Flower Shops Insurance – Cost and Types Of Policies

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

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

Like any business owner, for your flower shops enterprise, you must consider how much financial danger you are taking on.

Business Insurance for flower shops

If your flower shops business runs without proper insurance, you are taking a tremendous chance not just of losing some money but of a final 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 small businesses to outline what the main kinds of insurance that you need are, and where available, a rough guide to how much you can expect to pay.

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

What this means, for any flower shops business owner, is that if some company 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 flower shops business is not sheltered by laws in the same way as states are, where legislation 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 judge can award in any case against the state.

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

When you are running your flower shops operations, you can’t escape responsibility for the outcomes of your actions.

Even more importantly, unless you have spent beforehand the money necessary to have your business running as a limited liability company, all of that liability belongs to you as an individual.

What does flower shops insurance protect you from?

For your flower shops business, the most important sorts of insurance are meant to cover the risks to your business from accidents, from unexpected events, and from mistakes.

In addition there are some legal kinds of insurance that various states require.

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

The main categories of insurance for your flower shops businesses are liability insurance, commercial insurance, asset insurance and workers compensation insurance.

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any flower shops business is dealing directly with members of the public, and that means you generally have the danger that some accident can happen to them themselves or else something of theirs can be damaged.

In such a case, they can require compensation.

General liability insurance policy for your flower shops business insures you against claims coming from injury to customers or damage to their property.

It protects your flower shops business from the claims themselves and also to any follow-on court costs and legal fees of the lawsuits.

In many cases, it can also help you to qualify for extra business from city and state organizations, where contracts require proper liability insurance.

The usual level of general liability insurance for your flower shops business would be with a upper limit of $1 million for a single submission 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 flower shops insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your flower shops business

In the event where a buyer alleges some negligence, errors, or omissions in how you conducted your flower shops business for them, you can quickly have to fight a court case.

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

Most small flower shops business should have enough professional liability insurance to cover an individual claim of $25,000, with annual cover of $50,000.

See the table in the cost of flower shops insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your flower 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 the results didn’t meet your description of function, or that your advice was basically incorrect.

You need to be aware of 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 results caused by products claimed to be defective.

To cover yourself against any following lawsuit, you need Product liability insurance for flower shops

Only you can estimate exactly how much insurance you need.

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

Commercial insurance

Commercial vehicle insurance for your flower shops business

Take care! – most policies for private vehicle insurance do not cover any event like theft or accidental damage when the car is being used for business purposes.

The proper way to make sure that your vehicle is insured for both its own value, and the valuable contents, is by taking out a designated 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 covered if your truck is involved in an accident.

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

The required value of the insurance is worked-out for the depreciated value of the vehicle, and your declared level of cover of contents. 

Tools and Equipment insurance

Since your flower shops business needs specific and expensive equipment, you can appreciate how much it can cost to replace it in case of any damage, loss, or theft.

The tools may be subject to malicious damage, deliberate fire, theft, other such unforeseen acts.

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

Unless you can afford to immediately replace such specific gear quickly out of your own pocket, you need full-level equipment insurance so that you can immediately buy any equipment needed to keep your flower shops business running.

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

Commercial Property insurance

Any flower shops business that owns or rents space in a building should have a commercial property insurance policy.

If you own the building, you may already have a substantial capital investment, in addition to a big liability if there’s a mortgage.

Any 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 man-made damages like theft and vandalism.

If your flower shops business deals in areas of high risk, like Texas or Georgia, supplementary coverage may be needed for earthquakes and hurricanes or tornadoes.

In other states like Rhode Island, where intense cold snaps can cause damage to outer coverings of flower shops business premises, there is a need for more extra 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 flower shops insurance section below to give some indication of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your flower shops business.

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

Is your flower 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 flower shops – are special policies where you can cover a designated 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 identical risk cover.

The important feature of short-term insurance is that you purchase the cover for a defined period – a designated 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 better business activity, get the existing cover improved.

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

Business Owners Policy BOP for your flower shops business

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

A BOP combines commercial property and public liability insurance by incorporating 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 flower shops businesses, such as yours.

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

BOPs will not cover your professional liability or commercial vehicle risks.

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

The usual business that is allowed to take a BOP policy must have less than one hundred employees, and not more than five million dollars in annual revenue.

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

Workers Compensation insurance for your flower shops business employees

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

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

The benefits cover 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 required to pay penalties levied by the states.

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

In these states, you may not get your workers compensation obligations from private insurance companies.

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

However, you must refer to the relevant authorities in your state.

Average costs of these types of insurance

Although every flower shops insurance level is unique, there are enough examples of standard quotes from insurance companies for us to give approximate 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 collected for the main types of insurance your flower shops businesses needs.

Types of insurance Price range
General liability insurance $740 – $940
Commercial insurance $1145 – $2070
Equipment insurance $410 – $1010
Public liability insurance $345 – $635
Product liability insurance $205 – $555
Commercial vehicle insurance $1690 – $2945

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

We have calculated these figures for small independent flower shops businesses.

In larger states like New York, premiums are generally about 20%-30% higher than national averages, while in smaller states like Utah, they will be about 20%-30% cheaper.

The location and size and type of your flower 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.

Also you can let the internet do the work for you by looking for insurance companies near where your business is located.

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

FAQ

What is small business insurance for flower shops operations?

This is a wide term used to describe basic insurance policies designed to protect flower shops business owners from risks like bodily injury, property damage, claims of negligence.

Does my flower shops business have to have insurance?

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

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

What does a small flower shops business insurance policy cover?

Liability insurance provides insurance against lawsuits or claims filed by a customer 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 flower shops insurance.

How much will flower shops business insurance cost?

In addition to the size of the business, several 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 flower shops, in the search box below, and follow the relevant links.

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