Liquor Store Insurance & Liquor Business Insurance

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Sometimes you don’t feel like going to a bartender or a night club for a drink and what you want to do instead is head to the liquor store for some beverage that will gather friends for a fun night.  

Liquor store owners seem to have it easy, but have you ever thought about the effort that goes into running it?

There are considerations when running a liquor business, but insurance is one of the most crucial parts of ensuring that it runs smoothly for a long time. We’re going to cover different kinds of insurance policies that you may want to take out when running a liquor business. We’ll also explain what goes into determining the cost of your insurance and we’ll cover three of the top liquor store insurance companies out there.

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Liquor Store Liability Insurance

The first thing to do to protect your liquor store and ascertain that it stays operating in the future is to get general liability insurance. General liability insurance for liquor stores will take care of all personal injury claims that customers will file against your business. 

It’s uncertain whether it’s caused by alcoholic drinks or not, but numerous research has proved that the presence of liquor stores increases the risk of pedestrian injuries in an area. For example, the research published at the Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research states that “each additional off-premise alcohol outlet was associated with a 12.3% increase in the rate of neighborhood pedestrian injury when controlling for convenience and corner stores and other confounders' '. 

Other researchers also explored the relationship between customer and employee injuries and violent crimes. One good example is the research published at the American Journal of Public Health, which showed that customer injuries are 31% more likely to happen when a violent crime happens at a liquor store and similar establishments. 

Before showing you some real troublesome situations where general liability insurance can help, let’s first understand how alcoholic drinks can contribute to violent crimes. The disinhibition hypothesis explains why alcohol makes people aggressive. According to it, alcoholic drinks disrupt brain functions. In effect,  the person might easily misunderstand social cues and interpret them as a threat, thereby leading to aggression. 

At this point, let’s take a look at some situations where liquor stores found themselves at a sticky spot:

Business Interruption Insurance and Commercial Property Insurance

Business interruption and commercial property coverage are also useful for a liquor store and are usually part of liquor business insurance. These policies provide the money to cover lost profits and repair costs of damaged structures. One situation where these insurance policies become very helpful is when someone crashes their car into your liquor store. In fact, this happens commonly. Here are some examples:

• A 58-year old woman crashed into a liquor store after trying to run over her partner with who she was not on good terms. Reports state that the damage to the liquor store amounts to $25,000.

• A car crashed into a liquor store at West Kelowna damaging the glass panel and a metal beam, which is possibly one of the structures holding the door or the panel frame of the building.

• A car rammed into a Burso Liquor Store destroying $10,000 worth of stocks.

• A liquor store in Clarksville was beyond recognition after a car bulldozed it. Reports state that the driver of the vehicle was an old man suffering from a medical crisis while driving. 

• Kirch Liquor Store sustained damage amounting to $25,000 - $30,000 after one car in a collision accident rammed into it. 

Liquor Store Insurance Costs

David Reischer, a personal injury attorney, clearly explains the principle behind the pricing of liquor stores:

"The cost for liquor liability insurance varies per state and also can be affected by the percentage of gross sales that comprises liquor sales. A tavern that is predominantly operating from liquor sales will be more expensive for liquor liability insurance than a grocery store that only sells a small amount of liquor. Policies can range from a couple of hundred dollars to a couple of thousand dollars depending upon the volume of liquor-related sales."

Best Liquor Store Insurance Companies

If you want to find the best insurance companies for a liquor store quickly, then you’re in luck. We’ve gone ahead and found three of the best companies that you turn to.

But we don’t expect you to simply take our word for it without any proof, and to give you a better idea of what each company has to offer, we’ve created in-depth reviews of each that will allow you to see  what they can do for you.We’ve even included a list of their pros and cons and defined which liquor stores they’re best for.

Progressive Liquor Store Insurance

Progressive is one of the oldest insurance companies in the USA, and while they may not match the longevity of companies like The Hartford, they still have plenty of experience. What makes Progressive unique is that they stay true to their name by being one of the most ever-evolving companies in the field.

Progressive Policy Details

Progressive offers insurance to liquor stores under its Liquor Liability program, and they offer either separate liquor liability coverage or as an add-on to their general liability insurance. This coverage can be coupled with other insurance policies from Progressive like their commercial property coverage.

Pros

• Affordable

• Easy to get a quote online

• Quick to respond to claims

Cons

• No bundled insurance with liquor liability

Average cost: $81

Best for: Managing your policy online

Our rating: 5/5

The Hartford Liquor Store Insurance

The Hartford is one of the oldest insurance companies in the United States, established in the early- to mid-1800s, and the company has made it through some of the toughest times in the nation’s history. As you would expect from the company’s name, they are based in Hartford, Connecticut.

The Hartford Policy Details

Just like Progressive, The Hartford offers liquor liability insurance separate from its other policies but that doesn’t mean that you can’t get their other coverage, as well. Unfortunately, you can’t implement liquor liability into a traditional BOP, so you may end up spending a bit more for your coverage.

Pros

• Reasonable price

• Custom coverage limits

• Quotes available online

Cons

• Doesn't offer BOP with liquor liability

Average cost: $82

Best for: Medium-sized liquor stores

Our rating: 5/5

Feingold Liquor Store Insurance

While Feingold Insurance has existed since 1935, in its current incarnation as The Feingold Companies, the business has been running since 2002. This agency mainly does business in Massachusetts, and they still benefit immensely from their near-century of being in the insurance industry.

Feingold Policy Details

Unlike the previous two companies, Feingold offers bundles to liquor stores that include liquor liability coverage, building coverage, crime coverage, and business personal property coverage. Feingold’s specialists are also willing to work with you to determine what kind of insurance you need most.

Pros

• Bundle deals cut down the price

• Experienced agents

• Feingold specializes in working with liquor stores

Cons

• Expensive

Average cost: $91

Best for: Larger liquor stores

Our rating: 5/5