Skate Shop insurance – cost and types of policies

Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, Skate Shop 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 liability insurance and all the other kinds 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 Skate Shop enterprise, you must consider how much financial liability you are taking on.

If your Skate Shop 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 results of their actions. 

Skate Shop Insurance

In this article, we are giving very general guidelines for growing businesses to explain 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 Skate Shop business?

What this means, for any Skate Shop business owner, is that if some customer 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 Skate Shop business is not sheltered 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 an adjudicator 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 sort.

When you are running your Skate Shop operations, you can’t deny responsibility for the results of your actions.

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

What does Skate Shop insurance protect you from?

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

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

In the next few paragraphs, we will outline the most important points any Skate Shop business owner should consider when negotiating the insurance needed.

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

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any Skate Shop business is dealing directly with other people, and that means you usually have the danger that some accident can happen to them personally or else something of theirs can be spoiled.

In such a case, they can require compensation.

General liability insurance policy for your Skate Shop business insures you against claims coming from injury to visitors or damage to their property.

It protects your Skate Shop business from the claims themselves and in addition to any resulting 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 Skate Shop business would be with a upper limit 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 Skate Shop insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your Skate Shop business

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

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.

Almost all small Skate Shop 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 Skate Shop insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your Skate Shop 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 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 Skate Shop

Only you can determine exactly how much insurance you need.

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

Commercial insurance

Commercial vehicle insurance for your Skate Shop business

Take care! – almost 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 car policies guarantee the value of any vehicle in case of accident, malicious damage, fire, or theft.

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

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

The necessary 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 Skate Shop business needs unique and costly equipment, you can appreciate 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 unforeseen acts.

Also, 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 specialized gear quickly out of your own pocket, you must have full-level equipment insurance so that you can immediately buy everything needed to keep your Skate Shop 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 Skate Shop business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

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

If you own the property, 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 unexpected occurrences like fire and storms, and against criminal damages like theft and vandalism.

If your Skate Shop business operates in areas of high risk, like Texas or Georgia, extra 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 Skate Shop business premises, there is a need for more additional cover than in warmer climes.

Although the level of cover depends mainly 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 Skate Shop insurance section below to give some idea of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your Skate Shop business.

Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your Skate Shop business

Is your Skate Shop 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 Skate Shop – are special policies where you can cover a specific period when you want to be covered.

By only paying for that period of cover, you will save by having lower 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 raised.

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

Business Owners Policy BOP for your Skate Shop 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 amalgamating 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 frequently the right choice for small and medium-sized Skate Shop businesses, such as yours.

There are two limits that will determine 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 rule whether you are permitted to take out BOP cover.

The usual business that is eligible for a BOP policy must have less than one hundred employees, and not more than five million dollars in annual turnover.

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

Workers Compensation insurance for your Skate Shop business employees

In almost all states, it is mandatory to have workers compensation insurance when your Skate Shop business has one or more employees.

Workers compensation insurance covers the business against any costs that arise if any hired hand 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 obliged 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 get your workers compensation obligations from private insurance providers.

Workers compensation premiums 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 Skate Shop insurance requirement is unique, there are enough examples of average 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 Skate Shop businesses needs.

Types of insurance Price range
Public liability insurance $335 – $669
General liability insurance $647 – $1197
Commercial insurance $1109 – $2629
Product liability insurance $206 – $736
Commercial vehicle insurance $1543 – $2942
Equipment insurance $474 – $1131

Cost of insurance for your Skate Shop operations depends on many different factors.

We have reckoned these figures for small self-employed Skate Shop businesses.

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

The location and size and type of your Skate Shop 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 good source of information is the local Better Business Bureau in your suburb.

FAQ

What is small business insurance for Skate Shop operations?

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

Does my Skate Shop 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 Skate Shop business insurance policy cover?

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

The precise 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 Skate Shop insurance.

How much will Skate Shop 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 talk to professional insurance agents and brokers, or insurance company representatives.

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