The bakery market in the US generates close to $30 billion every year, and the industry accounts for 2.1% of the US GDP. Hence, starting a bakery business is always a great option in the US. However, it is also important to focus on bakery insurance requirements. Having insurance for your bakery business will provide you protection against risks. As a result, you will be able to focus more on your business and not worry about probable risks.
In this article, you will learn about the major bakery insurance requirements. Here, the article discusses the essentials of bakery insurance, as well as the different types of insurance available for a bakery business. Furthermore, you will also learn about the major factors that affect the cost of bakery insurance. Hence, to learn more about bakery insurance options, read on to the end of the article.
Bakery Insurance Requirements: A General Overview
Whether you are starting your own business or buying a bakery franchise, you will need insurance in either case. For example, if things go wrong due to any unavoidable circumstance, the insurance will help your business to go up and running in no time. Furthermore, if you are in the process of creating a business plan for your bakery, you will also need to include your insurance details.
Various insurance companies offer special insurance options for bakeries, where the focus is on securing a bakery’s special needs. Furthermore, since you are starting a small business, you need insurance to cover for protection against any unique risks that you might face. Hence, when you are about to buy insurance for your bakery, make sure to discuss the policies with a legal expert.
Your bakery might be small, but it could face a variety of risks. Hence, it is important to protect your bakery financially beforehand. For example, kitchen fires, accidents inside the premises, delivery accidents, or any other factor can create situations that no one wishes for. These factors may also lead to high spending from your end. Also, it might even lead to the closure of your bakery.
Therefore, by having bakery insurance, you can ensure that you start your business as soon as possible. Hence, you can ensure normal operations faster. Basically, having insurance is as important as paying small business taxes to the IRS.
Bakery Insurance Requirements for Your Business
According to Business News Daily, “Small business insurance is a crucial investment for all startups. If you fail to cover your business properly, you can encounter devastating expenses down the line. While many small businesses assume only larger corporations require insurance, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Small businesses without insurance are taking dangerous risks.”
Hence, having insurance is one of the most essential aspects of your business. Here are some of the major reasons why you need to buy insurance before you start your business operations:
1. Business Insurance Offers Financial Protection from Disastrous Events
One of the most basic causes why businesses look for insurance is property damage. Furthermore, as you are opening a bakery, you will surely have various equipment, mixers, ovens, and refrigerators.
A disastrous situation can cause a lot of damage to the property, and you could end up having a big financial loss. Hence, your business has bakery insurance requirements. This will also ensure you get back on track with your business as fast as possible.
You need to understand that even after you start your business after a disastrous situation, you will face a loss of income and finances. Hence, insurance can also help you in dealing with tough times when you may have a loss of profits.
2. Insurance Will Offer You Liability Coverage
As you start a business, you will have to deal with customers and employee demands. Customer claims are a major factor for business insurance. For example, a customer might claim to have become sick after consuming your bakery items. Hence, by having insurance, you can protect yourself from lawsuits, settlements, and legal fees.
Moreover, a customer can also face an injury due to slips and falls or burns. Hence, in any such unavoidable circumstance where the customer sues you, general liability insurance can help cover medical expenses and legal costs.
On the other hand, you have to think of your employees, too, as they are prone to the risks and hazards of your bakery. Furthermore, they also deal with sharp knives, hot ovens, and heavy equipment. Hence, it is important to have workers’ compensation insurance, as it will provide financial protection for those employees who are injured during work. The insurance will help cover their lost wages and medical expenses.
3. You Can Manage Risks and Have Peace of Mind
By protecting your bakery business through insurance, you can ensure that your bakery has financial protection against unavoidable circumstances. Hence, you will have peace of mind, and you can focus more on running your business with ease.
Furthermore, your bakery insurance can also be a big tool for risk management. Additionally, the insurance company that you are working with can offer you various recommendations. These recommendations can help you improve your safety measures, which can further help you stay clear of accidents and claims.
4. Other Special Aspects
There are also other needs of your business that you might need to cover. For example, you might want to have coverage for your spoiled food, equipment, or power outages. Apart from that, you can also consider having civil liability insurance to have protection against data breaches.
Hence, if you have a comprehensive policy, you can solve a variety of bakery insurance requirements. As a result, you can safeguard your business from a variety of financial problems. Thereby, you can focus on the profit and creative aspects of your business.
What Are the Types of Insurance Options for Bakeries?
Since the challenges of a bakery are diverse, you need to have an insurance policy that covers most of the aspects of your business. This applies to all bakeries, regardless of their sizes. Additionally, these factors are applicable to you even if you have a home bakery. Hence, you need to understand the unique needs of your business before you start looking for a bakery insurance option.
