As a coffee shop owner, you’re busy with lots of work to juggle, employees and finance manage, stock to order, books to balance, customers to please and most importantly, food and coffee to make! With all this work, comes a lot of responsibility. And with this responsibility, comes risks, and some very important needs along with them. One of these needs is of course insurance.
Today, Frans Du Plessis and the Grace Insurance Team in Landsdale, talk all things insurance for coffee shops.
So, if you’re a coffee shop owner in Perth or the northern suburbs, and don’t have your insurance sorted, you really need to read this.
Why do Coffee Shop Owners need Insurance?
Think about all the people who come into your coffee shop each day. What if one of them were to become injured or make a complaint about your coffee or food? And what about your staff members? Last but not least, don’t forget about yourself. What would you do if you became ill and couldn’t work? Could you afford to run your business, let alone pay your rent or your staff?
This is precisely why coffee shop owners need insurance.
When would a Coffee Shop Owner need to make a claim?
Still can’t understand quite why you would require insurance? We’ve compiled some coffee shop insurance claim examples to help:
- A staff member injures themselves whilst cooking
There are chefs and kitchen hands rushing around, along with hotplates, flames and boiling liquids – this area is virtually a recipe for disaster.
- Your fridge or an important piece of machinery breaks down
Even the most well-maintained piece of machinery or equipment can break down.
- A customer complains that some food you served made them ill
You can take all the necessary precautions possible to ensure food is delicious, healthy and fresh, but this doesn’t remove the possibility of it making a customer sick (or least a customer stating it made them sick).
- A fire starts in the kitchen
No matter the business, fire is always a risk. In the hospitality industry, however, a fire in the kitchen is far more likely.
- Your coffee shop is robbed
Although unlikely, robberies do happen.
- An employee steals from you
Unfortunately, dishonest employees do exist
Claims like this, could cost you thousands and thousands, or in some cases, millions of dollars. Could you afford to pay for all the repairs and any legal expenses? (that could just be the beginning).
Coffee Shop Insurance claim
Still not sure you need it? Here’s a real-life example to get you thinking:
A coffee shop owner in Melbourne discovered the importance of insurance recently when a severe thunderstorm hit. Torrential rain entered the coffee shop through the roof, causing water to build up come leak right through to the floors – this impacted the power-boards and electrical appliances as a result. The impacted items included fridges, freezers and cooking equipment.
Over $10,000 in stock was lost due to being left unrefrigerated for several hours. Along with this, the flooring had to be replaced, as the water caused significant damage to the tiles.
Luckily for the coffee shop owner, the right insurance cover was in place and they were able to claim over $10,000 for loss of stock, $2,000 for cleaning of the premises and $13,000 to replace floor coverings.
That’s $25,000 worth of damage. Do you have a spare $25,000 lying around? How would you pay for all that without insurance?
Another thing to consider… The coffee shop wouldn’t have been open during the cleaning and repair process, and we haven’t even mentioned the potential loss in income here. See the impact lack of insurance could have?
What type of insurance do Coffee Shop Owners need?
Now can you see why insurance is so important?
With so many different types of insurance available though, it can be confusing and difficult to know which type of insurance you need. That’s where we come in.
Here’s a quick and easy guide to the insurance you will need as the owner of a coffee shop:
Public Liability Insurance protects you and your business against the financial risks of being found liable to a third party for death or injury, loss or damage to property.
- Business Interruption Insurance
Business Interruption Insurance, also known as Consequential Loss Insurance, is business insurance that covers the turnover lost from unexpected events such as this, so you can recover and rebuild without the extra stress of income loss.
Machinery Breakdown Insurance covers the unforeseen and sudden breakdown of insured items including cool rooms, refrigerators, and coffee machines.
A form of insurance payment to employees if they are injured at work or become sick due to their work. Workers’ compensation includes payments to employees to cover their wages while they’re not fit for work, medical expenses and rehabilitation
Is Insurance for Coffee Shop owners a legal requirement?
Some insurances are an option.
The following insurances, however, are a legal requirement for coffee shop owners in Australia:
- Public Liability
- Workers Compensation (if you have employees)
How much does insurance cost?
The cost of your insurance will depend on your needs and requirements, level of cover, insurer, payment frequency and more.
You can request a quotation here.
How do I obtain insurance?
When obtaining insurance such as these, it’s vital they are set up correctly to suit you, your business and your requirements.
This is why we recommend talking to a professional insurance broker for assistance. Not only will they ensure you have the right insurance policies in place, but they will also be there to advise and support you, should a claim ever arise.
Don’t risk your business. Protect yourself financially and safeguard your coffee shop, staff and valued customers, with the right insurance.
At Grace Insurance in Joondalup, north of Perth, we have many years of experience in providing the right insurance for coffee shop owners.
Contact Grace Insurance to find out how we can help you today.
