Game Store Insurance
(The easy and affordable way)
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Paul Martin is the Director of Education and Development for Myron Steves, one of the largest, most respected insurance wholesalers in the southern U.S.
Game stores are primarily engaged in the retail sale of toys, games, and hobby and craft kits and supplies. There are over 17,000 game stores in the US, and the industry is worth about $18 billion.
If you own a game store, you need to protect your livelihood from all of the little things—and big things—that can go wrong. You need to know the types of risks you face and how you can protect your assets and move forward even in the worst of times.
With the right game store business insurance, you can put your mind at ease and focus on what’s important. Whether you own a single game store or you operate several locations, an independent insurance agent in your city can help you find customized business insurance that helps you protect your livelihood.
Why Do I Need Game Store Insurance?
Game stores often sell a wide variety of products for adults and kids alike. You might specialize in board games, or you might sell a full line of electronic games, antique games, educational games, train sets, craft and hobby kits, and more.
In addition to your retail operations, you might also host tournaments or special events that involve inviting large numbers of people onto your premises. What’s most important is that you understand your unique risks, and find insurance coverage that protects against all of them.
The right game store insurance helps you avoid or mitigate financial losses from unexpected events. Consider all of the things that could go wrong (and result in serious repair costs, loss of income, or a lawsuit) during the course of your workday.
- Accidents, such as trips and falls in the store or parking lot
- Shopping carts or store fixtures causing injury or property damage in the store or parking lot
- Damage to your inventory (board games, wood toys, and other highly flammable or moisture-sensitive items) due to some catastrophic or unexpected event (fire, smoke, weather, vandalism, etc.)
- Loss of income due to a catastrophic or unexpected event (a fire damages part of your store, forcing you to close while repairs are made)
- Employee theft of cash or inventory
- Selling faulty or dangerous products (products with a choking hazard, products with projectiles)
- Employee lawsuits related to discrimination or other claims
- Cyber breaches (data breach of your online store)
What Does Game Store Insurance Cover?
Game store insurance should cover the unique risks you face in your line of business. This includes physical damage to your building or property, as well as your responsibility to financially compensate any customers or members of the public that get injured on your property or as a result of buying something from you.
With a few commercial insurance policies tailored to your needs, you can get the peace of mind you need to focus on the important stuff—like hosting the best Dungeons and Dragons tournament in your city, or helping a valued customer track down a rare game.
Working closely with an independent insurance agent, you can determine exactly what risks you have and find tailored insurance policies to address them. You may need:
- Property coverage, for buildings and their contents, such as computers and cash registers, inventory, equipment, furniture, fixtures, and more. Commercial property insurance helps you rebuild or make repairs when unexpected events—like a fire or severe weather—destroy your merchandise and your physical space (the structure).
- Business interruption coverage, which compensates for lost business income and pays for operating expenses if you must temporarily close after a covered loss (e.g., a fire damages your stockroom and part of the sales floor, and you must close your store during the rebuilding process).
- Liability coverage, which pays for claims of bodily injury and property damage to third parties due to your negligence (e.g., an employee leaves a ladder unattended while stocking shelves, and a child climbs the ladder, falls, and is injured). This policy will also cover certain claims of negligence or personal injury caused by your games or during an event held on your premises.
If you operate a single store or even several stores, you may be able to bundle your basic property and liability coverage together into a packaged policy (business owners policy, or BOP) designed for small business owners.
You might also want to consider endorsements (optional coverage add-ons) to your basic game store insurance policies. Or you may need several additional stand-alone policies that provide the following types of coverage:
- Commercial umbrella insurance provides excess liability protection to any of several other policies you might have. If a customer injury in your store leads to an expensive lawsuit that exceeds the limits of your commercial general liability policy, your commercial umbrella policy kicks in with higher coverage limits.
- Commercial auto insurance ensures that you’ll be able to pay for any physical damage or injuries you cause if you are in an auto accident while driving for business purposes. If you run business-related errands using a business-owned vehicle—or you use a personal vehicle for business purposes—you need some degree of commercial auto coverage.
