Comic Book Shops Insurance – Cost and Types Of Policies

Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, comic book shops insurance must be high on the list because you can’t always know exactly what could happen in the future.

With the protection provided by liability insurance and all the other types of insurance we will tell you about, you can protect your business and yourself in case something unwanted happens.

Like any business owner, for your comic book shops enterprise, you must consider how much financial risk you are taking on.

If your comic book shops business runs without proper insurance, you are taking a tremendous chance not just of losing some money but of a total wipe-out.

This is because the laws in every state are very strict in enforcing liability on the owners of businesses for the upshots of their actions. 

In this article, we are giving very general guidelines for startup businesses to explain what the main kinds of insurance that you need are, and where possible, a rough guide to how much you can expect to pay.

The question is, can you afford to NOT have insurance for your comic book shops business?

What this means, for any comic book shops business owner, is that if some person claims that your actions caused them some physical or economic damage, a court can award damages far beyond the total size of your business.

Your comic book shops business is not protected by laws in the same way as states are, where laws can place a “cap” on the maximum level of liability.

In some states, like Montana, there are specific monetary levels that limit the amount a court can award in any case against the state.

In a court case, it’s purely the duty of the jury to award whatever amount they deem appropriate, even sometimes giving a person more than they have sued for.

When you are running your comic book shops operations, you can’t avoid responsibility for the consequences of your actions.

Even more importantly, unless you have spent up-front the money necessary to have your business running as an LLC, all of that liability belongs to you as a person.

What does comic book shops insurance protect you from?

For your comic book shops business, the most important kinds of insurance are designed to cover the risks to your business from accidents, from unexpected events, and from mistakes.

Also there are some mandatory kinds of insurance that various states require.

In the next few paragraphs, we will describe the most important points any comic book shops business owner should consider when negotiating the insurance needed.

The main types of insurance for your comic book shops businesses are liability insurance, commercial insurance, asset insurance and workers compensation insurance.

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any comic book shops business is dealing directly with other people, and that means you usually have the danger that some accident can happen to them bodily or else something of theirs can be damaged.

In such a case, they can demand compensation.

General liability insurance policy for your comic book shops business covers you against claims coming from injury to visitors or damage to their property.

It protects your comic book shops business from the claims themselves and also to any associated court costs and legal fees of the lawsuits.

In many cases, it will even help you to qualify for extra business from city and state organizations, where contracts insist on proper liability insurance.

The average level of general liability insurance for your comic book shops business would be with a cap of $1 million for a single claim and a total of $2 million for the whole year.

See the table in the costing section below for average prices of general liability insurance for your comic book shops insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your comic book shops business

In the event where a buyer alleges some negligence, errors, or omissions in how you conducted your comic book shops business for them, you can quickly face a court case.

Even if the lawsuit against you is ruled in your favor, the cost of defense can be high, and the impact on your reputation can be damaging.

Every small comic book shops business should have enough professional liability insurance to cover a once-off claim of $25,000, with annual cover of $50,000.

See the table in the cost of comic book shops insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your comic book shops operations.

Product liability insurance

Whatever goods you sell or advice you give about the goods, you are running a risk that buyers may claim that what you delivered didn’t meet your description of function, or that your advice was basically incorrect.

You need to know the particular laws of product liability in your own state.

For example, in California, all businesses in the supply chain can be held culpable for damages caused by products claimed to be defective.

To cover yourself against any possible lawsuit, you need Product liability insurance for comic book shops

Only you can know exactly how much insurance you must have.

Best advice is to contact experienced insurance agents, brokers or company representatives for guidance.

Commercial insurance

Commercial vehicle insurance for your comic book shops business

Beware! – practically all policies for private vehicle insurance do not cover any occurrence like theft or accidental damage when the van is being used for business purposes.

The right way to make sure that your vehicle is insured for both its own value, and the valuable contents, is by taking out a proper commercial vehicle insurance package.

Commercial truck policies guarantee the value of any vehicle in case of accident, malicious damage, fire, or theft.

In addition, in case of any accident, the car itself, the content and any legal bills, medical expenses, and property damage is insured if your truck is involved in a collision.

Most states, other than Virginia and New Hampshire, insist on this type of insurance.

The required value of the insurance is calculated on the depreciated value of the vehicle, and your intended level of cover of contents. 

Tools and Equipment insurance

Since your comic book shops business needs specialized and dedicated equipment, you can appreciate how much it can cost to replace it in case of any damage, loss, or theft.

The equipment may be subject to malicious damage, deliberate fire, theft, other such unexpected acts.

In addition, acts of nature like lightning strikes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other highly damaging natural events can eliminate your whole business in one stroke.

Unless you can afford to immediately replace such specific gear quickly out of your own pocket, you should have full-level equipment insurance so that you can immediately buy whatever needed to keep your comic book shops business running.

