4 Insurance Coverages that Retailers Need (But Probably Don’t Have)

You have insurance for your retail business, but do you have all the coverage you need?

Here are four commonly overlooked coverages that retailers should consider.

#1: Cyber Security Coverage

Because cyber attacks against large retail businesses make headlines, small merchants or businesses that don’t do online sales mistakenly think they aren’t at risk. However, retailers of all sizes and types are at risk of cyber crime. In fact, 74% of small businesses reported a security breach within the last year.

Cyber security insurance typically packages cyber liability and data breach coverage. Cyber liability coverage pays if you’re liable for unintentionally spreading malware. Data breach provides coverage to respond to accidental loss or release of customers’ personal and identifying information. (Pro tip: Get Acuity’s Cyber Suite for your business and you’ll get identity theft coverage too.)

#2: Peak Season Coverage

Many retail businesses experience peak seasons—times when they may carry more than the average amount of stock for their business. Greenhouses and nurseries stock up before prime planting months, and many retailers bump inventories before holidays.

It’s easy to overlook those temporary spikes when setting a limit of insurance on your property policy. Peak season coverage increases the limit of your business personal property during those times, without needing to carry a higher limit all year.

#3: Business Income and Extra Expense

After a fire, windstorm, or other property loss, the immediate focus is on repairing buildings and replacing lost inventory. Additionally, until those repairs are made and customers start coming back in the door, retailers suffer loss of income, which is not covered on a basic business property policy.

Business income coverage helps bridge the gap, and extra expense coverage pays for additional costs needed to resume operations. Business income is particularly important if a covered loss happens during a peak season.

#4: Employee Dishonesty

You take care to hire good people, but the unfortunate fact is every business faces the risk of employee crime. Statistics show that 75% of all employees steal at least once, including cash, merchandise, and business property. Studies have also shown that businesses lose 20% of every dollar due to employee theft.

Employee dishonesty coverage protects you against employee theft of money, securities, or property. Even if you only hire friends and family, it’s worth putting this coverage in place for peace of mind.

Contributed by Aaron Stamm, Retail Specialist at Acuity Insurance. Stamm is the Retail Specialist at Acuity Insurance, a property and casualty insurance company that protects over 100,000 businesses and offers innovative insurance products and excellent customer service. We understand you work hard to grow your company, so we provide the insurance you need so you can focus on operating your business.