Insurance For Convenience Stores & Gas Stations

Top 3 Recommended Policies

General Liability Insurance

Property Insurance

Worker's Compensation

Types of Business Insurance that Gas Stations Need

There are several policies that provide coverage for gas station risks. These are listed below:

General Liability Insurance 

This type of insurance is the most basic one that covers different risks like those of customer injuries that can happen as the pump. For example, if someone falls and hurts themselves, or a customer's property is damaged at the gas station, then general liability insurance covers such incidents. If a gas spill causes a customer's vehicle to catch fire, then you can use this type of insurance policy to pay for damages.

Workers’ Compensation Insurance 

Employees working at a gas station are prone to suffering a variety of injuries. In such cases, gas station owners can use workers’ compensation insurance to pay for medical costs and lost wages that may result from these injuries. 

Business Owners Policy

This type of insurance policy is one in which property insurance and general liability insurance are both combined in one. It is also essentially one of the most cost-effective options for gas stations. It covers customer injuries, different accidents at the gas station, and also damaged business property. The different types of asset protection that this gives includes the following:

• Equipment breakdown: A gas station relies on several pieces of equipment such as dispensers, automatic car washes, and storage tanks. This equipment can malfunction and need replacement. A business owners insurance policy can be used to cover this cost. 
• Buildings and Contents: In the case of a fire due to a gas leak, or in the case that a pipe bursts, the building can get damaged. Other assets can get damaged as a result of this too. A business owner's policy protects the physical assets and other contents you have inside the gas station.
• Business Income: If the equipment at the gas station is damaged, you might not be able to continue operations any further until the required repairs are done. Closing the business would mean losing income. A business insurance policy can provide for the income losses that happen during that period of time.
• Products Sold: Gas stations also sometimes sell other products like a certain oil brand. In case there are certain problems with these products, there can be political litigation against you.
• Electronic data: Most gas stations track their sales electronically. In case of damage to the software, you can lose all of this data. You might then have to spend a lot of money in trying to recover it. In such cases, a business owner's policy can prove extremely useful.
• Employee Dishonesty: If an employee decides to fill up their own car with fuel from the gas station without paying for it or take some money from the cash register, the business will suffer huge losses. 
  
  

Commercial Auto Insurance 

This type of insurance policy provides coverage if there is physical damage or bodily injuries due to vehicles colliding at the gas station. If your company’s cars get stolen or vandalized, then this insurance policy provides the coverage you need to manage these losses. 

Pollution Liability Insurance

If there is an oil spill or some leakage in one of the pumps, it is a great environmental hazard. To protect yourself in such a situation, you will need pollution liability insurance. In some places, this is legally required if you run a gas station. Pollution liability insurance also helps cover the cost if some cleanup is needed. 

Garagekeepers Insurance 

If your gas station also has a repair shop, then you’ll need garagekeepers insurance as well. If a theft occurs when vehicles are left at the gas station, this type of insurance can cover you. It also helps protect you against any damage to a customer’s car. For instance, if an employee backs the customers’ car into a wall after due repairs, then garagekeepers insurance would cover the damage done to the car.

How Much Does Gas Station Insurance Cost?

There are several factors that affect the total cost of insurance that you would incur. These are listed here:

• Hours of operation: If your gas station is a 24-hour operational one, then that means the risks of hazards are higher too. In this case, the cost of insurance would naturally be much higher.
• Number of employees: If you have hired a great number of employees, then naturally, the cost of workers' compensation insurance would also thus be higher. The more the employees, the great the chances of them falling and hurting themselves.
• Convenience stores: If you have a convenience store in your gas station, you need insurance for that too, which increases the overall cost of insurance.
• What you sell: If you sell other products like car washes and food, then the insurance cost will be higher.
• The size: The bigger the size of your gas station, the more you need to pay for insurance since a bigger gas station means more equipment.

To get the best rates, you need to get in touch with an insurance agent who can guide you and help you get a quote that is best suited for your business. An insurance agent has the right know-how and will be able to guide you in the best way to tell you what you need. 

What is Convenience Store Insurance? 

Owning a convenience store is a great idea, but along with that come great risks too. These include shoplifting, health hazards, vandalism, and employee theft. . This is why you need convenience store insurance to help your business stay financially protected.

