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Insurance for Butcher Shops - What do I need to know?

Business Insurance Small Business Insurance Retail and Consumer Insurance Butcher Insurance Shop Insurance

Running a butcher shop is hard work with long hours, heavy lifting, dangerous machinery and food safety considerations all while servicing your local community with a smile on your face.

So how do you make sure you have the right butcher shop insurance?

What risks do I need to cover for my butcher shop?

There are many sources of risk in a retail butcher business. Are you covered in the case of your meat spoiling due to a cool room breakdown or fridge malfunction? Is your butchery a family business? If so, what happens in the case that you are injured at work, or even outside of work hours and unable to open the shop?

Some of the broad categories of risk to consider for butcher shop insurance include:

Risk to public – this could be on your premises through slips and trips, or off premises due to contaminated food and food poisoning.
Risk to staff – being a butcher involves risks such as serious cuts, injury from heavy lifting or when using specialized equipment, slips and falls amongst other dangers.
Risk to stock – some of your most valuable assets are the meat on your premises or in your delivery van which may be at risk of being damaged, destroyed or stolen.
Risk to machinery – what about your specialised equipment? Stolen knives, damaged meat smokers and slicers, broken glass on your cabinets – all possible sources of risk to your business.

Each of these butcher shop risks may pose a serious threat to your butchery business and all are able to be covered by the right butcher shop insurance coverage.

What insurance does a butcher shop need?

There are many types of insurance to consider when running a retail butcher business. Types of butcher shop insurance to consider include:

Public and Product Liability Insurance – required when working with members of the public (including customers and suppliers). Public liability may help in the event of negligent business activities such as food poisoning or accidents on your premises
Commercial property insurance, depending on whether you rent or own your butcher shop
Stock, Equipment and Contents Insurance to cover your valuable assets (including fridges, cool rooms, equipment, knives, tools, glass) in the case of fire, storm, vandalism, theft, breakdown or accidental damage
Business Interruption Insurance for financial protection of the business in the event that your turnover is impacted or your butcher shop is prevented from trading due to an insured risk
Workers Compensation Insurance for your employed butchers
Life Insurance and TPD Insurance in the event of personal accident or illness
Business Car insurance for your delivery van
Small business insurance – a business pack may be able to bring these types of insurance together in a cover that is right for your butcher shop.

Management Liability Insurance

Management Liability insurance is designed to provide protection to both the business and its directors or officers for claims of wrongful acts in the management of the business.

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Business Insurance

A business insurance pack can provide cover for your business premises and contents, against loss, damage, theft or financial loss from an insured interruption to the business.

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Business Package

Purchase up to six products under one Business Insurance Package.

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Public and Product Liability Insurance – required when working with members of the public (including customers and suppliers). Public liability may help in the event of negligent business activities such as food poisoning or accidents on your premises
Commercial property insurance, depending on whether you rent or own your butcher shop
Stock, Equipment and Contents Insurance to cover your valuable assets (including fridges, cool rooms, equipment, knives, tools, glass) in the case of fire, storm, vandalism, theft, breakdown or accidental damage
Business Interruption Insurance for financial protection of the business in the event that your turnover is impacted or your butcher shop is prevented from trading due to an insured risk
Workers Compensation Insurance for your employed butchers
Life Insurance and TPD Insurance in the event of personal accident or illness
Business Car insurance for your delivery van
Small business insurance – a business pack may be able to bring these types of insurance together in a cover that is right for your butcher shop.

If you are running a butcher shop Urban Insurance can help to ensure that your retail butcher shop insurance is in place to ensure your butcher shop is covered for all of its risks.

General Advice Warning: This advice is general and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider whether the advice is appropriate for you and your personal circumstances. Before you make any decision about whether to acquire a certain product, you should obtain and read the relevant product disclosure statement.

All information above has been provided by the author.

Naweed Lateef, Urban Insurance