Convenience stores are typically small “corner store” type establishments that are primarily engaged in selling a limited line of products, such as snacks, milk, bread, and certain other beverages like soda or bottled water. Some convenience stores also offer toiletries, tobacco products, paper products, newspapers, magazines, and even beer or other alcoholic beverages.

Because your convenience store is unique, you need tailored South Carolina small business insurance that covers your specific risks and gives you the protection you need to stay in business for the long term.

A South Carolina independent insurance agent can help you find the convenience store insurance policies that fit your needs and budget.

What Is Convenience Store Insurance?

Owning a convenience store can be lucrative, but it also comes with a number of serious risks, from shoplifting and vandalism to fires and severe weather. What’s more, if you own a convenience store, you’re always at risk for being sued if someone is injured as a result of shopping in your store or as a result of some aspect of your operations.

That’s why you need a comprehensive convenience store business insurance program that covers your unique risks and protects you from large losses that could bankrupt you.

Convenience store insurance in South Carolina is a specific type of business insurance that is designed to meet the unique needs of businesses like yours. It is typically a package of several policies that cover property damage and lawsuits, allowing you to focus on running your business and serving your customers.

Most convenience stores in South Carolina need commercial property insurance and commercial liability insurance at a minimum. But not every risk you face is covered by these basic policies. You’ll probably need to purchase a variety of additional South Carolina convenience store insurance policies to make sure that your store is protected from the numerous property losses and claims of negligence that can arise as a result of your operations.

How to Insure a Convenience Store in South Carolina

There are over 418,000 small businesses in South Carolina, employing nearly 795,000 people. In 2019, nearly $6 billion in commercial insurance claims were paid in South Carolina across businesses of all sizes.

For small businesses like convenience stores, insurance claims often revolve around property damage. What’s more, you can be the target of costly claims and lawsuits related to customer slips and falls on your premises, faulty products, and other claims that you’ve been negligent in some way.

Convenience store insurance in South Carolina is a collection of business insurance policies tailored to the unique needs of your operation. You're likely to need several policies to ensure that you have a comprehensive program that covers all of your risks.

General liability insurance covers third-party claims of bodily harm and property damage. Because you have a lot of foot traffic in your store, this policy is essential to protect your assets when someone claims they’ve been injured because of your negligence.

A customer’s slip-and-fall injury would be covered by your CGL policy, as would an injury to a soda delivery person who slips and falls on a wet floor. CGL policies also cover any claims of advertising liability, slander, or libel.

Commercial property insurance is also essential for a convenience store. It covers repairs to the store building (if you own it), as well as repairing or replacing any damaged physical assets inside your store. This includes store fixtures and computer systems, inventory, furniture, signage, and more. If you lease your store space, you need coverage for the contents of your store, but not the physical structure.

Commercial property insurance typically offers protection in cases like fire, theft, vandalism, severe weather, and natural disasters.

Your commercial property insurance is also likely to include business interruption coverage. This coverage reimburses you for lost income if you have to close your convenience store to make repairs after a covered loss (fire, storm, etc.). It also pays for certain ongoing expenses, such as rent, employee salaries, utility bills, and more.

If you sell alcoholic beverages in your convenience store, you probably need liquor liability insurance. Liquor liability coverage is required for any establishment that sells, serves, or furnishes alcoholic beverages. It pays for instances of property damage and bodily injury that result from selling or serving alcohol, even if the impaired person did not drink the beverage on your premises.

That means that if a store clerk failed to check an ID and sold alcohol to an underage person who then injured another person while driving drunk, you could be sued for negligence. Liquor liability insurance pays for your legal defense in these cases as well as any financial settlements that you must pay out.

Worker's compensation insurance is typically required for any business that has employees. It pays for lost income and medical expenses for employees that are injured on the job. Your convenience store workers could be injured while stocking shelves, opening boxes with a sharp box cutter, or repetitive motion at the cash register.

Commercial auto insurance is necessary for any business-owned vehicles. It covers your liability if one of your drivers is at fault for an accident. If you don’t own any commercial vehicles but you or your employees use a personal car for business purposes (running errands, going to the post office, going to the bank), you need non-owned auto liability insurance to ensure that you are covered if you cause an accident when driving for business purposes.

Crime coverage protects your business if an employee or a group of employees engage in theft, forgery, or fraud that damages your business. It also offers coverage in cases of shoplifting and vandalism.

What Doesn't Convenience Store Insurance Cover in South Carolina?

Your basic commercial property and commercial liability policies spell out a variety of specific coverage exclusions, and it’s important for you to be mindful of all of them.

In many cases, the excluded property or situation can be covered with another policy or special endorsement. If your general liability policy limits coverage for cyber liability claims but you have a serious cyber exposure, you can purchase a cyber liability insurance policy or endorsement in addition to your other convenience store insurance policies.

Here are some items that convenience store insurance in South Carolina does not cover:

Most of these exclusions can be covered with some other type of policy or endorsement. But remember, no policy will ever cover you for intentional wrongdoing or criminal acts.

What Are the Benefits of Convenience Store Insurance in South Carolina?

As a convenience store owner, you face a lot of risks. Convenience store insurance in South Carolina helps protect you against many of the risks you face.

• Property damage: Your building and everything inside it, including inventory, computers, furniture, fixtures, and office space, can be damaged in a variety of ways. A severe storm can cause extensive damage to the outside and inside of your convenience store. And even a small fire can completely destroy your inventory and force you to close while you make repairs and replace damaged property.
• Theft and crime: Convenience stores are particularly susceptible to theft and crime by outsiders, as well as by employees. You might have a lot of cash on hand, making you an easy target for thieves and dishonest employees. Maybe you are open 24 hours a day, making late-night vandalism and crime a serious risk.
• Customer or general public injury: Your convenience store has a wide variety of visitors every day. Simple slip-and-fall injuries are common in your environment, and more serious injuries can occur, too. And in a worst-case scenario, you won’t just be responsible for direct medical bills for the injured party. You could be sued and forced to pay for your legal defense as well as financial payouts to the injured person or persons.
• Employee work-related injuries: Whether your employees are unloading shipments and stocking shelves or simply working the cash register, injuries can happen at any time. If an employee sustains a work-related injury or illness, you’ll be responsible for paying for their medical bills and lost wages if they have to take time off from work to recover.

Convenience store insurance can help cover your losses in these and many other situations.

How Much Does Convenience Store Insurance Cost in South Carolina?

The cost of convenience store insurance will vary depending on the coverage that you need, as well as your unique risks. Your location, number of employees, size of your store, and what you sell (e.g., snacks and newspapers only, or riskier products like alcoholic beverages, gas, or car repairs).

Your insurance company will also evaluate how risky you are to insure (and how much you should pay) based on whether you are open 24 hours, have appropriate security, and where you are located.

Generally, any convenience store with more risk exposures can expect to pay more than a less risky operation. A store with a limited inventory and no employees will pay far less for business insurance than a store that sells alcohol, has a grill or sells freshly made food, and has several employees.

How a South Carolina Independent Insurance Agent Can Help

If you’re looking for comprehensive convenience store insurance in South Carolina, it’s best to work with an independent insurance agent with the knowledge, experience, and confidence to help you develop a tailored program. A local independent agent can help you find the best policies to suit your unique needs and budget requirements, not a one-size-fits-all approach that could fail to protect you when you need it most.

A South Carolina independent insurance agent who has experience in working with convenience stores can help you find the best insurance solutions that help limit your exposures and protect your business.