Hardware Store insurance – what kind and at what cost

Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, Hardware Store insurance must be high on the list because you can’t always know exactly what is going to happen in the future.

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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 unforeseen happens.

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

If your Hardware Store business runs without proper insurance, you are taking an enormous 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 consequences of their actions. 

Hardware Store Insurance

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 Hardware Store business?

What this means, for any Hardware Store business owner, is that if some company claims that your work caused them some physical or economic damage, a court can award damages far beyond the total size of your business.

Your Hardware Store business is not sheltered by laws in the same way as states are, where edicts can place a “cap” on the maximum level of liability.

In some states, like Montana, there are specific monetary levels that limit the amount an adjudicator 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 Hardware Store operations, you can’t escape responsibility for the results of your actions.

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

What does Hardware Store insurance protect you from?

For your Hardware Store business, the most important sorts of insurance are designed to cover the risks to your business from accidents, from unexpected events, and from mistakes.

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

In the next few paragraphs, we will describe the most important points any Hardware Store business owner should know when negotiating the insurance needed.

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

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any Hardware Store business is dealing directly with other people, and that means you always have the danger that some accident can happen to them personally or else something of theirs can be ruined.

In such a case, they can require compensation.

General liability insurance policy for your Hardware Store business insures you against claims coming from injury to clients or damage to their property.

It protects your Hardware Store business from the claims themselves and in addition 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 average level of general liability insurance for your Hardware Store 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 Hardware Store insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your Hardware Store business

In the event where a buyer alleges some negligence, errors, or omissions in how you conducted your Hardware Store business for them, you can quickly have to fight a law suit.

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

Every small Hardware Store 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 Hardware Store insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your Hardware Store 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 they received didn’t meet your description of function, or that your guidance was basically incorrect.

You need to understand the explicit laws of product liability in your own state.

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

To cover yourself against any likely lawsuit, you need Product liability insurance for Hardware Store

Only you can know exactly how much insurance you need.

Best advice is to talk to experienced insurance agents, brokers or company representatives for help.

Commercial insurance

Commercial vehicle insurance for your Hardware Store business

Be careful! – almost all policies for private vehicle insurance do not cover any happening 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 designated commercial vehicle insurance package.

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

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

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

The wanted 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 Hardware Store business needs specialized and expensive equipment, you know 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 unpredicted acts.

As well, 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 unique 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 Hardware Store 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 Hardware Store business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

Any Hardware Store business that owns or rents space in a building must have a commercial property insurance policy.

If you own the space, you certainly have a substantial capital investment, along with a big liability if there’s a mortgage.

Any physical building location must 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 Hardware Store business works in areas of high risk, like Florida or Georgia, supplementary coverage may be needed for earthquakes and hurricanes or tornadoes.

In other states like Illinois, where unlimited cold snaps can cause damage to outer coverings of Hardware Store business premises, there is a need for more supplementary cover than in warmer climes.

Whereas 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 Hardware Store insurance section below to give some idea of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your Hardware Store business.

Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your Hardware Store business

Is your Hardware Store business working part-time or casually, or is the level of business fluctuating?

Using short-term insurance makes good sense. Business insurance by the month, day, or week – temporary insurance for Hardware Store – 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 the same risk cover.

The important feature of short-term insurance is that you buy 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 larger business activity, get the existing cover raised.

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

Business Owners Policy BOP for your Hardware Store business

You have the chance 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 merges commercial property and public liability insurance by packaging 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 frequently the right choice for small and medium-sized Hardware Store businesses, such as yours.

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

BOPs cannot cover your professional liability or commercial vehicle cover.

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

The typical business that is eligible for a BOP policy must have no more than one hundred employees, and under five million dollars in annual revenue.

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

Workers Compensation insurance for your Hardware Store business employees

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

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

The benefits include 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 required 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 premiums are worked out 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 Hardware Store insurance need 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 an agent what’s relevant for your business.

The list below is of annual premiums we have collected for the main types of insurance your Hardware Store businesses needs.

Types of insurance Price range
Public liability insurance $381 – $534
General liability insurance $571 – $939
Commercial insurance $1161 – $2047
Equipment insurance $469 – $1004
Product liability insurance $334 – $711
Commercial vehicle insurance $1521 – $3184

Cost of insurance for your Hardware Store operations depends on many different factors.

We have reckoned these figures for small freelance Hardware Store businesses.

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

The location and size and type of your Hardware Store 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 enquiring about 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 Hardware Store operations?

This is an umbrella term used to describe common insurance policies designed to protect Hardware Store business owners from risks like bodily injury, property damage, claims of negligence.

Does my Hardware Store business have to have insurance?

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

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

What does a small Hardware Store business insurance policy cover?

Liability insurance provides coverage 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 most common policies for Hardware Store insurance.

How much will Hardware Store 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 consult with professional insurance agents and brokers, or insurance company representatives.

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