A shop is the most “open to the street” type of premises: the shop window attracts attention and is vulnerable, the stock is within easy reach – for a burglar too – and the till holds cash. Retail insurance revolves around these three points: storefront, stock, cash.
- Storefront and shop-window glass cover isn’t an extra for shops, it’s a basic question – with a limit and emergency glazing.
- The stock’s burglary cover is tied to the security level: locks, bars or an alarm – typically with requirements linked to the sum insured.
- Cash is its own category: in the till, in the safe, in transit – typically with separate limits.
The storefront: the shop’s face, and its weak point
Vandalism to the shop window, an attempted break-in, a storm – glass damage is the most common claim type for shops, and it’s always urgent: a shop can’t be left open overnight with a hole in it. So the scope and limit of the glass cover, and the cost of temporary closure, are a key consideration: the glass breakage article. In a rented shop, it needs clarifying who owns the storefront – and how the two policies line up: who insures what.
The stock and burglary
Shop stock is an attractive, mobile target. Burglary cover is tied to the security level – locks, bars, an alarm, in some cases remote monitoring; the requirement typically depends on the sum insured and the terms: the details. For the stock sum insured, the season is key: a Christmas restock can double the value – the stock article covers handling the fluctuation. Out-of-hours risk and daytime risk (robbery) are separately named elements.
Cash and the “small” items
Cash held in the till or the safe can typically be insured separately, at relatively low limits – the rules (safe type, overnight holding, cash transport) depend on the terms: cash and valuables article. And two often-forgotten items: the contents of chiller cabinets (a separate question of whether spoilage cover applies during a power cut) and outdoor signage and awnings – these count as neither building nor stock, so they need to be specifically named.
The main benefit of a shop survey is matching the limits to reality: storefront value, peak stock, till contents – three figures that differ from shop to shop.
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