If you own a grocery store in South Carolina, you have numerous risks just like any retailer. You also have some increased risk exposure specific to storing and selling food.   

With the help of a South Carolina independent insurance agent, you can find out the best way to protect your grocery store with a comprehensive set of South Carolina small business insurance policies that are tailored to your unique risks.

What Is Grocery Store Insurance?

Supermarkets and independent grocery stores make up a large portion of the US retail industry. There are over 31,000 chain supermarkets in the United States, and over 6,500 independent supermarkets. Last year, grocery store sales topped $682 billion.

If you own a grocery store or supermarket in South Carolina, grocery store insurance pays for covered claims so you don’t suffer financial losses when something goes wrong. Depending on your coverage, it can help you pay for property damage, liability claims, lawsuits, and even worker injuries and illnesses.

Grocery store insurance in South Carolina is not a single policy. It’s a set of individual policies that together offer comprehensive coverage for your business. Most grocery stores must purchase property and liability coverage, as well as several other policies or endorsements that offer tailored coverage for your grocery business.

How to Insure a Grocery Store in South Carolina

You need a variety of insurance policies to create a complete grocery store insurance program. It might be best to categorize your risks into “property risks” and “liability risks,” and then find appropriate policies for your needs.

Property insurance for grocery stores in South Carolina

There are several types of business insurance policies that cover your physical assets.

• Commercial property insurance: Covers your building (if you own it), as well as its contents, including all of your furniture, computers, your inventory of food and products, shopping carts, shelving, computer systems, cash registers, conveyer belts, and display units. It responds when there is a fire, a storm, theft, or vandalism in your store and your commercial property is damaged or destroyed.
• Business interruption insurance: Pays for loss of income and certain fixed expenses (e.g., rent, salaries, temporary relocation expenses, etc.) if your business must close due to a covered loss (fire, storm, etc.).
• Equipment breakdown insurance: Covers machinery used in your grocery store if it breaks down due to a power surge, motor burnout, or other mechanical problem. It can cover everything from your air conditioners to your refrigerators and freezers. It helps you make repairs or replace broken machinery, and may even cover business interruption costs if you can’t operate until the machinery is back up and running.
• Utility interruption coverage: Covers the specific circumstances surrounding an interruption in your utility services, such as power or water.
• Employee dishonesty and crime coverage: Protects your store if an employee or a group of employees engage in theft, forgery, or fraud that damages your business.
• Contamination and spoilage coverage: Pays for certain losses if food products are spoiled or contaminated due to refrigeration breakdown, utility interruption, or some type of foreign substance contamination. If your local board of health or another agency forces you to close because of food contamination, your contamination and spoilage insurance may cover you for lost income during the shutdown period, as well as costs related to cleaning contaminated equipment and disposing of and replacing spoiled food.

Liability insurance for grocery stores in South Carolina

Liability insurance is your first line of defense in protecting your grocery store when you are considered to be negligent or are blamed for causing harm to an individual or another business.

• Commercial general liability (CGL) insurance: Provides broad protection for third-party bodily injury and property damage claims. Also provides coverage for product liability, advertising liability, slander, and libel claims against your grocery store.
• Commercial auto insurance: Protects any vehicles owned by your grocery shop, like delivery vans. In addition, if employees drive personal vehicles for business purposes, you need hired and non-owned auto liability insurance.
• Cyber liability insurance: Protects your grocery store if you’re the victim of a cyber breach. If your computer network or website is hacked and confidential customer or vendor information is exposed, cyber liability insurance can help you cover some of the related costs.
• Employment practices liability coverage: Protects you if a current or former employee sues you for discriminatory employment practices
• Liquor liability insurance: Covers your responsibilities associated with selling alcohol to customers who go on to harm others. It pays for bodily injury or property damage expenses caused by an intoxicated person who was served liquor by the policyholder. It also pays for your legal costs as well as any financial settlements for the injured parties.
• Commercial umbrella insurance: Offers broad liability coverage above the limits of your CGL and commercial auto insurance. Umbrella insurance kicks in when the limits of the other applicable policies have been reached for a single claim.

Grocery store insurance in South Carolina should also include worker's compensation coverage. It is required for any business that has employees. It protects your workers—including store managers, stock persons, and cashiers—from the costs of work-related injuries and illnesses. This coverage pays for medical bills and lost wages for employees who sustain cuts, burns, slip-and-fall injuries, repetitive motion injuries, or any other injuries or illnesses related to their work.

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

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.

Here are some typical exclusions from grocery store insurance in South Carolina:

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.

Benefits of Grocery Store Insurance in South Carolina

What would happen if a customer had an allergic reaction to a food product purchased in your store because it was improperly labeled? What if a customer slipped on a wet floor in your store, fell, and broke an ankle?

What if you had a fire on your premises that destroyed all of your inventory, shelves, fixtures, computers, and your cash registers? What if someone vandalized your property, breaking your front door and destroying inventory?

Grocery store insurance in South Carolina protects your financial stability when the unexpected happens. You need protection against property losses, and you need additional protection in the event that someone is injured on your premises or as a result of consuming something purchased at your store.

Here are just a few things that can go wrong that can be addressed with grocery store insurance:

With grocery store insurance, you’ll have somewhere to turn after these types of events. It helps you pay for property and inventory repairs and replacement, and you’ll be able to hire an attorney and pay for damages if you’re ever sued for negligence. It can even help you keep your doors open if you have to close temporarily in order to repair your store.

How Much Does Grocery Store Insurance Cost in South Carolina?

The cost of grocery store insurance in South Carolina depends on the policies you choose, the unique risks your business faces, the value of your inventory and equipment, and other factors like your location, number of employees, and the size of your establishment. It will cost less to insure a single location than if you’re a multi-location grocer. The crime and weather risks in your location play a role in your insurance costs, as well.

An independent insurance agent can work with you one-on-one to determine the types and amounts of coverage you need. Your agent can get quotes from multiple insurance companies so you can evaluate the cost and coverage options and make the best choice.

How a South Carolina Independent Insurance Agent Can Help

While it’s possible to purchase grocery store insurance in South Carolina directly from an insurance company, and online quotes are certainly tempting as well, you might not get the tailored policies and personal service and advice that best serves your business needs.

A local independent insurance agent can help you develop a comprehensive grocery store insurance program. South Carolina independent insurance agents 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.