The following are some of the major types of insurance policies to consider if you want to buy insurance for your bakery:
1. General Liability Insurance
According to the Forbes Advisor, “General liability insurance protects a small business from claims of property damage and bodily injury. As a small business owner, you may be legally responsible if a person’s property gets damaged while visiting your business, company or store. And if your business is responsible for someone’s injuries (not including an employee’s injuries), general liability insurance would pay for their medical bills and lost wages too.”
With general liability insurance, you can get coverage for claims related to property damage and bodily injuries. This might happen due to injuries from your bakery operations or your bakery products. As a result, with the help of this policy, you can get protection against lawsuits on your premises. On the other hand, you can also get protection if your customers somehow get ill after the consumption of baked goods.
2. Commercial Property Insurance
This insurance protects your building and physical assets after they face any sort of damage or destruction. For example, if there is a fire accident or damage due to natural disasters, this insurance will offer you protection. Here, physical assets include your bakery building, equipment, furniture, inventory, fixtures, etc.
However, according to USNews.com, “The cost of commercial property insurance coverage depends on several factors, including but not limited to the value of your building and physical assets. The amount of coverage and your industry affect policy cost, as do the year of construction, location of your facility, and your past claims history.”
3. Workers’ Compensation Insurance
In most states in the US, it is mandatory to have worker’s compensation insurance, especially if you run a bakery.
Investopedia adds – “Requirements for workers’ compensation vary from state to state, and not all employees are covered in some states. Some states, for example, exclude small businesses from the mandate for coverage. Others have different requirements for various industries. The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) maintains a summary of each state’s worker compensation requirements.”
Basically, this helps in cases of financial problems in the bakery or for any injury to an employee while on the job. The insurance covers the medical expenses and lost wages for the employee.
4. Product Liability Insurance
A customer might consume a baked good and get sick from food poisoning or anything else. If the customer starts claiming for the harm, product liability insurance will cover it. Furthermore, if you deal with baked items that contain allergens, this insurance coverage is greatly important for you.
5. Business Income Insurance
According to The Hartford, “Business income insurance to help replace lost income if you can’t operate because of covered property damage. So, if a fire damages your building, destroys your baked goods or you can’t open while repairs are done, this insurance can help cover your lost income. This coverage can help pay ongoing expenses like bills, rent, and payroll.”
Hence, even after unexpected events, you will be able to cover your lost income. As a result, you will not face a lot of financial damage and do not need to close down your bakery.
6. Equipment Breakdown Coverage
If you face any machinery failure or equipment damage during your bakery operations, you will need coverage for them as well. The equipment breakdown coverage insurance helps you with the repair costs for these items. Hence, you will have minimal disruptions to your operations.
Bakery Insurance Requirements: Factors That Affect Insurance Costs
The Forbes Advisor adds – “Small business insurance costs anywhere from about $14 to hundreds of dollars a month, depending on the coverage types you buy, such as general liability, commercial property, business interruption insurance, inland marine, cyber liability and/or workers compensation. If you purchase all these coverage types, you could pay around $368 a month.”
However, based on the bakery insurance requirements, the cost of an insurance option or a group of insurance options can vary as per these factors:
1. Location of the Bakery
The location of the bakery has a strong influence on the cost of the insurance. For example, the premiums are high in urban areas, areas with higher crime rates, and places where natural disasters occur more. On the other hand, insurance premiums are low in rural areas.
2. Size and Revenue of the Bakery
The size and revenue of your bakery is a big factor for your business. Hence, it plays a big role in determining the cost of your insurance. The larger your bakery is, the more the cost of your insurance. This is because bakery insurance requirements increase as you have more employees, more space, and higher revenue.
3. Claims History
If you do not have a history of previous incidents and claims, there is a higher risk for insurers. Hence, the cost of insurance for your bakery business will increase accordingly. Therefore, your history of claims and incidents plays a big role in determining the cost of insurance.
4. Business Experience
An experienced business will face less insurance charges than an inexperienced one. This is because the experienced business has a proven track record for safe practices within its operations. However, if you want to be accurate about the specific needs of your bakery, the best option is to reach out to the insurance expert team of the insurance company. They will be able to provide coverage for your business.
Wrapping Up
Hope this article was helpful for you to get a better understanding of various bakery insurance requirements. Furthermore, you also learned about how your business can benefit from insurance. However, you will also need to make sure that your insurance covers the areas in which you need protection.
What insurance options do you think work best for a bakery business? Consider sharing your ideas and opinions in the comments below.
RECOMMENDED READING:
