Bridal Shop Insurance
Your business deserves the right protection against theft, fire damage, break-ins, and more.
Written by
Christine Lacagnina has written thousands of insurance-based articles for TrustedChoice.com by authoring consumable, understandable content.
Reviewed by
Jeff Green has held a variety of sales and management roles at life insurance companies, Wall street firms, and distribution organizations over his 40-year career. He was previously Finra 7,24,66 registered and held life insurance licenses in multiple states. He is a graduate of Stony Brook University.
One of the most coveted pieces of a wedding is the dress. Bridal shops ensure the dress is ready and meets the bride's standards in time for the big day. If you own a bridal store, you need to protect your shop against many threats ranging from theft to fire damage and beyond with the right kind of business insurance.
An independent insurance agent can help you build a solid bridal shop insurance policy. They'll make sure your business gets covered the right way. But first, a breakdown of bridal shop insurance.
Bridal Shop Industry Stats
When you're looking for coverage for your bridal shop, it can be handy to understand the industry as a whole first. Here are a few stats about the bridal shop industry in the US to paint a better picture.
- In 2023, the bridal shop industry in the US was valued at $26 billion.
- The number of bridal shops in the US has declined by 1.7% annually over the past five years.
- Because many weddings that were postponed during the pandemic are being rescheduled, the bridal shop industry is again seeing a rise in business.
Knowing just how large and profitable the bridal shop industry in the US is overall makes the need for the right protection more apparent. Every bridal shop needs coverage to reimburse financial losses caused by perils like break-ins and vandalism, theft, lightning strikes, lawsuits, and more.
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Common Risks Faced by Bridal Shops
Like any other type of business, bridal shops face various threats daily. Some are obvious, while others can be completely unexpected. Here are just a few of the most common threats bridal shops face:
- Customer slip-and-fall injuries at the shop
- Lawsuits filed by customers or their families
- Fire damage that destroys inventory
- Stolen inventory and money, and break-ins
- Cyber threats like data breaches
- Business interruptions that lead to lost revenue
All of these risks need protection to prevent potentially serious financial losses. Without the right coverage, your bridal shop could have to pay for any of these disasters out of pocket. Just one major fire or lawsuit could lead to your store being unable to recover.
Bridal Shops Need Business Property Coverage
Most bridal shops are tastefully decorated and filled with hundreds of bridal and bridesmaid gowns. When you opened your shop, you made a significant initial investment to accumulate the appropriate inventory and create a welcoming atmosphere. Your bridal shop insurance must include property coverage to adequately protect your investment. Make sure to get the following types of property coverage for your business:
- Commercial property insurance: This covers all the business property inside your bridal shop, including your inventory of dresses, display cases, mannequins, furnishings, computers, sewing machines, and more, as well as the shop building itself, against hazards such as fire, wind and storm damage, vandalism, and theft.
- Inland marine insurance: This protects business property while it's in transit against theft, damage, and more, so if your bridal shop makes home deliveries, this coverage is critical.
- Commercial flood insurance: This covers your business's shop and other property against natural flood damage, which is excluded by commercial property insurance.
An independent insurance agent in your town can help your bridal shop get covered with the right amount of commercial property coverage.
Bridal Shops Need Enough Liability Coverage
Without the proper liability coverage, just one unexpected lawsuit can potentially ruin your bridal shop business. Liability insurance provides coverage for your legal defense fees as well as any associated court costs and financial damages. It's crucial for your business to have the right types of coverage. Some liability insurance options that could benefit your bridal shop the most are:
- Commercial general liability insurance: This covers attorney, court, and settlement costs if your business gets sued by a third party for claims of personal property damage or bodily injury.
- Professional liability insurance: This covers lawsuit costs stemming from incidents of professional errors and omissions, such as failure to deliver a service by the agreed date, that cause harm to a customer or other third party.
- Commercial auto liability insurance: This covers lawsuit costs associated with accidents and other incidents involving company vehicles.
- Cyber liability insurance: This covers lawsuits and other costs related to cyber incidents like data breaches that can expose or distribute sensitive data like customer credit card numbers or private employee records.
- Commercial umbrella insurance: This extends your existing liability coverage limits by increments of $1 million for greater lawsuit protection.
Your independent insurance agent can help your bridal shop guard against losses caused by many types of lawsuits.
What Other Types of Coverage Do Bridal Stores Need?
In addition to property and liability coverage, there are other coverage types that may also benefit your bridal shop. Check into these commonly added types of business insurance for your shop:
- Business income insurance: This covers continued expenses like employee wages and continued revenue during covered temporary shutdowns due to listed perils like fire damage, break-ins, and more.
- Workers’ compensation insurance: This covers costs associated with incidents of employee injury, illness, or death caused by the job and exempts your business from lawsuits filed by these employees and their families.
- Employment practices liability insurance: This covers lawsuits filed against your business by employees who claim your bridal shop engaged in sexual harassment, wrongful termination, or discriminatory acts against them.
- Employee dishonesty insurance: This covers your bridal shop against financial losses associated with theft, embezzlement, or other illegal practices perpetrated by an employee.
Talk to your independent insurance agent about any additional coverages your bridal shop may need to complete its business insurance policy.
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Our independent agents shop around to find you the best coverage.
Why Work with an Independent Insurance Agent?
Independent insurance agents are experts in finding the right coverage for each business niche to protect against its unique risks. Your agent can shop and compare policies from many carriers and ultimately find you the coverage that combines the best blend of protection and cost. They'll also be there to help file claims or update your coverage down the road.
https://www.ibisworld.com/united-states/market-research-reports/bridal-stores-industry/#:~:text=Bridal%20stores'%20revenue%20has%20been,disrupted%20the%20industry%20in%202020.
https://www.ibisworld.com/industry-statistics/market-size/bridal-stores-united-states/