- Workers’ compensation insurance is typically required for any business that has employees. It pays for lost income and medical expenses for employees who are injured on the job. If a cashier, stock person, store manager, or any other type of employee is injured while lifting heavy boxes, slipping on a wet floor, or falling off a ladder, workers’ compensation insurance pays for related medical costs and compensates the employee for time away from work.
- Crime coverage protects your business if an employee or a group of employees engage in theft, forgery, or fraud that damages your business. This includes theft of money in the cash register or safe, shoplifting, and vandalism.
- Sign coverage pays for damage to outdoor signs that are not attached to your building when the damage is caused by weather, vandalism, fire, etc.
- Utility interruption coverage provides income protection if you are unable to operate due to a covered utility (water, electrical) interruption.
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Why Do Game Stores Need Product Liability Insurance?
Product liability coverage is typically part of your broad general liability policy. It is also sold as a stand-alone policy, which may be necessary for certain businesses.
Whether the coverage in your general liability policy is sufficient or you need to purchase additional coverage, product liability insurance is essential for any game store. Because you sell a variety of products to the general public—from board games to computer games, vintage toys, and more—you have a significant product liability risk.
You probably purchase your inventory from a variety of suppliers and manufacturers, but you do not need to manufacture a product to be considered liable if a product causes some type of property damage, illness, or injury to a customer or bystander.
If any product that you sell is faulty and causes harm, your business could be sued for negligence.
Imagine you sell a craft kit that contains toxic glue, and a customer becomes sick as a result. The injured party would likely sue you for damages.
Or perhaps you sell a vintage toy that shoots a projectile. An older toy may not be compliant with today’s safety standards, or may not include appropriate safety warnings. An eye injury could easily result, and you could be blamed.
Product liability insurance covers your financial responsibility for losses or injuries to a user, buyer, or bystander caused by a defect or malfunction of a product purchased in your store.
If you are sued in such a case, the resulting payouts for medical costs, compensatory damages, economic damage, attorney fees, court costs, and even punitive damages can be insurmountable for a small business.
Talk to your independent insurance agent about your need for product liability insurance.
The Importance of Cyber Liability Insurance for Game Stores
Do you sell games or toys online in addition to your brick and mortar store?
If your IT security system, antivirus software, or other online privacy efforts fail to stop a hacker who then steals company data or confidential customer or employee information, you need financial protection.
Cyber liability insurance covers your financial losses as well as third-party damages that are caused by a cybercrime. It also typically covers your defense costs, settlements, and judgments if you are sued as a result of a cyber incident.
You can add cyber liability coverage to a business owners policy or a commercial general liability policy, or you can purchase stand-alone coverage. Your independent insurance agent can help you determine what type of coverage is best for your business.
How Much Does Game Store Insurance Cost?
A variety of factors come in to play when determining how much your game store insurance will cost. Insurance companies evaluate your individual risk factors, such as your location, your store size, the number of employees, and the value of your inventory.
What’s more, the types of policies you need and your coverage limits also influence what it will cost to insure your game store.
Some small business owners can get the best rates by purchasing a business owners policy (BOP), which combines commercial liability insurance, commercial property insurance, and business interruption coverage into one affordable and efficient package policy. Other coverage can be added on to complete your comprehensive business insurance program.
Find and Compare Quotes
An independent insurance agent can work with you one-on-one to determine the types and amounts of coverage you need. Your agent can get quotes from multiple insurance companies so you can evaluate the cost and coverage options and make the best choice.
Benefits of an Independent Insurance Agent
Our independent insurance agents simplify the search process for finding the right game store insurance. They’ll walk you through some handpicked policy options and explain the details and options.
Most importantly, they’ll be there for you when claim time comes. They know the ins and outs of the process and will make sure your claim is handled appropriately.
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Our independent agents shop around to find you the best coverage.
The Lowdown on Online Quotes
Online quotes can be tempting. They are fast and easy to get—but are they accurate? And are you getting quotes for the right coverage? For business owners, choosing speed over accuracy can cost you.
Online quotes can’t and don’t see the whole picture. They can leave out important coverage that will leave you devastated if something unexpected happens. And they can leave out cost-saving opportunities that an agent can help you take advantage of.
Instead of getting an online quote, find an independent insurance agent now, and get one-on-one consultation and affordable options for the best coverage for your unique needs.
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