Military Surplus Stores Insurance – What Kind and at What Cost

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

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With the protection provided by insurance against accidents and all the other types 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 military surplus stores enterprise, you must consider how much financial danger you are taking on.

Business Insurance for military surplus stores

If your military surplus stores business runs without proper insurance, you are taking a tremendous chance not just of losing some money but of a complete 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 growing businesses to outline 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 military surplus stores business?

What this means, for any military surplus stores 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 military surplus stores business is not harbored 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 Texas, 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 right of the jury to award whatever amount they deem appropriate, even sometimes giving a person more than they have sort.

When you are running your military surplus stores 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 limited liability company, all of that liability belongs to you as an individual.

What does military surplus stores insurance protect you from?

For your military surplus stores business, the most important kinds 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 outline the most important points any military surplus stores business owner should remember when negotiating the insurance needed.

The main categories of insurance for your military surplus stores businesses are liability insurance, commercial insurance, asset insurance and workers compensation insurance.

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any military surplus stores business is dealing directly with customers, 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 sue you for compensation.

General liability insurance policy for your military surplus stores business protects you against claims coming from injury to customers or damage to their property.

It protects your military surplus stores business from the claims themselves and also to any associated 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 demand proper liability insurance.

The normal level of general liability insurance for your military surplus stores business would be with a upper limit of $1 million for a single event 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 military surplus stores insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your military surplus stores business

In the event where a buyer alleges some negligence, errors, or omissions in how you conducted your military surplus stores business for them, you can quickly face a monetary claim.

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

Most small military surplus stores 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 military surplus stores insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your military surplus stores operations.

Product liability insurance

Whatever goods you sell or advice you give about the goods, you are running a risk that customers 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 explicit laws of product liability in your own state.

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

To cover yourself against any following lawsuit, you need Product liability insurance for military surplus stores

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 military surplus stores business

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

The best 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 van itself, the content and any legal bills, medical expenses, and property damage is covered if your van is involved in a crash.

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

The wanted value of the insurance depends on the depreciated value of the vehicle, and your intended level of cover of contents. 

Tools and Equipment insurance

Since your military surplus stores business needs specific 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 unforeseen acts.

As well, 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 unique gear quickly out of your own pocket, you need full-level equipment insurance so that you can immediately buy everything needed to keep your military surplus stores business running.

It is impossible to advise how much equipment insurance you need – it’s basically dependent on how much you have invested in your military surplus stores business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

Any military surplus stores business that owns or rents space in a building should have a commercial property insurance policy.

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

Every physical building location must 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 military surplus stores 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 military surplus stores business premises, there is a need for more additional cover than in warmer climes.

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

Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your military surplus stores business

Is your military surplus stores business working part-time or casually, or is the level of business variable?

Using short-term insurance makes perfect sense. Business insurance by the month, day, or week – temporary insurance for military surplus stores – 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 identical risk cover.

The essential 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 better 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 military surplus stores business

You have the choice to combine most 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 cover you if any claims of injury or property damage are made.

It is mostly the right choice for small and medium-sized military surplus stores businesses, such as yours.

There are some limits that will rule whether BOP is suitable for your own business.

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

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

The normal business that is eligible for a BOP policy must have less than one hundred employees, and maximum 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 military surplus stores business employees

In almost all states, it is mandatory to have workers compensation insurance when your military surplus stores 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 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 can’t take out your workers compensation obligations from private insurance corporations.

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 consult the relevant authorities in your state.

Average costs of these types of insurance

Although every military surplus stores insurance requirement is unique, there are enough examples of usual 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 researched for the main types of insurance your military surplus stores businesses needs.

Types of insurance Price range
Equipment insurance $445 – $1075
Product liability insurance $290 – $710
General liability insurance $585 – $1010
Commercial insurance $1165 – $2640
Commercial vehicle insurance $1660 – $2855
Public liability insurance $325 – $630

Cost of insurance for your military surplus stores operations depends on many different factors.

We have reckoned these figures for small freelance military surplus stores businesses.

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

The location and size and type of your military surplus stores business can have a big effect on the cost of different policies.

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

In addition you can let the internet do the work for you by searching 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 military surplus stores operations?

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

Does my military surplus stores business have to have insurance?

Some of the forms of insurance are not mandatory for you to open 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 military surplus stores business insurance policy cover?

Liability insurance provides protection 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 most common policies for military surplus stores insurance.

How much will military surplus stores 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 talk to professional insurance agents and brokers, or insurance company representatives.

You can search for more information insurance for military surplus stores, in the search box below, and follow the relevant links.

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