Retail
Offering Oklahomans Necessities
Insurance for Retail
The retail industry is an incredibly important part of Oklahoma’s business community. CompSource Mutual has been serving retailers for the better part of a century. Its top-notch team knows the risks that retail businesses face and can provide coverage and advice to suit its complexities.
Get the coverage that you need to protect your greatest assets – your business and your team. CompSource Mutual can offer you coverage that makes sense for the work you do at a fair price. Get a Quote
Interested to learn more? Read on to get answers to common questions and concerns about workers’ comp in the retail industry.
Working in retail
The retail industry encompasses a wide variety of store types and products. Clothing or sporting goods store workers frequently work in clean, safe indoor environments. These are typically customer-facing jobs that require workers to complete tasks such as answering customer questions, working at registers, or stocking shelves. This type of retail job is fairly low-risk. However, inherent dangers exist with handling heavy objects, lifting and unloading boxes, and repetitive motion injuries.
The retail industry also employs workers at outdoor locations. Outdoor workers frequently must navigate dangerous work environments due to exposure to risks like hazardous materials. Outdoor retail locations include automobile parts stores, lumberyards, garden supply stores, and auto dealers. Outdoor retail work frequently requires different skills than indoor retail work. Outdoor workers may need to use forklifts, move heavy pallets, drive cars, or lift heavy objects, such as tires or wheelbarrows. Outdoor retail jobs can involve a great deal of physical labor and, consequently, present workplace hazards. This is why purchasing insurance for retail business, particularly retail workers’ compensation insurance, is critically important.
Workers at convenience stores also face unique risks. Unlike clothing stores or gardening supply stores, convenience stores frequently remain open late at night. Long hours can present a greater risk of robbery, resulting in physical danger and long-lasting mental and emotional damage, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety. Additionally, employees who work night shifts are at increased risk of anxiety, depression, and overall impaired quality of life and sleep. These added risks underscore the importance of carrying convenience store insurance coverage.
Insurance for retail businesses
Running a retail business is a lot of work. Business owners must protect and support workers and employees, and ensure that product is secure. Commercial leases may even require that retail businesses have certain types of insurance to help protect their property.
Some common forms of insurance for retail businesses include:
- General liability insurance
- Product liability insurance
- Commercial property insurance
- Workers’ compensation insurance
- Business interruption insurance
New types of insurance for retail businesses are offered as novel risks are discovered. For example, e-commerce businesses can invest in cybersecurity insurance, which offers the business protection from risks like data breaches, hacking, and online theft. There are also certain types of insurance that may be sold as a package to specific types of retail operations, like convenience store insurance. Convenience store insurance might include property insurance, workers’ compensation insurance, and liability insurance. There are also specific packages that may contain fuel tank contamination insurance (if the convenience store is connected to a gas station) or liquor liability insurance (if they sell liquor).
Business owners should always have their certificate of coverage for each type of insurance readily available. This will help save time in the event of an insurance claim.
CompSource Mutual policyholders can easily request certificates of insurance online here: Request a Certificate of Insurance
Understanding workers’ compensation insurance for retail businesses
Although retail stores frequently offer low-risk work environments, accidents do happen. Retail employees are at risk for fatigue, repetitive motion injuries, strains, and slips or falls. Retail workers who work night shifts, such as convenience store workers and gas station attendants, may also be at risk from anxiety and armed robbery.
Known risks in the Retail Industry:
- Slips, trips, and falls
- Lifting injuries
- Sleep deprivation
- Robbery
Having a workers’ compensation policy is critical to protect a retail business against the unexpected. In fact, most states require that businesses carry workers’ compensation coverage – even small businesses like retail shops. These insurance policies are there to protect both the employer and employees. For the employee, workers’ comp can cover medical expenses, missed wages, and other incident-related costs for any covered accident, injury, or illness that arises out of occupational work. Workers’ comp coverage helps the employee get the medical attention they need, which in turn helps them return to work. For the business owner, having a workers’ comp policy can protect against potentially costly lawsuits arising from work-related accidents. Workers’ comp policies are usually “no-fault” policies, meaning that it is irrelevant whose fault the incident was. This helps take the focus off of blame or liability and facilitates a focus on the most important thing – helping the employee get necessary medical help. Workers’ compensation insurance for retail is an essential part of running a retail business.
Why CompSource Mutual
Retail work comes with inherent risks that can be protected against with top-tier workers’ compensation coverage. CompSource Mutual policyholders get specialized support and unmatched industry expertise from our team. Plus, we offer an extensive support system to help you enhance safety in your workplace. Learn more about our safety resources.
Product liability insurance isn’t merely a product guarantee or warranty. It protects businesses from the fallout that occurs in the event that a product causes injury or other damage to third parties. Consumers can be harmed by how a product is manufactured, designed, marketed, or misused. Because retail businesses specialize in selling products directly to consumers, this type of insurance for retail is frequently a part of a business’s protection plan.
Most retail stores carry general liability and commercial property insurance to protect the businesses against common risks, such as customer injuries and property damage. In most states, retail businesses are also required to carry retail workers’ comp insurance.
While shoplifting is normally not covered by a commercial insurance policy, theft is. Shoplifting often occurs during business hours without anyone even realizing it is taking place. Consequently, it’s hard to file a claim on that type of loss. Shoplifting is generally defined as a person taking something from a store without paying, typically for their personal use. Theft, on the other hand, may occur overnight or at a warehouse and is defined as the unauthorized taking of property, which may include large quantities of items (such as a whole pallet of goods).
If an injury or illness occurs at work or as the result of doing work-related duties, the employee must file a claim. Workers can typically connect with their human resources department to receive guidance on how to file for workers’ comp with the appropriate workers’ compensation insurance provider. Generally the process is to file a claim online, fill out a form, or call the provider directly.
Meet Our Safety Team
Are you committed to making your workplace safer? We’re here to make it easy for you. CompSource Mutual policyholders can get advice from our safety consultants and access personalized resources – it’s all absolutely free.
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OKLAHOMA CITY, OK
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