesn’t mean finding the right shop insurance policy should be time-consuming or complex. For a start, we’d recommend putting public liability insurance at the top of your priorities, as you’re likely to be in close touch with suppliers and the general public.

You can then choose additional specialist covers to tailor your policy and suit your own requirements. For example, you can add business contents and buildings insurance to protect your premises, or employers' liability insurance, if you employ people.

Cover your online trade

Selling products online? We can cover you for that too with online retailers’ insurance built for businesses that sell on the web. We offer excellent value and extensive cover, with stock insurance part of the package. Whether you’re a home-based business or high street retailer, our online retail insurance offers a tailored solution.

Compare shop insurance quotes

With Simply Business you can compare multiple quotes from a range of leading insurers and get a tailored shop insurance quote online in just a few minutes. It's quick, easy and specific.

What insurance do I need for a shop?

The insurance you need for your shop depends on your business and the specific risks you want to cover. These are some of the most popular covers for shops:

• public and product liability insurance
• business buildings and contents insurance
• stock cover
• business interruption insurance.

What can your shop insurance cover?

Starting with public liability insurance, you can include multiple covers in one single shop insurance policy, with one premium, one renewal date and one set of documents: simple and hassle-free. Find more details on each type of cover below.

• Public liability insurance for shops

Public liability insurance is often a very important cover for shops, as it can protect you if someone is injured or their property is damaged because of your business. Simply Business offers between £1 million and £5 million in cover, to protect you against this cost.

• Shop premises insurance (business premises insurance)

With business buildings insurance, you can insure your shop premises against damage from unexpected crises, such as fire and flood. If you rent your business space, you’re unlikely to need buildings insurance – but contact your commercial landlord to make sure.

• Employers' liability insurance

If you have employees, contractors, casual workers or temporary staff, you’re required by law to take out employers’ liability insurance in most cases. It can cover claims from employees who’ve been injured or become seriously ill as a result of working for you.

• Business interruption insurance

Business interruption insurance is also popular with shops, as it can cover the consequential loss of income you may experience as a result of an unexpected event you're insured against.

• Product liability insurance

Product liability insurance can protect your retail business against claims made for personal injury or property damage caused by a product you've sold or supplied. It can cover legal fees and compensation costs in case someone sues you. It's worth keeping in mind that you could be liable even if you didn’t manufacture the product.

• Stock insurance

If you hold any stock on your premises or in storage, you can protect it with stock insurance. If your stock is stolen, damaged or destroyed, stock cover can pay out to replace it.

• Business contents and equipment insurance

Other popular covers for shops are business contents insurance and business equipment insurance, which pay the cost of replacements or repairs if the contents of your business premises or your shop equipment gets stolen, damaged or destroyed.

• Business legal protection insurance

Also known as legal expenses insurance, this cover protects against the potential costs of legal action brought by or against your business, paying for your commercial legal expenses.

• Personal accident insurance

You can also add personal accident insurance to your policy. It covers serious injury or death caused by an accident. It can pay out for lost income, medical costs and hospitalisation, up to the limit of the policy.

Need more details? Hear more about your business cover options from our expert team in a quick set of videos. Just choose the cover you’re interested in and get some expert insight into how each option can help your business. You can also check out our business insurance FAQs.

Business insurance for shops - Watch the details

It’s very important to make sure you understand what you need from your shop insurance. Use the check points below to get you thinking.

• Do you need buildings insurance? If you rent your premises, your landlord may take care of this already
• Make sure you know the difference between contents insurance and fixtures and fittings cover (which is part of buildings insurance).
• Insure your stock at the cost price, not the retail price
• Check the policy documents for exclusions and excesses so you know exactly where you stand with your policy

Need more tailored retail insurance? We insure a wide range of shop and retail types, such as supermarkets, market traders, crafters, launderettes and many more. Just use our trade selector or give us a call.