RETAIL INSURANCE · SOUTH HILL AND THE TOWNS AROUND IT
Insurance for shops and storefronts on Main Street and off it.
The boutique, the hardware store, the restaurant, the salon, the convenience store at the crossroads. One package covers most of it, and two things it usually leaves out are the two that close a shop for good.
THE FIRST THING TO KNOW
A business owners policy covers the store. Business income keeps it open.
Most shops are written on a business owners policy, which packages the building or your improvements to it, the stock and fixtures, and general liability for the customer who slips. It is the right policy for most storefronts and it is priced well.
What it does not always include at a useful limit is business income: the rent, the payroll and the profit that stop when a fire in the building next door closes yours for three months. That, and product liability for what you sell, are the two coverages we make sure are in the conversation.
THE PACKAGE
Four parts of a business owners policy.
Building and improvements
The building if you own it, or the counters, shelving, lighting and finishes you paid for if you lease.
Stock and contents
Inventory, fixtures, registers, the walk-in cooler. At its peak seasonal value, not its January value.
General liability
The customer who slips, the display that falls, the product that hurts someone. The part the landlord's lease requires.
Business income
Rent, payroll and net profit while the shop is closed after a covered loss. The coverage that decides whether a fire is a bad year or the end.
Equipment breakdown, spoilage, signs and glass are small add-ons that get used far more often than the big ones.
WHAT THE PACKAGE LEAVES OUT
Six things a storefront may need beyond the package.
Product liability
For what you sell, whether you made it or not. Included in general liability, but the limit and the exclusions depend on the product.
Liquor liability
If you sell or serve alcohol, in any amount, this is separate and usually required by the license.
Employee theft
Cash from the register, stock out the back door. Called employee dishonesty or crime coverage, and rarely on the package by default.
Cyber and card data
A point of sale system that takes cards is a data breach waiting to be reported. Coverage for the notification, the forensics and the fines.
Delivery vehicles
Deliveries in your own car are a personal auto problem. Deliveries in the shop's van are commercial auto.
Workers' compensation
Required in Virginia above two employees and in North Carolina at three, part timers included. Sold separately from the package.
WHO WE WRITE IT FOR
Who we write it for
● Boutiques, gift shops and florists
● Hardware, farm supply and feed stores
● Convenience stores and gas stations
● Restaurants, cafes, bakeries and food trucks
● Salons, barbers and nail shops
● Auto parts, tire and repair shops
● Antique, consignment and thrift stores
● Anything with a door on Main Street, Mecklenburg Avenue or Route 58
About business income
Most shops in a strip building or a downtown block share a wall with somebody. A fire next door, a water line above, or a car through the front window can close you for months with no damage to your stock at all. Business income coverage pays the rent and the payroll while you are dark, and it is the line on the policy people most often trim to save a few dollars.
THE STATE LINE
Employees and the state line
Virginia
Workers' compensation is required with more than two employees regularly employed, and the count includes part time, seasonal and family members on the payroll. A shop with the owner and three part timers is over the line.
North Carolina
Workers' compensation is required at three or more employees, and corporate officers count toward the three even if they exempt themselves from coverage.
Alcohol licensing and liquor liability requirements come from Virginia ABC and the North Carolina ABC Commission and differ by license type. Confirm before applying.
QUESTIONS WE GET
Before you call
I lease the space. Do I still need building coverage?
Not for the building, but for what you put in it. Counters, shelving, lighting and finishes you paid for are yours to insure, and the lease almost certainly requires liability with the landlord named.
What is business income, and how much do I need?
It replaces the money the shop would have made while closed after a covered loss, plus the rent and payroll you still owe. Enough to carry the shop through the longest realistic rebuild, which is usually longer than people guess.
Do I need cyber coverage for a small shop?
If you take cards, you hold card data, and a breach comes with notification costs and card brand fines regardless of size. Small policies exist and are priced for small shops.
My stock doubles before Christmas. Is it covered?
Only up to the limit on the policy. Most packages carry a seasonal increase, but check the percentage against what is actually on the shelves in November.
Can I add a location or raise a limit through the form?
Call the office. Those are changes in coverage, and coverage is not bound through the form or by email until somebody here has confirmed it.
Changing your coverage
For adding or deleting coverage, please call the office during business hours. Coverage is not bound through sending a request by email or using the contact form without explicit confirmation from an authorized agent or carrier.