It is hard to advise how much equipment insurance you need – it’s basically dependent on how much you have invested in your comic book shops business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

Any comic book shops business that owns or rents space in a building must have a commercial property insurance policy.

If you own the space, you may already have a substantial capital investment, as well as a big liability if there’s a mortgage.

Your physical building location needs to carry insurance coverage for the value of the premises and contents against natural occurrences like fire and storms, and against criminal damages like theft and vandalism.

If your comic book shops business deals in areas of high risk, like California or Georgia, extra coverage may be needed for earthquakes and hurricanes or tornadoes.

In other states like Washington, where intense cold snaps can cause damage to outer coverings of comic book shops business premises, there is a need for more additional cover than in warmer climes.

Because the level of cover depends entirely on the value of the property, it’s not possible to say what cover your need, but we have been able in the table in the cost of comic book shops insurance section below to give some indication of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your comic book shops business.

Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your comic book shops business

Is your comic book shops business working part-time or casually, or is the level of business variable?

Using short-term insurance makes excellent sense. Business insurance by the month, day, or week – temporary insurance for comic book shops – are special policies where you can cover a nominated period when you want to be covered.

By only paying for that period of cover, you will save by having less premiums but still having the same risk cover.

The key feature of short-term insurance is that you purchase the cover for a defined period – a nominated date, or a week or month starting on a specific date, for example for 30 days beginning on the specified date.

When you are expecting periods of higher business activity, get the existing cover increased.

Talk to your insurance agent, broker or the company’s representatives to see what options you have.

Business Owners Policy BOP for your comic book shops business

You have the choice to combine a few of the important kinds of small business insurance in one policy that is known as the business owner’s policy – BOP.

A BOP merges commercial property and public liability insurance by amalgamating these coverages into one insurance policy, which can save you money.

BOP insurance will protect you if any claims of injury or property damage are made.

It is often the right choice for small and medium-sized comic book shops businesses, such as yours.

There are a few limits that will determine whether BOP is suitable for your own business.

BOPs do not cover your professional liability or commercial vehicle cover.

Also, the size of your business will rule whether you are permitted to take out BOP cover.

The usual business that can take out a BOP policy must have less than one hundred employees, and maximum five million dollars in annual turnover.

As well, you must separately take out the necessary worker’s compensation, health and disability insurance as determined for your state.

Workers Compensation insurance for your comic book shops business employees

In many states, it is mandatory to have workers compensation insurance when your comic book shops business has one or more employees.

Workers compensation insurance covers the business against any costs that arise if an employee experiences an injury or becomes sick as a result of work.

The benefits provide for medical expenses, death benefits, lost wages, and vocational rehabilitation.

Failure to meet a state’s requirements in this regard can leave you as the employer having to pay penalties levied by the states.

Some states, such as North Dakota, Ohio, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming only permit coverage from the government-run monopoly state funds.

In these states, you can’t take out your workers compensation obligations from private insurance companies.

Workers compensation charges are calculated based on the employee’s pay, and usually come out at around $1.00 per $100 per month.

However, you must consult the relevant authorities in your state.

Average costs of these types of insurance

Although every comic book shops insurance level is unique, there are enough examples of usual quotes from insurance companies for us to give appropriate guidelines, including what are the cheapest rates offered.

Of course, you should always check with a broker what’s relevant for your business.

The list below is of annual premiums we have researched for the main types of insurance your comic book shops businesses needs.

Cost of insurance for your comic book shops operations depends on many different factors.

We have reckoned these figures for small independent comic book shops businesses.

In larger states like Texas, premiums are generally about 20%-30% higher than national averages, but in smaller states like Oregon, they can be about 20%-30% less.

The location and size and type of your comic book shops business can have a big effect on the cost of different policies.

You should consult with professional insurance agents and brokers, or insurance company representatives.

As well you can let the internet do the work for you by enquiring about insurance companies near where your business is located.

Another useful source of information is the local Better Business Bureau in your town.

FAQ

What is small business insurance for comic book shops operations?

This is a general term used to describe common insurance policies designed to protect comic book shops business owners from risks like bodily injury, property damage, claims of negligence.

Does my comic book shops business have to have insurance?

Some of the types of insurance are not mandatory for you to run your business, but they can protect you from risks in your business operations.

Several other forms are required by state law, such as workers compensation and vehicle insurance.

What does a small comic book shops business insurance policy cover?

Liability insurance provides protection against lawsuits or claims filed by a third-party for bodily injury, property damage, or negligence.

The exact cover will vary based on your own operations.

See the table in the costing section above for average prices of the best policies for comic book shops insurance.

How much will comic book shops business insurance cost?

On top of the size of the business, some other factors, such as location and claims history, are used to determine your policy’s cost.

You should discuss with professional insurance agents and brokers, or insurance company representatives.

You can search for more information insurance for comic book shops, in the search box below, and follow the relevant links.

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