Does Your Grocery Store Have Enough Liability Insurance?
Your grocery store could face a lawsuit from a customer involving an injury or property damage. Without enough commercial liability insurance, you leave your grocery store financially exposed to lawsuits.
When you make liability insurance the pillar of your business coverage, you are taking steps to financially protect your grocery store against potentially damaging legal claims.
Western Financial Group, a 100% Canadian company, can help you navigate your business, car, and home insurance during this period of economic uncertainty.
What is grocery store insurance? Can it be customized?
Grocery store insurance can be customized to suit the needs of your food business. Supermarket insurance protects your business from the risks you face in the food business. Liability insurance is the cornerstone of your grocery store insurance package to financially protect it from lawsuits and legal claims.
Other insurance coverages in your supermarket insurance package protect your inventory, equipment, and physical store as well as financially protecting your grocery store business from theft, fire, vandalism, and severe weather.
What kind of food sellers need grocery store insurance?
- Independent grocery stores
- Grocery store chains
- Convenience and corner stores
- Delicatessens
- Specialty grocery stores
- Fruit and vegetable stores
- Markets
- Mom-and-pop stores
What liability coverages do I need for my grocery store?
Commercial general liability (CGL) insurance
Grocery stores can have wet and slippery surfaces both inside and out and that can mean customers slipping, falling, getting hurt and then suing you. Customers can also accidentally knock items off a shelf or drop a product, which can create potentially hazardous situations for themselves and other customers.
You need commercial general liability insurance because it protects your supermarket when there is a third-party bodily injury or damage on the premises, which could result in a lawsuit against your food store.
- CGL insurance 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 not uncommon for a grocery store owner to carry at least $2 million in CGL coverage, or $5 million and more depending on the size of your operation.
Ask your Western Financial Group business insurance expert how much commercial general liability (CGL) insurance you need to protect your food store.
Product liability insurance
As a grocery store owner, your products could be contaminated and make customers sick. When this happens, you could be held liable for any damages.
Product liability insurance helps protect you against liability claims and lawsuits arising from the products you sell and distribute.
If a product makes a customer sick, this type of insurance can help cover costs from a potential lawsuit.
It also protects your supermarket from damages from design, manufacturing, or marketing defects, such as incorrect labelling and safety warnings.
How can small business owners save on their insurance with Western?
Western Financial Group helps business owners save on their insurance with the following:
- Bundle and save: They’re generally available when you bundle liability, commercial auto, and property insurance.
- Multiple quotes to suit your needs: Western is a national insurance broker that partners with Canada’s leading insurers. We’ll get you multiple business insurance quotes to suit your needs and to help you save money.
- Cost: Depends on factors such as services provided, location and size, deductibles, revenue, and any past claims
Product recall insurance
This type of coverage reimburses you from financial losses sustained when a product is recalled whether the government or a manufacturer orders the recall. The costs can include the recall expense, replacement costs, lost profits, and brand rehabilitation expense.
A grocery store owner can face serious financial consequences without product recall insurance because you would have to absorb the losses yourself. This can be financially devastating, especially if you are named in a third-party personal injury or property damage lawsuit.
Cyber liability insurance
If your food store takes credit card or debit payments, you must protect this form of payment and can be held liable if you don’t.
If your grocery store’s computer system is hacked, cybercriminals can sell the information. Without cyber insurance, you will have to pay out of your pocket for the cost of restoring your food store’s computer 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 other insurance do grocery stores need?
Equipment breakdown insurance
Your grocery store likely has expensive electrical and mechanical equipment to keep your frozen and fresh food non-perishable and safe for consumption.
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.
Commercial property insurance
Whether you own or rent your grocery store’s 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 heavy rain and the sewers back up and your business is flooded?
You should consider adding sewer backup or overland flood coverage extensions, which standard business insurance policies typically do not cover.
Let your Western business insurance expert explain in detail what is covered under commercial property insurance.
How can grocery store owners save on their insurance with Western?
Western Financial Group helps business owners save on their insurance with the following:
- Bundle and save: They’re generally available when you bundle liability, commercial auto, and property insurance.
- Multiple quotes to suit your needs: Western Financial Group is a national insurance broker that partners with Canada’s leading insurers. We’ll get you multiple business insurance quotes to suit your needs and to help you save money.
- Cost: Depends on factors such as services provided, location and size, deductibles, revenue, and any past claims. Ask us how we can help you save.
Crime insurance
This coverage should be a part of your grocery store insurance package.
It can protect you from theft, credit card fraud, forgery, counterfeit, and other types of fraud that employees sometimes commit.
Business interruption insurance
Business interruption insurance supports you when your grocery 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 doors permanently.
There are many losses that can force your business to shut down, including:
- 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
Commercial auto insurance
If you have a business car that you use for your grocery store, it won’t be covered by your personal car insurance policy.
How much does grocery store cost?
There isn’t a set price for grocery store insurance. It will depend on factors such as:
- Location and size
- Number of employees
- Annual revenue
- Any past claims
- What you sell
To sum it all up
Grocery store insurance can be customized to meet the needs of your food store. Remember when you are customizing your grocery store insurance package that liability insurance is the cornerstone of your coverage to protect your food business from lawsuits and legal claims.
5 FAQs about grocery store insurance
Does grocery store insurance cover online sales or delivery operations?
Yes, typically it does. Cyber liability covers online data breaches and commercial auto insurance is needed for delivery vehicles. You need to tell your business insurance provider if you are doing online grocery sales and also have grocery delivery services.
How do I determine the right amount of commercial insurance coverage for my grocery store?
You will need to assess your food store’s value, including inventory, equipment, and real estate, if you own the building that it’s in. What’s your annual revenue? How many employees do you have? Do you have delivery vehicles? What are your risk exposures? Do you have any past insurance claims? Make a list and discuss the value of your grocery business with your business insurance provider.
Should I annually reassess the business insurance for my grocery store?
Yes, you should. Your commercial insurance needs change as your grocery store grows, diversifies products, or expands services. Review your coverage annually or after major business changes, such as a change in location or products you sell.
Do grocery stores get sued?
Yes, grocery stores can get sued. The most common types of lawsuits against grocery stores include Slip and fall accidents, product liability issues, and false/deceptive advertising and pricing.
Are there grocery store lawsuits over product weight or labelling?
Class-action cases have been filed against major grocery chains in both Canada and the United States, alleging that some stores routinely overcharged customers by including the weight of packaging in the price of meat and seafood, or by selling products that weighed less than stated on the label.
