888-900-0205Insurance for Cigar & Tobacco Shops
Owning a cigar or tobacco shop is similar to owning a small retail store. There are obvious differences in your customer base, regulations and legal requirements of course. There can also be differences in your liability and loss risks. Be sure you protect your cigar shop with the right types of commercial insurance to fit your company’s needs.
General Liability
General liability (CGL) can protect your company from unexpected damages, injuries, natural disasters and other pitfalls that can ruin your business. For example, if a customer claims their property was damaged while they were at your shop, general liability can cover the damages. It can also protect you from expenses that arise when customers receive an injury in your store, or when claims of advertising damages are made. GL covers most of your basic small business insurance needs and expands the coverage automatically as your company grows.
Business Owners Policy (BOP)
A business owners policy is designed to let you pick and choose the exact types of coverage that are most appropriate for the type of business you operate. A business owners policy, or BOP, includes general liability automatically and can include one or more of the following types of coverage:
- Equipment Breakdown – If your cigar humidifiers stop working or your store air conditioning breaks, a BOP can take care of the costs to repair or replace them for you.
- Buildings and Contents – If your retail establishment catches on fire or is damaged in a severe storm, paying for the repairs out of business funds might not be possible. A BOP can cover the structures themselves, various improvements you’ve made, and interior contents such as your furnishings and inventory.
- Business Income and Extra Expense – When accidents and disasters happen, the damages caused can force you to suspend business operations for weeks or months. A BOP can protect you from that loss of income or help with extra expenses.
- Products and Completed Operations (Included in General Liability) – Some of the non-tobacco related products that you sell can cause customers harm in the future. For example, a batch of disposable lighters could be found faulty. A BOP can be designed to help protect you from liability in cases like this if they arise in the future.
- Electronic Data – Electronic data is normal for modern businesses such as yours. Whether you process credit card batches electronically each night or keep customer and supplier data in digital form, loosing these files can cost your company a lot of money.
- Newly Acquired or Constructed Buildings – When you open or build new cigar or tobacco shops a BOP can protect those new business locations as well.
- Valuable Papers Protection – Some critical papers are kept in physical form and they can be expensive to replace. For example, your tobacco license or other regulatory documentation could be destroyed in a fire.
- Employee Dishonesty Coverage – Dishonest actions from employees is responsible for an estimated $400 billion in losses annually. Protect your company from fraud, monetary theft, and theft of tangible assets in your cigar shop.
Workers Compensation
As an employer you are required by law to carry workers comp insurance. Workers compensation pays for your employee’s medical bills if they’re ever injured at work.