Provided below are a few risks that convenience stores are vulnerable to:

• Building: A fire on the premises can lead to quite some damage.
• Inventory: Inventory theft is a very common problem at convenience stores. Employees and customers can both be involved in such theft.
• Workers: Workers are prone to injuring themselves due to any type of work-related activity.
• Equipment: There can be equipment breakdowns that could result in delays or closures. 
• Your Reputation: If someone files a lawsuit against your store for any reason, it could tarnish your image. 

Types of Business Insurance that Convenience Stores Need

Several insurance policies can help protect your convenience store. You can have a customized insurance plan based on what you think is most needed for your store. 

Here are a few types of insurance coverage options for convenience stores. 

General Liability Insurance   

This type of insurance is one that covers basic risks. For example, damage to the property or any type of customer injury. 

Commercial Property Insurance

This type of insurance provides coverage for the property at the store. It protects the building, refrigerators, cash registers, etc.

Workers Compensation

When at work, workers are prone to get hurt from falling. There are also other various legal costs and missed wages risks that are there. For this, you need worker's compensation. It can help you compensate workers for their injuries. This type of insurance is mandatory in most places if you wish to run a convenience store business.

Cyber Liability Insurance

This helps convenience stores protect themselves from data breaches and cyber-attacks. These have now become extremely common and pose great financial losses to convenience stores. For example, convenience stores sometimes maintain records of their customers’ credit card information. If this information ends up getting in the wrong hands, your customers could sue you. For this reason, cyber liability insurance is needed. It also helps with fraud monitoring and cyber-extortion demands.

Liquor Liability Insurance

Convenience stores require this type of insurance if they sell alcohol. If a customer buys alcohol from your shop and then does something harmful to someone else, then you can be held liable for it. This type of insurance can protect you when intoxicated customers cause certain injuries, and legal defense costs are involved.

Business Interruption Insurance

If some hazard happens at the store, you need to temporarily suspend business until repairs are made; you would not be earning during this period. Business interruption insurance helps compensate for lost income in such scenarios.

Employment Practices Liability Insurance

As a convenience store owner, you might face complaints about sexual harassment, wrongful termination, and employment discrimination. Unfortunately, claims for such acts at your store can cost you quite a lot. To protect yourself from such lawsuits that employees might file, you need employment practices liability insurance.

Commercial Umbrella Insurance

This type of insurance provides coverage when one of the other coverage limits is reached. For example, if your general liability insurance or cyber liability insurance has reached its limit, this insurance policy can provide further coverage.

Business Owners Policy

This is a policy that combines different types of insurance policies for you, based on your needs. As mentioned earlier, it is one of the most cost-effective options that you have. 

How Much Does Convenience Store Insurance Cost?

There are several factors that affect how much convenience store insurance would cost you. These are listed below:

• Location: Some areas are more prone to risks like theft, vandalism, and other crimes. This can increase the cost of your store’s insurance policy. 
• Number of employees: The greater the number of employees, the more you will have to pay for workers' compensation insurance, and hence a higher amount in total.
• The size of the store: A larger store would definitely need more financial protection. Larger stores mean that they carry more products too, hence increasing the chances of damage or theft.
• What you sell: If you sell alcohol and perishable items, then your cost for insurance will definitely be higher too.
• The store’s operations: The way you wish to operate also affects your total insurance cost.
• Time period: If you operate round the clock, then the chances of damage and theft are also higher, resulting in a higher insurance cost. 

An insurance officer can guide you best and give you a quote based on what you require. 

Choosing An Insurance Company 

For your business, it is imperative that you choose the best insurance company. Here are a few things you need to consider when you choose an insurance company for your gas station or convenience store:

• License: Not every insurance company is licensed to operate everywhere. So you need to check the license of a company based on where your business is located and proceed accordingly. 
• Price: Prices vary greatly for different companies. So, it is best that you compare prices that different insurance companies are quoting and then opt for the one that gives the maximum services at the best price.
• Reputation: We suggest that you ask around and check online reviews to see which company is the best one for you to pick. Keep in mind the customer service that you are looking for.
• Comfort: When speaking to an insurance agent, you need to be comfortable and tell them everything you are looking for. Make sure that the agent is always there when you need them or answers all your questions. 

With these tips in mind, you are sure to find the right company for insurance for your gas station or your convenience store. 

Get started today!

Whether you are the owner a convenience stores & gas stations, you will need business insurance policies to protect your business and all those associated with it. We hope that with the four business insurance coverages that we have mentioned above, you will be able to find specialized insurance coverages that have been customized for the needs of your convenience stores & gas stations business. It is always better to be proactive instead of reactive.

Prefer to speak with an agent now?