Severe Slip and Fall injuries
You have a $1 million general liability limit, but a customer suffers a traumatic brain injury on wet floor tile, and has a $1.5 million court judgment. The remaining $500,000 is covered by the umbrella insurance.
Coverage
Umbrella Insurance for Convenience Stores
High-dollar claims easily shatter standard policy limits. Extra liability protection keeps one catastrophic lawsuit from closing your doors.
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Umbrella insurance for convenience stores provides additional coverage limits on top of general liability, commercial auto, and employers' liability policies. For smaller claims that happen on a regular basis, standard policies are adequate. But once the underlying policy limit is exhausted in a catastrophic lawsuit, umbrella coverage kicks in to pick up the rest. It intervenes just when you need it the most, when your business is at its most vulnerable financial stage.
What's covered
What Umbrella Insurance Covers
An umbrella policy is placed over your underlying insurance policies. They don't duplicate your underlying coverages. Rather, they offer additional payout potential when a single big claim uses up your main limits. Excess liability insurance convenience store policies can safeguard your business in the following ways:
Know the gaps
What It Doesn't Cover
An umbrella policy allows you to have more insurance coverage limits but doesn't provide any additional coverage. If the underlying policy excludes a specific loss, the umbrella policy will also not provide coverage. Common exclusions include:
Do you need it
Who Needs Umbrella Insurance
So, do I need umbrella insurance for my business now? It isn't required for a new shop right from the start. However, growing stores need higher limits fast. This coverage is generally not mentioned in most competitor guides, but it is a serious concern for successful operators.
The more revenue you generate, the more traffic you receive, or the more locations you have, the more your risk exposure expands. One major claim may easily be larger than a normal $1M limit of liability. For growing companies, the umbrella protection provides millions more in security without having to renegotiate each underlying contract.
Pricing
What Umbrella Insurance Costs
The average umbrella insurance cost for a small business ranges from $400 to $1,500 per year ($40 to $100 per month) for $1 million in additional liability limits. Your exact rate depends on your business size, annual sales, physical hazards, and chosen limit increments.
Umbrella policies do not pay until primary policies are fully exhausted, so the risk to the insurer is less. This means that investing in an umbrella policy is typically less expensive, per dollar of coverage, than increasing coverage limits on each of the underlying policies. Read our full breakdown on convenience store insurance costs.
What a claim looks like
Example Claim
A store owner who allegedly failed to maintain a safe parking lot environment receives a $1.8 million jury verdict for negligent security. The store has the single biggest general liability policy, which caps at $1 million, with an $800,000 shortfall. Your umbrella policy will cover that remaining $800,000 balance directly, leaving your bank accounts and assets secure.
How it fits
How It Fits With Your Other Coverage
Umbrella insurance is not a standalone policy. Underlying primary policies must be in place before umbrella policies can attach. It provides an extra layer of coverage on top of your general liability insurance and commercial auto insurance.
The power of choice
We shop 30+ A-rated carriers so you don't have to.
- Travelers
- The Hartford
- Chubb
- Liberty Mutual
- Nationwide
- Zurich
- CNA
- Progressive
- Philadelphia Insurance
- Berkshire Hathaway GUARD
- biBerk
- AmTrust
- Employers
- Grange Insurance
- Columbia Insurance
- Encova
- Admiral Insurance Group
- Attune
- Coterie
- ERGO NEXT
- AmWINS
- CRC Group
- RT Specialty
- Burns & Wilcox
- Jencap
- Bass Underwriters
- Jimcor Agencies
- CharityFirst
Common questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need umbrella insurance if I already have general liability?
This depends on the total exposure of your store. Retail establishments with low traffic and in a single location may only need general liability coverage. With a single catastrophic claim, however, it's easy to see how high-volume or multi-store operators can quickly reach their limits at $1 million.
How much umbrella coverage should I get?
Coverage is only based on your risk profile, foot traffic, and overall asset values. The added coverage amounts are between $1 million and $5 million. Engage directly with an agent to get limits aligned with risk.
Get Covered
Protect your growing convenience store business against sudden, high-dollar lawsuits. Enhance your liability coverage at low cost and avoid the high cost of a large claim wiping out your primary policy limit through Insure C-Store.