Pet Supplies and Pet Shop Insurance
Pet supply stores carry everything you could possibly need for your pets, including food and treats, food and water bowls, litter boxes, cat and dog beds, crates, collars, leashes, clothing, aquariums and fish accessories, bird cages, and much more. If you are operating a pet supply or pet shop store, you also need to be aware of your risks. This includes accidents in your store that could cause harm to your customers and employees, as well as increased risks if you offer services like obedience training for dogs. Protect your risks with business insurance policies specifically designed to cover those risks.
Types of Pet Supplies and Pet Store Business Insurance
You have different risk exposures as the owner of a pet store, so you should have different insurance policies as well. The following policies cover the main types of insurance you can obtain:
Pet Supplies and Pet Shop Store General Liability Insurance
If you choose just one type of business insurance policy, it should be general liability. General liability includes multiple coverage in one policy, including products liability, completed operations, and premises liability. If you provide pet training services and the customer’s dog bites another in-store customer after training, they could sue you for lack of proper training. On the other hand, a fish tank in the aisle way could cause a customer to trip and hurt themselves, which is mitigated under premises liability.
Pet Supplies and Pet Shop Store Products Liability Insurance
Products liability is often part of a general liability insurance policy, though not always. However, it is very important insurance policy for any retail store, including pet supply stores. If the product you sold a customer caused harm to the customer, her home, or her pets, you won’t take the loss if you have products liability insurance. For instance, if you sold a birdcage to a customer that had a broken hinge and it opened, causing their bird to fly away, they could sue you for the loss. Products liability covers such incidents.
Pet Supplies and Pet Shop Store Commercial Auto Insurance
Do you offer delivery services to your customers? Do you drive to the store to pick up supplies for your store? If so, each business errand should be covered by business auto insurance. This insurance helps cover the cost of damages to your vehicle in the event of a collision, along with theft and vandalism.
Pet Supplies and Pet Shop Store Cyber Liability Insurance
Cyber liability insurance is vital if you sell pet supplies online. While you might have taken many precautions to secure your customers’ e-commerce transactions, talented hackers know their way around most security measures. Protect your business and reputation by purchasing a cyber liability insurance policy. It is yet another policy that is beneficial if the unthinkable occurs.
Pet Supplies and Pet Shop Store Business Property Insurance
There are a variety of unexpected events that could cause damage to your brick and mortar pet supply shop and the merchandise inside. This includes fire, flood, natural disasters, and even extreme weather conditions. The cost of repairs and replacing damaged items could cost more than your business is able to cover. Fortunately, business property insurance can offer you protection if this was to occur.
Pet Supplies and Pet Shop Store Workers Compensation Insurance
Most states in the US require all employees to be covered by worker’s compensation as it helps cover work-related injury or illness. For example, if an employee works in the back room handling inventory and unloading boxes, he could suffer a back or shoulder injury. The medical costs to take care of this injury would be covered by worker’s compensation insurance.
Pet Supplies and Pet Shop Store Crime Insurance
Unfortunately, crime occurs in many retail stores, including pet shops stores. Crimes you are open to include theft, shoplifting, fraudulent payment for merchandise, embezzlement, and vandalism that destroys your pet supplies. Since this is a significant risk, you should protect your store with crime insurance. If an employee steals money from the cash register or someone vandalized your property, you have insurance to cover the loss.
To protect your business to the fullest, you should get a pet supplies and pet shop store insurance policy that covers each probably and unexpected risk. This gives you the best chance possible at maintaining your business even after something unexpected occurs.
