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Butcher Shop Insurance: Quotes Start From $5

Running a business where you serve people food often means exposing yourself to plenty of liability. This is as true for sandwich shops as it is for ice cream parlors. If you want to make sure that your business remains safe even if something goes wrong, you’ll need to have the right insurance policy.

For today’s guide, we will discuss the basics that you need to know about insurance for butchers that. Then, we’ll explore the various forms of insurance that are available, discuss the amount that you can expect to pay for coverage, and we’ll also cover some of the top insurance companies for butchers. Consider getting insured today, because risks can cause significant problems when you’re starting a butcher business or growing an existing one.

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Butcher Liability Insurance

Liability insurance primarily offered as general liability insurance is a common coverage you’ll find available for businesses like butcher shops. This is because liability insurance accounts for a broader range of exposures than other forms of coverage, making it a lot more versatile than some alternatives.

As the name suggests, general liability insurance is a type of insurance designed to pay for costs when you’re held liable for damages sustained by someone else. For example, if your business operations inflicted injuries to a third party (vendor, customer, visitor, etc.), this insurance will payout for that person’s medical bills.

Butcher liability insurance can also pay out if someone ends up sustaining property damage while they’re at your butchery shop. This can be as simple as someone slipping and dropping their phone, and butcher liability insurance would cover the claim for phone repair. 

Additionally, general liability insurance for butcher shops doesn’t only take care of property damage or personal injuries. It has add-ons that cover other claims from third parties. 

Coverage Function 

Advertising Injury Coverage 
Your butcher shop might inflict damage to someone’s reputation. It might also face accusations of copying another business’s name, trademark, logo, or slogan. Advertising injury coverage is an add-on to general liability insurance that covers lawyer fees, payment orders, and other legal expenses when your butcher shop is sued for slander, libel, copyright infringement, and other forms of advertising or reputational harm 

Rented Premises Liability Coverage 
Rented premises liability coverage is useful if you’re just renting the building used as a butcher shop. What this general liability insurance add-on does is reimburse the property owner on your behalf if a rented space becomes damaged due to fire 


Keep in mind that butcher liability insurance has other different types aside from general liability insurance. Another option is public liability insurance which also covers personal injuries and property damage claims third parties file. 


Public Liability Insurance for Butcher Shops 

Again, public liability insurance also covers claims from third parties who file a personal injury claim and property damage claim against your business. Its basic function is similar to general liability insurance. However, you should understand that compared to general liability, public liability insurance can’t be added with rented premises liability coverage or advertising injury coverage. 


Product Liability Insurance for Butcher Shops 

You shouldn’t forget about product liability insurance too. Product liability insurance will take care of attorney fees, compensatory payments, and other legal expenses when a client files a claim because your butcher shop delivered low-quality meat which resulted in food poisoning and other illnesses.   Note that some carriers underwrite product liability insurance as an add-on to general liability insurance. 

If you’re looking for more comprehensive liability coverage, then get general liability insurance and product liability insurance. Public liability insurance is optional and we advise you only purchase this if you think that the coverage general liability insurance provides for your business is too much. 


Commercial Property Insurance for Butcher Shops 

You spent a lot on your butcher shop and imagine how much you’ll lose if something happens to it. A fire or extreme weather might destroy your butcher shop. It’s also possible for vandals, thieves, burglars, fire, and extreme weather to damage its structures. And so, get commercial property insurance that provides protection against:

Building DestructionBuilding Damage
If fire or extreme weather destroys your butcher shop, commercial property insurance will reimburse your losses up to the value of the building destroyed so that you can have it rebuilt once again  If fire, theft, vandalism, burglary, and other covered perils cause major or minor damage to your butcher shop’s building, commercial property insurance will reimburse your losses up to the value of the damaged structures


Insurance companies allow you to get more from commercial property insurance at an additional cost.  Invest more on premiums an enjoy the additional protection these inclusions to commercial property insurance provides:

CoverageFunction

Stocks and Contents Coverage
Unsold meat as well as office furniture, documents, and other valuable items will become damaged or lost due to fire, theft, vandalism, and other covered perils. Commercial property insurance added with stocks and contents coverage will reimburse your losses in such a situation

Business Equipment and Tools Coverage

Inside your butcher shop are expensive equipment or tools such as meat grinders, meat cutters, meat slicers, refrigerators, and more. When these become damaged or lost due to fire, theft, vandalism, and other covered perils, commercial property insurance having business and equipment and tools coverage will reimburse your losses 

Food Contamination and Spoilage Coverage
Commercial property insurance for butcher shops includes food contamination and spoilage coverage. Food contamination coverage will cover losses if the meat in your butcher shop is spoiled due to power outage, mechanical breakdown/failure, employee oversight,  or equipment breakdown/failure. On the other hand, food spoilage coverage kicks in if the meat gets contaminated due to poor food processing, mishandling, and other related causes. Food spoilage coverage will cover PR costs, replacement of contaminated stocks, and  cleaning of contaminated equipment


