What Insurance Do Toronto Dry Cleaners Need

What Insurance Do Toronto Dry Cleaners Need?

May 30, 2024 / 5 mins read

Your customers count on you for their clothes to be cleaned and pressed. What if a customer’s sweater is damaged or a customer slips and falls at your Toronto dry cleaning business? Protect your dry cleaning business with a customized insurance package.

Insurance for Toronto dry cleaners protects you and your business financially against legal claims and equipment breakdowns.

Is your dry cleaning business in downtown Toronto or located in one of its many neighbourhoods? Or is your dry cleaning business in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), or elsewhere in Ontario? No matter your location, your Western Financial Group business insurance expert will make sure that your commercial insurance is customized to your needs as a Toronto dry cleaning professional and at the right value for you.

What is insurance for dry cleaners?

Dry cleaners’ insurance is a package of insurance coverages that are designed to protect you as a Toronto dry cleaner. It helps protect your dry cleaning business against the risks that you face, such as property damage and reputational harm.

Why is insurance important for Toronto dry cleaners? How does it protect them?

  1. Unfortunately, your client list and their payments history was hacked. Cyber liability insurance helps protect you financially in the case of a cyber-attack. Depending on the size of the breach and the information that was taken, the customers who are affected can hold your Toronto dry cleaning business responsible and sue you for damages.
  2. You have mopped the floor, but it isn’t dry. A customer comes into your Toronto dry cleaning business and slips and falls, breaking her ankle. She decides to sue you for damages. Commercial general liability insurance (CGL) can help cover your legal expenses and any court-ordered damages, and uninsured medical expenses.

    How much CGL do you need as a Toronto dry cleaner? You can expect to carry a minimum of $2 million in coverage, but that will depend on the size of your dry cleaning business and the services it provides.

  3. One of your pressing machines breaks down at your Toronto dry cleaning business. Equipment breakdown insurance can help repair or replace your dry cleaning equipment if it stops working due to a power surge, electrical short, or a mechanical breakdown.

How much does insurance cost for Toronto dry cleaners?

How much it will cost will depend on the size of your Toronto dry cleaning business and the services you provide.

Your location, number of stores, number of employees, and any past claims will also affect the cost of your dry cleaning insurance.

There is no one-size-fits-all insurance price for Toronto dry cleaners.

What insurance do I need for my Toronto dry cleaning business?

Commercial general liability (CGL) insurance: Commercial general liability insurance protects your Toronto dry cleaning business from third-party (customer/supplier) bodily injury and property damage claims due to an accident, mishap, or unforeseen incident.

What kind of risks does commercial general liability insurance cover for dry cleaners?

  • Injury to a third party who is not your employee
  • Damage to a customer’s property (clothing)
  • Medical bills if someone is injured
  • Legal costs and settlement costs of liability lawsuits filed against you
  • Liability lawsuits related to slander and libel

Commercial property insurance: Commercial property insurance is necessary for Toronto dry cleaners.

It can provide financial coverage in the case of a fire that destroys or damages your dry cleaning shop and its contents.

Commercial property insurance also protects your dry cleaning business and its contents from damage or loss related to severe weather, natural disasters, theft, and vandalism.

Equipment breakdown insurance: You need your dry cleaning equipment to work. Equipment breakdown insurance is designed to repair or replace your equipment if it stops operating due to a power surge, electrical short, or a mechanical breakdown.

Pollution liability insurance: Pollution liability insurance helps cover costs to clean up pollution caused by the work that your dry cleaning business does. It can help pay for clean-up costs, civil fines, and emergency response expenses.

Business interruption insurance: This coverage supports you when your Toronto dry cleaning business can’t operate due to a covered loss.

A covered loss could include:

  • Damage to your equipment from fire or vandalism
  • A major reduction in revenue due to a client/supplier facing losses of their own
  • A disruption in your supply chain

Business interruption insurance can help with expenses such as:

  • Payroll
  • Rent
  • Utilities
  • Property taxes
  • Alarm monitoring
  • Relocation of your business

Business interruption insurance can be the difference between your Toronto dry cleaning business recovering from a loss and closing permanently.

Commercial vehicle insurance:

For dry cleaning deliveries, you need commercial vehicle insurance. Your personal vehicle insurance will not cover you in the case of an accident if the work is related to your Toronto dry cleaning business.

Cyber liability insurance: Do you keep client information online and take online payments? If so, your Toronto dry cleaning business could be hacked by cyberthieves. Cyber liability insurance will help protect you.

Without cyber insurance, you will have to pay out of your pocket for the cost of restoring your system. You may also be liable for damages to third parties whose information has been stolen and you may have to pay for notification expenses to inform customers affected by a breach.

What do I do if my Toronto dry cleaning business has an insurance claim?

  • Contact your broker immediately after any business-related mishap. Waiting to file a claim can confuse insurers about the severity of the damages to your business.
  • Know your policy so that when you contact your broker you are familiar with what will be covered or not.
  • Document the damage. Take photos right away and write down what happened.
  • Do not throw away damaged goods after taking photos. Keep the physical evidence so that your adjustor can see it.
  • Do not invite lawsuits. Don’t say anything that could be used against you, especially if you aren’t sure what happened.
  • Be honest about what your damaged property is worth. Damaged commercial property is generally valued according to its actual cash value or replacement value.

Here’s an insurance checklist for Toronto drycleaners:

  • Do you have the best Toronto business insurance rate that suits your work?
  • Do you have the right amount for your deductible and regularly review it to make sure it’s the right amount for you?
  • Are you or your employees using personal vehicles for work?

Ask your Western business insurance expert to help you get the right coverage at the right value to protect your Toronto dry cleaning business.

Western Financial Group has licensed BUSINESS INSURANCE EXPERTS to get your Toronto dry cleaning business the right insurance package. Our experts are available now to help you navigate the business insurance journey to protect your dry cleaning business.

Please share this article with your friends

Talk to an Insurance Expert

Call Us Now 888-595-3104