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Coverage reference

Convenience Store Insurance Coverages

Discover the specific policies that protect your retail establishment from property damage, inventory loss, and lawsuits.

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500+Store owners covered

A single insurance policy is unlikely to cover a busy retail store from all angles. Comprehensive commercial protection is like a jigsaw puzzle, with each piece of convenience store insurance coverage designed to protect your physical store location, your everyday stock, your staff, and your online payment systems. These policies have been broken down into easy-to-follow “operational” categories to help you identify exactly what protection your business requires.

Category 1 of 4

Core Coverages

These types of convenience store insurance policies protect your business from typical accidents, major property damage, and lost retail revenue.

General Liability Insurance

General Liability Insurance

It covers third-party bodily and property damage that occurs on your premises. If a customer slips on the icy sidewalk of your entrance, or your stock delivery person trips over a box and injures his wrist, it covers the medical expenses and your legal costs.

Commercial Property Insurance

Commercial Property Insurance

It insures your physical building, leasehold improvements, shelving, and store inventory from covered events like fire, storm damage, or vandalism. Property coverage applies to structural damage repairs and stock replacement caused by a backroom electrical fire.

Business Owner's Policy (BOP)

Business Owner's Policy (BOP)

It is the starting policy for convenience store insurance coverage types. It combines general liability, commercial property, and business interruption to deliver small to mid-sized retailers the highest level of coverage available at a discounted rate.

Business Interruption / Business Income Insurance

Business Interruption / Business Income Insurance

This is often referred to as the business income and extra expense coverage since it kicks in when a covered building is damaged or closed. This policy will replace your lost business if a kitchen grease fire closes your store, and will cover your rent, payroll, and utility bills.

Workers' Compensation

Workers' Compensation

When an employee is injured on the job, for example, falling while lifting heavy crates of beer or putting hands on a hot grill. Workers' compensation covers their medical expenses, rehabilitation, and lost wages.

Category 2 of 4

Liability & Risk-Specific Coverages

Specialized retail stores come with specialized risks, which need special protection. These policies cover certain legal, financial, and electronic risks that are not covered by typical property policies.

Liquor Liability Insurance

Liquor Liability Insurance

General liability generally excludes alcohol-related injuries and damage. Liquor liability is insured against third-party suits and excessive legal liability if a clerk sells an alcoholic beverage to an intoxicated customer and that drunk individual later gets in an auto accident.

Crime Insurance / Employee Dishonesty Insurance

Crime Insurance / Employee Dishonesty Insurance

Crime insurance, also known as fidelity bond, is designed to cover the loss of your store's cash and merchandise from inside and out. This policy reimburses your financial losses when an employee alters the register logs or when high-value tobacco is stolen.

Product Liability Insurance

Product Liability Insurance

Product liability will protect your business from liability if a product you sell on your shelves causes injury to a customer. It will cover the legal and settlement costs if an expired or contaminated packaged product causes food poisoning, putting a shopper in the hospital.

Cyber Liability Insurance

Cyber Liability Insurance

Cyber liability (cybersecurity) insurance safeguards your business against point-of-sale (POS) terminal breaches and payment card hacks. This policy covers costs of forensic investigations, customer notification, credit monitoring services, and regulatory fines.

Employment Practices Liability (EPLI) Insurance

Employment Practices Liability (EPLI) Insurance

EPLI safeguards your company against liability claims from existing or former staff. It covers special-purpose defense attorneys and court-ordered settlement costs if a former employee has filed a lawsuit against wrongful termination, wage dispute, or workplace discrimination.

Umbrella / Excess Liability Insurance

Umbrella / Excess Liability Insurance

It offers a financial safety net protection policy. If one of those stiff, multi-party suits results in a $1.5 million verdict, and you use $1 million general liability coverage, your excess liability policy will cover the remaining $500,000 verdict to prevent possible bankruptcy.

Category 3 of 4

Auto Coverages

Commercial Auto Insurance

Commercial Auto Insurance

It is typically for vehicles used directly by your company for errands around your shop, bank deposits, or deliveries of inventory. When an employee driving the store van crashes into another vehicle while picking up wholesale stock, this policy covers the cost of the damage to the vehicle, property, and medical costs.

Hired & Non-Owned Auto (HNOA) Insurance

Hired & Non-Owned Auto (HNOA) Insurance

HNOA is a type of auto liability coverage, similar to standard commercial auto coverage. It extends to the use of employees' personal or rented vehicles for business. When a clerk drives his own car to the bank and gets into a collision, the claim is almost always denied by personal auto policies. HNOA performs to fill in the gaps of third-party injuries and suits.

Category 4 of 4

Additional Protection

Equipment Breakdown Insurance

Equipment Breakdown Insurance

It includes any mechanical, electrical, or pressure system failure that suddenly happens in any part of your store's infrastructure. This low-cost policy will help cover the cost of expensive equipment repairs and pay you thousands of dollars worth of lost dairy, meat, and frozen stock if a compressor surge causes an overnight failure of your main walk-in cooler.

Build your package

Which Coverages Do You Actually Need?

When deciding what does convenience store insurance cover for your specific setup, think of your store's operations in four practical layers:

Layer 1

The Universal Non-Negotiables

Every store should have a Business Owner's Policy (BOP) or a minimum policy of general liability and commercial property. These meet landlord lease requirements and help prevent accidents such as slips and falls or damage to the property by the regular customer.

Layer 2

Employee Triggers

Workers' compensation is required in nearly all states as soon as employees are on the payroll. EPLI and crime insurance help cover workplace disputes, register theft, and employment claims such as wrongful termination.

Layer 3

Business Details

Are you a beer or wine retailer? Liquor liability is essential (and sometimes required for licensing). Do employees use their personal vehicles for errands? You need HNOA. Accepts credit cards? Cyber liability helps cover the cost of a point-of-sale breach.

Layer 4

Smart Safeguards

Equipment breakdown only costs a little bit a month, and keeps you from losing coolers a month at a time. It's time to protect yourself with Umbrella Insurance against a wild eruption of lawsuits.

Quick check · your store
Your layers
BOP (GL + property)Workers' compLiquor liabilityHNOACyber liabilityEquipment breakdownUmbrella
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Coverage questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need every one of these coverages?

No. This is because your particular policy package is determined by your operational information. General liability and property protection are common to all policies, while some, such as liquor liability or commercial auto, are only required in certain cases, such as when you sell alcohol or use vehicles for business.

What's the difference between a BOP and buying each coverage separately?

A Business Owner's Policy (BOP) is an all-in-one policy that offers comprehensive coverage for general liability, commercial property, and business interruption at a lower cost. Individual policies are typically for larger operations requiring more complex and higher limits of coverage.

Can I add coverages later as my business grows?

Yes. Coverage can also be added on as sales grow, employees are hired, or operations expand, such as adding liquor liability coverage, cyber protection coverage, or equipment breakdown coverage.

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Get Covered

Convenience store business insurance policies can be put together in just a few minutes. Contact Insure C-Store today for a review of your existing risk profile, to fill in any potentially risky coverage holes, and to compare rates from leading carriers.

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