Insurance for the businesses on the street.
Retail, food, salons, studios, clinics and offices. Usually someone has asked you for proof of insurance (a landlord, a client, a supplier) and the wording they want is specific.
Build the business file Tell us what you do See what’s coveredLiability, contents and fit-out, and income lost if you cannot open
Shops, offices, clinics, salons, studios and home-based businesses
The insurance clause in your lease, and what you installed yourself
What insurance does a small business need in BC?
Three things cover most small businesses: liability for injury or damage you cause to other people, contents and equipment cover for what you own inside your unit, and business interruption for the income you lose if you cannot open. Beyond that it depends on what you do, food, treatments, advice, alcohol, tools and client data each add their own exposure.
If your liability limit is below what your lease demands, you are in breach of the lease as well as underinsured. And a fire next door that closes your block for six weeks costs you the income while the rent keeps running. The Insurance Bureau of Canada states the starting exposure every business has: “Your business could be held liable for any bodily injury or property damage resulting from a business interaction.” That is the case for general liability in one sentence. Read IBC on how to buy business insurance (opens in a new tab).
The trigger is usually external. A lease demands a limit. A client asks for a certificate. A supplier will not deliver without proof. Send us that document and we will tell you exactly what it requires.
Not sure what you need? Build your small business file: it works that out with you, one plain question at a time. Start here →
The cover a small business actually uses.
Contents, equipment and stock
Everything you brought into the unit, fit-out, tools, chairs, computers, inventory.
Tenant’s legal liability
Damage to the premises you rent. Landlords insure the building; this is your side of the line.
Liquor and event exposures
Serving alcohol, hosting or catering, each carries requirements worth getting right before an inspection.
For most main-street businesses we can quote and bind while you are still at the counter. Unusual classes or high values go to an underwriter first, which takes longer, but the ordinary shop, office or clinic is a same-sitting job.
Most small business claims are not dramatic.
People picture a fire. What actually arrives is far more ordinary, and far more likely to happen to you this year.
Water from upstairs
A pipe in the unit above ruins your stock and your fit-out. Your landlord’s policy does not replace your things.
A customer injured on site
A wet floor, a step, a falling display. Defence costs start immediately, whether or not you were at fault.
Closed through no fault of yours
Damage next door or a building-wide problem shuts your doors for weeks. Rent still runs.
Send us the lease, not just the question.
The insurance clause is where the surprises hide.
Commercial leases set the liability limit you must carry, who has to be named on the policy, and what happens if you let cover lapse. They vary considerably between landlords, and the requirements are frequently stricter than a tenant assumes.
Send us the clause before you sign. It takes us minutes to read, and it beats discovering at renewal that you have been in breach of your lease for a year.
How this can play out.
A pipe in the unit above lets go on a Sunday. Your fit-out, stock and equipment are ruined. The landlord’s policy rebuilds the shell. Everything you installed and everything you sell is on your policy, not theirs.
Main-street businesses of every kind.
Working from home? Your home policy almost certainly excludes business activity, including client visits and stock in the garage. It is a small policy that closes a large gap.
The conditions inside a small business package.
A package policy puts property, liability and interruption in one document. One set of conditions quietly governs all three.
The lease and the policy disagreeing
Your lease promises the landlord specific covers and limits. If the policy was bought before the lease was signed, the two documents have never met.
Growth the insurer never heard about
A second location, an online store, double the stock: a package priced for last year’s business answers for last year’s business.
The alarm discount that became a promise
Premium credits for alarms and cameras often arrive as warranties. A system switched off during a renovation, or a dead battery, is the small fact big arguments are made of.
Money and equipment past the sub-limits
Packages carry quiet sub-limits: cash, glass, signs, electronics. The headline limit is not the number that pays; the schedule underneath is.
Reading the schedule takes fifteen minutes a year. Check the small numbers, because they are the ones that answer first.
What small business owners ask us.
My landlord wants $2 million liability. Is that normal?
Yes, $2 million and $5 million are both common, and the exact figure will be written into your lease along with wording about who must be named on the policy. Send us the clause and we will match it precisely rather than guessing high or low.
Does my landlord’s insurance cover my things?
No. The landlord insures the building. Your fit-out, equipment, stock and your liability to other people are yours to insure, and damage to the rented premises themselves is usually your responsibility too.
I run my business from home. Am I covered?
Almost certainly not for the business side. Most home policies exclude business activity, so client visits, business equipment and stock stored at home usually need a separate arrangement.
How quickly can I get a certificate of insurance?
Tell us the deadline when you send the request. Certificates are routine work here and we will be straight with you about what can be done and when.
I have very little to insure. Is a policy worth it?
The contents may be modest, but the liability is not. A single injury claim can far exceed everything you own in the unit, and most of the cost is defending it, win or lose.
Can I add or change cover mid-term?
Yes. Businesses change, new equipment, a second location, a new service. Tell us as it happens rather than at renewal, so there is no gap in between.
Not the question you had? Build the business file and set out your own situation in plain words. A licensed broker reads it and replies in writing.
The questions behind the questions.
Paid for advice rather than product? consultants & professional services.
Accounting, bookkeeping or law practice? There is a page built for you: cyber for professional firms.
Tell us what your business does.
Plain words are fine. If someone has asked you for proof of insurance, send us their wording too. Send us the insurance clause in your lease, and what you installed yourself.
NO APPOINTMENT NEEDED AT ANY OF OUR THREE BRANCHES
Running a kitchen? Restaurants & food covers exposures a standard business policy misses.
Own the building rather than lease it? See commercial property.
The two covers small firms skip longest are cyber and directors. Build that file while you are here. A few minutes →