Business Insurance for Florists
When you own a florist shop, you help your clients celebrate all types of occasions like birthdays, weddings, anniversaries and holidays. You even provide comfort at the most difficult times like funerals. Who comforts you in your time of need? It may be a far stretch- but we like to think that we, your insurance agent, would bring you comfort when you need it most.
Is your small business just like every other small business out there? Or even the same as every other florist or flower shop? Do you have unique services that set you apart? Of course your business is not the same as every other small business, and you shouldn't expect an insurance policy that's exactly the same. You deserve a policy that's as unique as you and your business, not a one size fits all.
That’s why it’s important to work with a local independent insurance agency like Pearson & Company Insurance who can help you determine your risks, what types of coverage will fit your specific business needs, and how to accomplish all of this within your budget.
So now you're wondering, what are your business risks?
Owning a flower shop is not typically a high-risk business; however, there are some exposures that you should be aware of including:
- Auto accidents involving business-owned vehicles (or even vehicles your employees own, but use for business purposes)
- Identity theft and access to customer information
- Lawsuits
- Slips and falls
- Theft
- Vandalism
- Weather events (like hurricanes, tornadoes, ice, or hail)
- Equipment failure (what happens if your refrigeration system goes down for a day and you lose a significant portion of your inventory?)
What types of insurance do you need?
Commercial Property Insurance
Weather is hugely unpredictable in Mississippi; we’ve had our share of catastrophes from hail events to hurricanes.
When fire, theft, wind, hail, lightning or other disasters strike your business, you need to be prepared for what you can control (essentially, how can you respond to help lessen further damage), and have a plan in place to recover financially from those risks that you can’t control. This will cover the building you're located in, as well as the contents of your building, including light fixtures, office equipment, furniture, computers and more. A Commercial Property policy would cover the damages to the building, as well as the replacement cost of the damaged contents.
Commercial General Liability Insurance
Every florist in Mississippi should have a General Liability (GL) insurance policy. This coverage would protect you when lawsuits or financial losses occur. A typical GL policy provides coverage for claims of bodily injury or other physical injury, personal injury (libel or slander), advertising injury and property damage as a result of your products, premises or operations. For example, one of your customers slips & falls on the steps to your building, and needs medical attention. Although you didn't do anything wrong that caused your customer to fall, you're still named in a lawsuit for the injuries and medical bills. Could you end up paying for the injuries? What about the legal costs you'll incur to settle the claim? Not to worry. If you have the right GL policy, your insurance company would cover the costs of the medical expenses, as well as legal fees you may require.
Commercial Auto Insurance
Commercial Auto Insurance is another important policy that florists shops must consider because you’re relying on vehicles to operate a considerable portion of your business. Doesn’t matter if you have one vehicle, or a fleet of 20, you still need Commercial Auto Insurance.
A Commercial Auto Policy can be used to insure vehicles for:
- Liability – this would protect the funeral home in the event of an at-fault accident where the owner, or any employees, caused injuries to others while driving a company vehicle
- Physical damage to the vehicles owned by funeral home if they’re involved in an accident, stolen or vandalized
- Or both Liability and Physical Damage
For example, one of your employees is on his way back from delivering a large order and is involved in a severe accident with another driver. Your employee is at fault, there is extensive damage to both vehicles, and there will be medical expenses for both drivers. Your Commercial Auto policy could cover the property damage, the medical expenses and any potential legal costs involved.
Additional insurance coverage options all florists should consider:
Business Income Insurance (also known as Business Interruption Insurance) is an option that you may want to consider, as it’s designed to cover the loss of income you would suffer after a disaster. Business income coverage protects against the loss of income a business suffers when a covered loss causes damage to the insured premises. The loss doesn't have to cause the business to shut down entirely. Even a covered loss that causes the business to slow down can be covered with business income coverage.
Equipment Breakdown Insurance would protect your business, and more specifically, the equipment that's critical to operating your business on a daily basis. The standard Commercial Property policy (discussed above) specifically excludes coverage to your equipment (HVAC, refrigeration, computer systems, etc.) for certain types of claims or losses that you could suffer. These exclusions in the property policy create gaps in coverage for many businesses, and Equipment Breakdown coverage has been developed to fill these gaps for those businesses needing the coverage.
There is a lot to consider when insuring your business, and it can be overwhelming. That's why we're here to take care of it for. Pearson & Company Insurance has been part of our community for over 20 years and a when you are in a time of need, you want to be able to see someone face to face who will take care of you.
