Gasoline Station Insurance – Cost and Types Of Policies

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

Need General Liability Insurance for Your Gasoline Station Business?
Get Your Free Quote

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

Like any business owner, for your gasoline station enterprise, you must consider how much financial risk you are taking on.

Business Insurance for gasoline station

If your gasoline station 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 results of their actions. 

In this article, we are giving very general guidelines for startup 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 gasoline station business?

What this means, for any gasoline station 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 gasoline station business is not harbored 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 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 claimant more than they have sued for.

When you are running your gasoline station operations, you can’t escape responsibility for the results of your actions.

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

What does gasoline station insurance protect you from?

For your gasoline station business, the most important types of insurance are meant to cover the risks to your business from accidents, from unexpected events, and from mistakes.

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

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

The main types of insurance for your gasoline station businesses are liability insurance, commercial insurance, asset insurance and workers compensation insurance.

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any gasoline station business is dealing directly with members of the public, and that means you always 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 gasoline station business insures you against claims coming from injury to visitors or damage to their property.

It protects your gasoline station business from the claims themselves and also to any resulting court costs and legal fees of the lawsuits.

In many cases, it should 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 gasoline station business would be with a cap 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 gasoline station insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your gasoline station business

In the event where a customer alleges some negligence, errors, or omissions in how you conducted your gasoline station business for them, you can quickly face a law suit.

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

Almost all small gasoline station business should have enough professional liability insurance to cover a single claim of $25,000, with annual cover of $50,000.

See the table in the cost of gasoline station insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your gasoline station 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 specific laws of product liability in your own state.

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

To cover yourself against any likely lawsuit, you need Product liability insurance for gasoline station

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 gasoline station business

Beware! – practically all policies for private vehicle insurance do not cover any event like theft or accidental damage when the vehicle 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 direct commercial vehicle insurance package.

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

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

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

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

Tools and Equipment insurance

Since your gasoline station business needs specialized and costly equipment, you know how much it can cost to replace it in case of any damage, loss, or theft.

The gear 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 destroy your whole business in one stroke.

Unless you can afford to immediately replace such specialized gear quickly out of your own pocket, you need full-level equipment insurance so that you can immediately buy whatever needed to keep your gasoline station business running.

It is hard to advise how much equipment insurance you need – it’s really dependent on how much you have invested in your gasoline station business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

Any gasoline station business that owns or rents space in a building needs a commercial property insurance policy.

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

Every physical building location needs to carry insurance coverage for the value of the premises and contents against accidental occurrences like fire and storms, and against man-made damages like theft and vandalism.

If your gasoline station business operates in areas of high risk, like California or South Carolina, supplementary coverage may be needed for earthquakes and hurricanes or tornadoes.

In other states like Illinois, where extreme cold snaps can cause damage to outer coverings of gasoline station business premises, there is a need for more extra cover than in warmer climes.

Although the level of cover depends completely 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 gasoline station insurance section below to give some estimate of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your gasoline station business.

Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your gasoline station business

Is your gasoline station 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 gasoline station – 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 specific 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 improved.

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

Business Owners Policy BOP for your gasoline station business

You have the choice 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 packaging these coverages into one insurance policy, which can save you money.

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

It is often the right choice for small and medium-sized gasoline station 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 rule whether you are permitted to take out BOP cover.

The normal business that is eligible for a BOP policy must have fewer than one hundred employees, and maximum five million dollars in annual sales.

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 gasoline station business employees

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

Workers compensation insurance covers the enterprise against any costs that arise if a worker 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 regulations 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 allow coverage from the government-run monopoly state funds.

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

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 see the relevant authorities in your state.

Average costs of these types of insurance

Although every gasoline station insurance requirement 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 gathered for the main types of insurance your gasoline station businesses needs.

Types of insurance Price range
General liability insurance $695 – $1100
Public liability insurance $250 – $590
Equipment insurance $395 – $1185
Commercial vehicle insurance $1645 – $3010
Product liability insurance $235 – $660
Commercial insurance $820 – $2610

Cost of insurance for your gasoline station operations depends on many different factors.

We have reckoned these figures for small independent gasoline station businesses.

In larger states like California, premiums are generally about 20%-30% higher than national averages, whereas in smaller states like New Mexico, they usually are about 20%-30% cheaper.

The location and size and type of your gasoline station business can have a big effect on the cost of different policies.

You should talk to professional insurance agents and brokers, or insurance company representatives.

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

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

FAQ

What is small business insurance for gasoline station operations?

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

Does my gasoline station 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.

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

What does a small gasoline station business insurance policy cover?

Liability insurance provides coverage against lawsuits or claims filed by a customer for bodily injury, property damage, or negligence.

The specific cover will vary based on your own operations.

See the table in the costing section above for average prices of the recommended policies for gasoline station insurance.

How much will gasoline station business insurance cost?

As well as 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 gasoline station, in the search box below, and follow the relevant links.

Was this helpful? Share it!
SBCoverage.com
Enable registration in settings - general