Insurance for Ontario Convenience Stores

Insurance for Ontario Convenience Stores

December 8, 2022 / 5 mins read

You’ve got a lot of customers going in and out of your convenience store. Your customers could buy anything from milk to toothpaste and dish soap to potato chips. With a lot of foot traffic, accidents can happen.

Whether you’re an independent operator or the owner of a chain, you need to protect your business with the right package of convenience store insurance.

Ask your Western business insurance expert about what type of convenience store insurance package is best suited for your business.

If you’re a convenience store operator in King City, Newmarket, Vaughan, Markham, Toronto, Orangeville, Milton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph, Woodstock, Cornwall, Pembroke, or elsewhere in Ontario, we understand the convenience store insurance package that you need to protect your business. We’ll tailor your convenience store package to suit your needs.

Why do I need a retail insurance package?

You need a convenience store insurance package to help protect your business from the different types of risks that you are exposed to daily.

Your retail insurance package can provide coverage for risks such as theft, a customer slipping and falling, vandalism, property damage, an equipment breakdown, or fire.

Here are insurance coverages recommended for convenience stores:

Commercial General Liability (CGL) Insurance: This type of insurance provides coverage for claims of third-party bodily injuries and damage to their property that happen in your convenience store.

CGL insurance is also known as “slip-and-fall insurance” because it protects your convenience store if a customer should slip and fall on your premises and get injured. If a customer gets hurt because they’ve knocked over a shelf, you will also be covered.

  • It generally covers medical fees, legal expenses, and settlements regardless of the outcome of a lawsuit by a customer against you.
  • Your policy should protect you from libel, slander, copyright infringement, and false advertising allegations.

It’s important to understand that without commercial general liability insurance, you would be responsible for paying any liability costs out of your own pocket.

It’s not uncommon that a convenience store owner would carry at least $2 million in CGL coverage.

Talk to your Western business insurance expert to make sure that your Ontario convenience store is adequately covered with commercial general liability insurance so that you will be protected.

Other coverages:

Product Liability Insurance: Product liability insurance helps protect you against liability claims and lawsuits arising from the products you sell and distribute. It protects your business from damages from design, manufacturing, or marketing defects, such as incorrect labelling and safety warnings.

It will protect your convenience store if a customer is harmed by a product you sell after they take it home. You might not know you’re selling a product that is spoiled. If that product makes a customer sick, it can help cover costs from a potential lawsuit.

Commercial Property Insurance: Whether you own or rent your convenience store location, commercial property insurance protects your store and its contents from insured risks that can happen, such as fire, theft, flood, or vandalism.

If vandals smash a store window, commercial property damage could cover the costs of replacing the window and cover any damage or vandalism inside your business.

Commercial property insurance typically includes flood insurance, but what if there’s a heavy rain and the sewers back up and your business is flooded?

You should consider adding sewer backup and/or overland flood coverage extensions, which standard business insurance policies typically do not cover.

You can also consider adding earthquake insurance.

You’ll need to do a total inventory of all your business property to determine how much commercial property insurance you will need.

Let your Western business insurance expert explain in detail what is covered with commercial property insurance.

Crime Insurance: This type of insurance provides coverage for events not covered by most property or liability insurance policies.

It can protect your convenience store from losses due to:

  • Employee fraudulent acts, for example: An employee forges your signature and withdraws money from your account
  • Theft of money
  • Counterfeit money or money orders
  • Depositor’s forgery
  • Credit card, debit, or automated teller card fraud

You need crime insurance if your convenience store employees have access to money and equipment, if you allow electronic payments by debit or credit cards, or if you have inventory that can be stolen.

Ask your Western business insurance expert about how crime insurance can protect your Ontario convenience store.

Business Interruption Insurance: Business interruption insurance supports you when your convenience store can’t operate due to a covered loss. This type of insurance can be the difference between recovering from a loss and closing your convenience store permanently.

There are many losses that can force your convenience store to shut down. Some examples include:

  • Damage to your storefront from fire or vandalism
  • Damage to a neighboring business
  • 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

Equipment Breakdown Insurance: What if the freezer holding your frozen food products and ice cream breaks down?

This type of insurance provides coverage for property damage from the sudden and accidental breakdown of insured equipment not automatically covered by a standard commercial property policy. You’ll need to have a list of the equipment at your retail store and how much it’s worth.

Cyber Insurance: Your convenience store probably processes numerous debit and credit card transactions every day. Without cyber insurance, you will have to pay out of your pocket for the cost of restoring your system if it is hacked.

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.

Commercial Auto Insurance: If you have a business car that you use for your convenience store, it won’t be covered by your personal car insurance policy.

You will need commercial coverage as part of your convenience store insurance package.

How much convenience store insurance do I need?

It will depend on the size of your Ontario convenience store, your location, and annual revenues.

It’s unlikely that all convenience stores would pay the same monthly or annually for their coverage.

Ask your Western business insurance expert to determine the right level of coverage for your convenience store.

Western Insurance has licensed BUSINESS INSURANCE EXPERTS to get your Ontario convenience store the right insurance package. Our experts are available now to help you navigate the business insurance journey to protect your convenience store.

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