How Much Does Small Business Insurance Cost Per Month?

Many small business owners think that business insurance is only for large companies with multiple bases that employ many staff. Nothing could be further from the truth, as protecting your small business against the risks you face is just as important to you as it is for a large corporation.

Comparing shop insurance quotes is easy when you work with Brisco Business Insurance. You can compare shop insurance quotes online and tailor your policy to the coverage your small business needs. Remember that our team is here to help with plenty of guidance if you are setting up your first small business and unsure what cover you need.

This guide will give you an idea of how much it will cost to insure your small business and the best cover to take out for your shop.

What affects the cost of business insurance for a shop?

There are risks faced by shop owners that may not affect some other small businesses. The more risks your small business faces, the more insurance coverage you will need, and therefore the higher the price of your insurance premium.

For example, when you run a brick-and-mortar shop that sells physical products or offers services from the premises, such as hairdressing, beauty treatments or therapy services such as aromatherapy, sports massage etc., you will be dealing with your customers face-to-face. This means an increased risk of your customers or clients having an accident on your premises and sustaining an injury.

A shop customer may have their property damaged on your premises, such as their coat or jacket sleeve catching on your door handle and being torn. Or a customer’s clothing or footwear being stained from the contents of a smashed jar of sauce or bottle of wine, can lead to a claim being made against you.

This is why brick-and-mortar shop owners should consider taking out public liability insurance to protect themselves against customers claiming compensation for injuries or damage to their property sustained on your property.

While public liability insurance isn’t needed by law, it is considered an essential cover for small business owners, especially shop owners that deal directly with their customers or clients. However, if you run a small business that has no direct contact with your customers or clients, such as an online shop with no brick-and-mortar premises, then it may not be necessary for you to take out public liability insurance. Therefore your insurance premium will be lower than for a traditional shop owner.

Employer’s liability insurance

Employer’s liability insurance typically costs from £60 per person per year. The number of staff you employ may impact how much your shop insurance will cost each year.

Employer’s liability insurance is required by law, but it can cost you anything between £60 to £210 per year per employee, depending on how much of a physical risk their job involves. For example, insurance for your office administrator will be cheaper than for a goods-in worker that spends their day lifting and carrying heavy stock.

This insurance will protect your business should a staff member have an accident or develops an illness caused by working for your company. Even ex-employees can make a claim against you many years in the future should their lives be affected negatively as a result of working for you.

Remember that you will need employer’s liability insurance by law if you employ staff. This includes anyone who volunteers in your shop, works part-time, or is a student doing work experience with you.

What does business insurance for a shop cover?

Your shop business insurance coverage will vary depending on the type of shop you run and what you sell. You will need to determine the specific risks faced by your business to work out what coverage you will need.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to insuring your business, so your quote for shop insurance may contain different protection elements to a neighbouring shop on your street that sells a different range of products or services.

Depending on your individual needs, your shop insurance may include the following:

• Public liability insurance: To protect your business from customer compensation claims for injuries or damage to personal property.
• Employer’s liability insurance: If you employ staff in your shop, you will need this insurance protection by law. Even if you hire part-time, temporary, seasonal staff, work experience students or volunteers, it is a legal necessity to have employer’s liability insurance.
• Legal expenses cover: This insurance will help to protect your legal costs should a customer take you to court for any reason. Solicitor’s fees can sometimes run into thousands of pounds, and if you lose your case, you may be held responsible for paying your customer’s legal fees too.
• Business interruption: Should you need to close down your business for some time, this cover will help you continue bringing in some money to pay your bills until you can reopen your business.
• Stock insurance: You can insure your stock or shop inventory against losses to fire, flood and theft, so you don’t need to pay out of your own pocket to restock your shop.

You may want to include more insurance options, such as shop-front and glass window insurance, that can cover the costs of repairs or replacements due to accidents, theft, or vandalism.

It would help if you also considered buildings and contents insurance, but this will depend on whether you own or rent your shop premises.

How can you find cheap shop insurance?

Shop insurance costs will vary depending on the size and type of shop you run. The one thing that every shop owner will be concerned about is not over-insuring or underinsuring their business.

This is why it makes sense to have your shop insurance personally tailored to suit your needs by building in only the insurance elements your shop needs. While you may see adverts online for comprehensive shop insurance for a reasonable price, you may still be overpaying for your insurance by including elements that don’t apply to your business.

The only cheap shop insurance quotes you should trust are from our Brisco Business Insurance team. We work with the UK’s leading insurance providers, and because we specialise in crafting insurance policies around the needs of your individual business, working with us will ensure you get the best possible deal.

Conclusion

With each individual small shop business having its own set of risks, it’s difficult to estimate how much your insurance premiums will be each year. Costs are highly variable depending on factors such as the type and nature of your business, how many staff you employ and whether or not you own the shop premises you operate from.

Proper protection is essential for any shop owner in the UK, but knowing where to start can take time and effort, especially if this is your first business venture. This is why it can help you to talk to our Brisco Business Insurance team to ensure you get the right coverage to meet your needs.

Dean Laming

Dean is a Chartered Insurance Broker with more than 25 years insurance experience. Through various underwriting, operational and management roles, Dean has built up extensive knowledge of how to run a business and is now Managing Director of Brisco Business, part of the wider Henry Seymour Group.

All articles by Dean Laming