Replacement Cost vs Actual Cash Value 

Commercial property insurance has two types - actual cash value and replacement cost. The table below briefly explains their difference:

Actual Cash Value Replacement Cost
Actual cash value commercial property insurance will reimburse your losses based on the depreciated value of your butcher shop’s scheduled property. For example, if its $1 million building depreciated 5% in 5 years and got destroyed, commercial property insurance will only give $500,000Replacement cost commercial property insurance is the better option because it will reimburse your losses without taking the depreciated value of your butcher shop’s property into consideration. If its $1 million building depreciated 5% in 5 years and got destroyed, you’ll receive $1 million also - an amount that’s equal to the building’s original value 

Butcher Shop  Business Owner’s Policy

As a butcher, you may need more than just liability insurance, or you may want your liability coverage to be bundled with other forms of insurance. A cost-effective way to do this is to avail butcher business insurance in the form of a business owner’s policy or BOP. 

BOPs usually feature two components, though they can sometimes have more. The first component is general liability insurance. The second component of BOPs is commercial property insurance policy. 

Options for BOPs vary per carrier, and that’s why you must compare quotes to find the best butcher insurance coming in the form of a business owner’s policy. For example, CoverWallet’s business owner’s policy comes with workers' compensation insurance. On the other hand, State Farm’s business owner’s policy includes equipment breakdown coverage, professional liability insurance, and business interruption insurance

Most insurance companies decide to offer BOPs to butcher shops as they already have the useful coverages needed. However, don’t fret because you won’t be forced to get an option that you don’t need. As the customer, you will always have the liberty to exclude butchery insurance options that are not useful. 

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Butcher Shop Workers Compensation Insurance

You can’t run a butcher shop without employees. And it’s your butcher shop’s job to look after the individuals who make sure that business operations run smoothly, goals are reached, and income is generated. 

Injuries are very common in butcher shops. Workers might contract a disease due to an unclean work environment. But most of the time, hazards employees face are amputations, cuts, and lacerations sustained while processing meat or cleaning cutting machines. 

If an employee gets injured due to work, it’s your butcher shop’s job to take care of the resulting expenses. We recommend you get workers' compensation insurance to avoid losing money when doing so. Workers' compensation covers the following:

CoverageFunction 

Employee Treatment/Medical Procedure 
Incidents in your butcher shop where an employee experiences amputation or deep cuts will surely need an emergency medical procedure. Also, long-term medical treatment will be required if an employee contracts hepatitis and other similar butcher shop diseases. One of the jobs of workers' compensation insurance is to cover the expenses of the medical treatment or procedure your injured or sick employee needs 

Hospitalization 
Hospitalization might be required especially if your employee’s injury or sickness is severe. Hospital bills aren’t cheap and cost $3,000 or more in most states. Another job of workers' compensation insurance is to cover the employee’s hospitalization 

Medication 
The attending physician will require your employee to continuously take medicines to prevent wounds from getting infected or sickness from getting severe. Workers' compensation insurance also functions to cover the expenses for the medication your employee needs 

Rehabilitation 

Workers compensation insurance covers expenses if your employee needs rehabilitation to fully recover from his work-related injury or sickness

Lost Income Compensation 
Your employee might not be able to work for a while due to his work-related injury or sickness. It’s also the job of workers' compensation insurance to compensate your employee's lost income. Lost income compensation is equal to two-thirds or 67% of the average weekly wage


Death Benefits 
If your employee dies because of a work-related injury or disease, workers' compensation insurance will cover funeral payments, financial aid to dependents, and other types of death benefits 


Butchery Insurance

Butchery insurance is usually similar to butcher shop insurance, but it can sometimes apply to larger businesses depending on where you purchase this coverage. Some companies will sell a separate butchery insurance policy for slaughterhouses and large-scale meat processing operations.

This usually means that the insurance will have a higher coverage limit and that it will probably be more expensive because of what we mentioned earlier. Large businesses require larger insurance premiums because of the risks involved in working with them. However, in some cases, butcher shop insurance and butchery insurance terms pertaining to the same insurance product 

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Butcher Shop Insurance Cost

The cost of butcher shop insurance is dependent on a wide range of factors, and it tends to be a little pricier than other kinds of business insurance for a few different reasons. The first reason is that you’re selling things that people consume, which automatically makes you a bit more of a risk to an insurance company.

The nature of raw meat also means that if it isn’t handled properly, you can be held liable for serious medical expenses on the part of the people who consumed the tainted meat. Aside from these factors, there are a few things about your specific business that you’ll need to consider when figuring out how much your insurance will cost.

The size of your butcher’s business is one thing that you’ll have to consider when buying insurance. Larger businesses almost always have higher insurance costs than smaller ones because they simply see a larger number of clients come through their doors each day, increasing the risk of something going wrong.

Aside from the size of your business, you’ll also want to consider your history in the butchery industry. If your business is new or you have a poor track record of keeping your customers healthy, insurance companies will be hesitant to give you a good rate because of the risk you pose to them.

