Best Retail Business Insurance

Nationwide is the best retail business insurance provider with a MoneyGeek score of 4.80 out of 5. It earned top marks for competitive rates and quality customer service, making it an excellent choice for retail stores seeking comprehensive coverage. 

We also recommend comparing quotes from biBerk and NEXT to find the right fit for your retail shop's specific needs.

Note: We based all scores on a retail business with two employees across professional liability, general liability, workers' comp and BOP policies.

Nationwide works well for most retail businesses, but some specialty retailers benefit from other insurers. NEXT offers better rates for candle shops and florists at $41 monthly with strong coverage across all categories. Jewelry store owners save the most with The Hartford, which provides comprehensive protection starting at just $33 per month.

Nationwide offers the cheapest retail business insurance at $43 monthly ($517 annually) with the lowest rates for general liability and business owner's policies. For workers' compensation, NEXT provides better value. 

The Hartford has the lowest professional liability rates at $49 monthly, making it the most affordable option for retail stores needing E&O coverage.

In general, retail business insurance costs are the following for the four most popular coverage types:

• General Liability: $66 on average per month, ranging from $57 to $79, depending on the state
• Workers' Comp: $35 on average per month, ranging from $30 to $40, depending on the state
• Professional Liability (E&O): $55 on average per month, ranging from $47 to $63, depending on the state
• BOP Insurance: $98 on average per month, ranging from $83 to $117, depending on the state

The required coverage for retail business owners includes workers' compensation in most states and commercial auto if you own business vehicles. Beyond these, general liability and commercial property insurance also protect against the everyday risks retail stores face.

• Workers' Compensation Insurance: Most states require workers' comp if you have employees. When your cashier strains their back restocking shelves or your store manager slips on a wet floor while mopping, it pays medical bills and replaces two-thirds of lost wages during recovery. Coverage includes unlimited medical expenses as mandated by state law.
• Commercial Auto Insurance: Required in nearly every state for retail-owned delivery vans or pickup trucks. When your vehicle transporting merchandise to customers causes an accident, it handles injury claims and property damage. Most retail shops carry $500,000 to $1 million in liability limits to protect against serious collision lawsuits from multi-car accidents.
• General Liability Insurance: Protects your retail shop from customer injuries and product liability claims. When a shopper trips over merchandise displays and breaks their wrist, or a toy you sold injures a child, it handles legal defense and settlements. Most retailers carry $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate limits, which are standard requirements for commercial leases.
• Commercial Property Insurance: Covers inventory, fixtures, equipment and your building against fire, theft and vandalism. When thieves break into your boutique overnight and steal $40,000 in clothing, or a burst pipe floods your electronics store, it replaces damaged merchandise and repairs property. Small retailers typically need $100,000 to $500,000 based on inventory value.
• Business Owner's Policy (BOP): Bundles general liability and commercial property at a 15% to 25% discount compared to separate policies. When your gift shop faces a customer slip-and-fall lawsuit and fire damage in the same policy period, one BOP handles both claims. A typical package includes $1 million liability per occurrence plus property coverage matching your total inventory and equipment values.
• Cyber Liability Insurance: Important for retail stores processing credit card transactions or storing customer data. When hackers breach your point-of-sale system and steal customer payment information, it pays for mandatory breach notifications, credit monitoring services and regulatory fines. Retailers should carry $100,000 minimum, with high-volume stores needing $500,000 to cover data breach costs affecting thousands of customers.
• Business Interruption Insurance: Replaces lost income when fire, flooding or other covered damage forces your retail store to close temporarily. If a kitchen fire shuts down your home goods shop for two months during peak holiday shopping season, it pays rent, employee wages and lost profits. Smart retailers carry three to six months of typical revenue to survive extended rebuilding periods.
• Professional Liability Insurance (E&O): Covers retailers providing specialized advice beyond basic product sales. When your computer store's technician recommends the wrong equipment that causes a customer's business data loss, or your jewelry store's appraisal contains errors leading to financial harm, E&O insurance handles the lawsuit. Specialty retailers offering consulting typically need $500,000 to $1 million in coverage.
• Commercial Crime Insurance: Protects against employee theft, shoplifting and cash robbery that costs retailers $50 billion annually industrywide. When your assistant manager embezzles from the register or organized thieves steal high-value merchandise during a smash-and-grab, it reimburses losses. Retailers selling jewelry, electronics or designer goods should carry $25,000 to $100,000 based on their most valuable inventory items.

Getting business insurance for your retail company involves comparing quotes, evaluating coverage options and understanding your specific risk factors to find the best policy.

Protecting your retail business starts with understanding which types of business insurance you need: general liability, property, business interruption and crime coverage form your foundation. 

Nationwide is the best business insurance provider for retailers, earning a 4.8 MoneyGeek score for strong service and competitive rates. At $43 monthly, it's also the cheapest business insurance option, with general liability starting at just $30 per month.

We answer frequently asked questions about retail company insurance:

We selected the best business insurer for retail companies based on the following criteria:

• Affordability (50% of score): The lower a company's costs compared to the competition based on our base profile for four core coverage types, the better the company performs.
• Customer service (30% of score): We scored providers on overall customer satisfaction using industry studies, customer review forum ratings and public forum sentiment analysis from sites like Reddit.
• Coverage (15% of score): We scored business insurance providers for this category based on the flexibility, payment and actual coverage options.
• Financial stability (5% of score): Using financial stability industry ratings from companies like AM Best and Moody's, we created an overall rating to judge how likely companies are to pay out claims compared to the competition.

All pricing in this article is based on the following base profile to represent the vast majority of small businesses in all states:

• Three-person business with two employees
• Coverage: $1 million per occurrence and $2 million total per year for all but BOP, which includes the same coverage plus $5,000 of business property coverage
• $150,000 in payroll
• $300,000 annual revenue