Why do Wholesale and Retail Trade need insurance?
While you help take your customers’ worries away with a bit of retail therapy, we’ll take your worries away with business insurance.
Whether you sell the best gifts in town, the latest fashion, or the most delicious baked goods, with just a few clicks or a single phone call you’ll get multiple competitive quotes from some of South Africa’s leading insurers and get covered instantly.
What should I consider before purchasing insurance for my Wholesale and Retail Trade business?
Protecting your business from unexpected events and challenges is where business insurance comes into play, providing cover for when you need it most for things like theft, business interruption, electronic equipment and public liability claims.
Fundamental Insurance for Wholesale and Retail Trade
Regularly selected insurance for Wholesale and Retail Trade
Insurance for Wholesale and Retail Trade
Motor
Motor vehicles are used by most wholesale and retail trade shops, such as cars, delivery vehicles or trucks. It is extremely important in South Africa to protect your motors against theft and damage.
Electronic Equipment
Electronic Equipment is relied upon by many wholesale and retail traders.
They depend upon a full range of equipment including computer-based cash registers integrated with point-of-sale (POS) management systems, multiple refrigeration systems, air conditioning, and commercial grade sound systems.
These high value items need to be specifically included in your business insurance policy to protect you in case of accidental damage due to flood, fire, snow, hail, wind, impact, explosion, subsidence, as well as malicious damage or theft and damage caused by power surges or power dips.
Public Liability Insurance
Public Liability protects against the many possible accidents that could happen in a retail environment.
The cover is designed to provide protection for you and your business in the event that a customer, supplier or a member of the public is injured or sustains property damage as a result of your negligent business activities.
This cover can also include product liability. Product liability covers your business when products you sell cause harm to members of the public.
Theft
Theft is one of the most common claims retail and wholesale trade owners file for.
Your business might be the victim of theft or fraud from outside of your business or sometimes one of your employees may steal from you and you’ll need Employee Dishonesty cover.
The right business insurance will cover you against acts of theft and fraud, whether these come from your own employees or from outside of your business.
Business Interruption
Business Interruption is important for the continuity of any business. What happens if there are events that are out of your control which prevent your business from being open?
This type of insurance covers you for financial loss as a result of an interruption to your business caused by an insured event (such as fire).
This cover can be selected to protect you in case you are being prevented from accessing your premises.
Employee Dishonesty
Employee Dishonesty is considered import as your employees are fundamental to what your business does, but a few bad apples can cause your business to rot.
Having protection against losses from employee theft or fraud is crucial for most wholesalers or retailers – especially when staff turnover is high or margins are low.
Contents
Contents insurance is designed to provide cover for your stock, machinery and office contents (tables, chairs, cabinets) when an insured event occurs – such as fire, storm or theft (only limited theft cover, for comprehensive theft cover see the Theft section).
If you own the building where your business activities take place, you might also consider Buildings insurance.
Glass
Glass cover is important as many wholesale and retail trade businesses have large glass panes.
This glass looks great, but its prominence means that there’s a high chance that it could break. Many businesses get this cover to protect themselves when that glass comes crashing down.
Money
Money insurance covers any loss of, or damage to, money your organisation might experience. Wholesale and retail trade shops are always at risk of having cash stolen.
Getting the Right Insurance for Wholesale and Retail Trade
Every wholesale and retail trade shop is unique, with each business having its own insurance needs and risks. Bi-me gives you access to multiple quotes to compare from some of South Africa’s top insurers, so you can choose the right cover to suit your business.
Our friendly team is only a phone call or a few clicks away to assist with getting your business covered in minutes.
Did you know?
Commercial leases often require tenants to maintain Public Liability and Glass insurance. There may also be a requirement that your landlord is noted as an interested party on the insurance policy.
Could this happen to your business?
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Customer slipping
A customer walked into a shop while they were busy cleaning the floor. The cleaner forgot to put out the warning sign and the customer slipped and got severely injured. Public liability insurance covered the store for the legal claims arising from this event.
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Wrong shopping bag
A customer came into a shop, put a few things into their bag and exited the store without anyone noticing. Theft cover compensated the store for its losses.
Frequently asked questions
There are a few ways to ensure the safety of your goods and property, such as installing a burglar alarm, hire security guards, etc., however most importantly take out the correct covers such as Money, Theft and Employee dishonesty to protect against any claims that may arise.
The risks and possibilities of accidents occurring that could leave a customer injured or worse causes the need for Public Liability cover to be in place, this cover is designed to protect you and your business from claims arising due to negligence, etc.