Children and Baby Clothes Store Insurance
(Protecting your business has never been easier)
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Children and baby clothes stores are primarily engaged in retailing new children’s and babies' clothes and accessories. These establishments may also provide basic clothing alterations, such as hemming, taking in or letting out seams, or lengthening or shortening sleeves.
Owning any type of small business comes with a great deal of risk. If you own a children and baby clothes store, you need to protect your business with appropriate business insurance.
An independent insurance agent can help you find coverage that is tailored to the unique risks of your store, giving you the peace of mind you need to focus on running your business.
Why Do You Need Children and Baby Clothes Store Insurance?
Customers and members of the general public are in your store every day. Since you primarily cater to people with children, the safety of those you serve is of the utmost importance.
If one of your customers (an adult or a child) is injured in your store, you’ll have to pay for their medical expenses related to the incident. And there’s always the possibility that the customer will sue you for additional damages, resulting in thousands of dollars (or more) in defense costs that can paralyze your finances.
You face a variety of other costly problems in your children's clothing store, as well. Shoplifting and employee crime can be a huge problem in any retail environment, and even a small cash theft can have serious repercussions for a small business.
What’s more, smoke, fires, severe weather, equipment problems, and more can lead to hefty repair costs, and in the worst case, a major disaster can force you to close while you replace inventory, rebuild a damaged building, or wait for equipment to be fixed.
Children and baby clothes store insurance helps you in a variety of situations that might otherwise force you out of business.
What Does Property Insurance Cover?
Property losses are one of the biggest threats that you need to worry about. Your children and baby clothes store insurance should help you recover if you suffer a serious property loss.
Unexpected events such as fires, natural disasters, floods, and extreme weather events can happen at any time. Commercial property insurance covers the costs of repairing or replacing damaged or destroyed business property.
Your entire inventory could be destroyed by smoke, fire, or water, making this coverage essential to securing your ability to operate in the face of a disaster.
After a covered event like a fire, stores like yours are often unable to open while repairs are made. How would you recover lost income and pay for your ongoing expenses during this time?
Your commercial property insurance should also include business interruption insurance. It offers income protection if your business is unable to operate because of damage caused by some type of covered disruption.
It also pays for certain ongoing fixed expenses during the rebuilding period. This includes rent, employee salaries, relocation fees, and more.
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What Does Liability Insurance Cover?
Customers, vendors, and members of the general public visit your store every day. Anyone can get injured on your premises at any time. Slips, trips, falls, and other types of injuries are common in retail settings.
What if a child climbs an unattended ladder, falls, and is seriously injured? What if a toddler chokes on part of a toy you’ve provided to keep your tiniest customers busy while their parents shop?
In either case, the child’s parents will want to be reimbursed for any medical bills that must be paid. And they may decide to sue you for additional damages. If you’re sued, you’ll have to contend with attorney fees, court costs, and even court-ordered settlements or judgments that can easily bankrupt you.
That’s where your commercial general liability insurance comes in. It offers broad coverage for all kinds of liability claims, and pays for expenses for the injured party as well as your legal expenses and settlements or judgments if you are sued.
Many small business owners purchase a business owners policy (BOP), which packages property, liability, and business interruption coverage into a single, affordable package policy.
What Coverage Do You Need for Alteration Services?
Many children and baby clothes stores offer alterations or tailoring services.
If you offer alterations or tailoring, a customer’s clothing item may be entrusted to you for some time while you hem it, shorten the sleeves, or let out the waist. If you provide this service, you face some additional risk.
What happens if a customer’s clothing or property is damaged while it is in your care, custody, or control? Because standard business property and liability policies cover only your own business property, you need special coverage for your customers’ property that is in your possession.
Bailees coverage is an add-on to a business property policy that covers non-owned property that is stored at your store or is in your possession. It helps pay for damages and minimizes the financial implications for you and your customers if their property is damaged while in your control.
Bailees coverage is specifically designed for businesses like tailors and cleaners that take in the property of others and are expected to return it undamaged.
If you offer alteration services in your children’s clothing store, talk to your independent insurance agent about any additional insurance coverage you may need.
What Other Coverage is Recommended for Your Children and Baby Clothes Store?
Children and baby clothes stores should consider these additional types of business insurance.
- Workers’ compensation insurance is required by law for any business that has employees. Your employees may be exposed to injuries caused by lifting heavy boxes, climbing ladders, using sharp instruments, and even from standing on their feet for hours. Workers’ compensation insurance covers the costs of work-related injuries and illnesses, and provides income protection if an injured employee must take time off work to recover.
- Commercial umbrella insurance, or excess liability coverage, provides supplemental liability protection beyond the limits of certain other liability policies.
- Employment practices liability insurance covers you if an employee sues you for discriminatory employment practices.
- If you live in a flood-prone area, you may need flood insurance. It is available only from the National Flood Insurance Program, but your independent insurance agent can obtain quotes and coverage on your behalf.
- Crime coverage pays for loss of inventory due to theft of merchandise from shoplifting, and even for loss of money and merchandise stolen by employees.
- Cyber liability insurance is important for any business that uses, transmits, or stores electronic data. And if you sell children’s clothing online in addition to your brick-and-mortar store, this coverage becomes essential. It pays for certain costs related to a cyber breach as well as any related legal costs if a customer or supplier who was harmed by the breach sues you.
How Much Does Children and Baby Clothes Store Insurance Cost?
Every children and baby clothes store is unique, making insurance costs vary from store to store, as well. Your children and baby clothes store insurance costs are likely to be higher or lower than average depending on the unique characteristics of your business, such as the location, the number of employees, how much inventory you keep on hand, whether you own your building, and many more variables.
The amount of coverage you need and the deductibles you choose also impact your business insurance costs.
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 Agent
Independent insurance agents simplify the search process for finding the right children and baby clothes 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.
Save on Business Insurance
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.