CompanyCost per monthCost per yearBest For
CoverWallet$32$384Butcher shop insurance quotes comparison online
NEXT$35$420Streamlined and digitized butcher shop insurance
Progressive$37$444Standard business owner’s policy for butcher shops
AXA$40$480Mobile Butchers
smei$47$564Butcher shop businesses with a high degree of risk
Average cost$38$456


As you can see from the table above, the average butcher shop insurance cost is around $38 monthly and $456 yearly for a $1 million general liability insurance. Keep in mind that these rates vary depending on multiple business-specific factors, such as locations, sales, and experience.


Also read: Social Worker Insurance: Liability, Malpractice - Quotes From $11


Compare Butcher Shop Insurance Quotes Online

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Best Butcher Shop Insurance Companies

Finding the best insurance company for a butcher shop may be a bit of a challenge due to the niche nature of this form of insurance. However, in many cases, you’ll find that insurance companies offer butcher shop coverage under more general policies like standard BOPs instead of more specialized and tailor-made policies.

We’ve gathered together some of the top insurance companies around for butcher shops, and we’ll cover everything you need to know about the companies themselves, their butcher insurance policies, and more. We’ll also explore how much their policies cost.


CoverWallet Butcher Shop insurance


Pros

  • Compare butcher shop insurance quotes online with a click of a button

  • Purchase insurance instantly

  • No lengthy talks with agents

  • Cancel a policy anytime

Cons

  • Sells the butcher shop insurance of insurance companies 


CoverWallet is an insurance broker that helps you find the best butcher shop insurance within minutes. Visit this company’s website and use its online quotes comparison platform to get the quotes of insurance companies offering comprehensive coverage for butcher shops. If you’re set on buying, there’s no need to contact a particular carrier offering the quote that you want because you can make the purchase instantly in CoverWallet’s website too. Additionally, you can manage insurance purchased via the MyCoverWallet app or website. 


Best for: Butcher shop insurance quotes comparison online

Average cost: $32 per month 

Our rating: 10/10


NEXT Butcher Shop Insurance 


Pros

  • Add additional insureds with no fees

  • No hidden charges

  • Fast to handle claims 

Cons

  • Some customers report that NEXT suddenly increased their rates without prior notice 


NEXT’s tailored butcher shop insurance includes workers' compensation insurance, general liability insurance, commercial auto insurance, and commercial property insurance. Also, you can purchase it in four insurance plans offering different amounts of insurance coverage for your business.  NEXT is known for its heavily digitized and streamlined insurance process. All transactions are done via the NEXT app or website. You don’t need to go to any NEXT office to pay premiums, file a claim, and cancel a policy. 


Best for: Streamlined and digitized butcher shop insurance

Average cost: $35 per month 

Our rating: 9/10


Progressive Butcher Shop Insurance


Pros

  • Responsive customer service representatives

Cons

  • Doesn’t have tailored butcher shop insurance though it covers butchers with its standard general liability insurance or business insurance policy


Based in Ohio, Progressive is one of the older insurance companies on this list, having been founded back in 1937 as a car insurance company. Since then, Progressive has expanded into other markets, including food and beverage, though some of these policies are handled by Progressive’s subsidiaries.

Progressive doesn’t offer a specific policy for butcher shops, but they allow you to get covered under their general business insurance policies. These are pretty standard BOPs that allow you to combine liability coverage with commercial property insurance, so don’t expect many add-ons that cater to the butchery industry in particular.


Best for: Standard business owner’s policy for butcher shops

Average cost: $37 per month 

Our rating: 8/10


AXA Butcher Insurance


Pros

  • Optional van insurance

  • Low minimum prices

  • Specialized coverage for butchers

Cons

  • A little complicated to get a quote


AXA is a French insurance company that operates multi-nationally because of its holdings in numerous regions around the world. AXA works through sub-firms that are based in places like the Middle East, North America, and Africa, and they offer many niche forms of business coverage.

AXA offers insurance for butchers under its Butchers and Fishmongers policy. In most cases, these policies include product liability cover (a must for most butchers), contents cover, and employee liability cover. Optional extras include van insurance and public liability coverage.


Best for: Mobile butchers

Average cost: $40 per month 

Our rating: 7/10 


smei Butcher Insurance


Pros

  • Great for high-risk businesses

  • Wide range of coverage options

  • Easy to get a quote

Cons

  • Expensive


If you’re looking for butcher insurance in England, you’ll probably want to opt for smei. This company specializes in working with a wide range of businesses, including those in the beauty industry, but they also have a specialized arm that is used to working in the food and drink industry.

This company offers coverage for butchers that may not be able to get a quote from other insurance companies. This includes high-risk businesses that are willing to pay more for coverage and start-up butchers. They offer content coverage, glass coverage, public and product liability insurance, money on-premises, and business interruption coverage.


Best for: Butcher shop businesses with a high degree of risk

Average cost: $47 per month 

Our rating: 6/10


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