Why do butchers need insurance?
An injured customer
You might have regular private customers picking up a weekly joint of beef or corporate clients who make large orders for their catering or restaurant businesses. Either way, accidents can happen.
A visitor could slip on a wet floor, knock their head on the counter and need a hospital visit. Public liability insurance can help butcher shop owners to defend against court cases and pay compensation.
Equipment theft
Butcher blocks, knives and bone saws are all pieces of kit that contribute to the smooth running of your business, so protecting them with cover could prove important.. When you leave the butcher shop overnight, a break-in leads to the theft of your electric meat slicer and till. W
ithout these items, trade slows down. Including business contents insurance in your butcher shop policy helps to pay for replacements when the unexpected happens.
Employee injuries
In the run-up to holidays such as Christmas, working as a butcher can come with pressure. You might hire a few extra pairs of hands to help process turkeys and smoke joints of ham to perfection – but the buzz could turn sour when a new staff member accidentally injures themselves while using your meat mincing machine. If they claim you didn’t train them properly, you could need to defend yourself in court or pay compensation.
Employers’ liability insurance helps to provide protection for butchers against the impact of employee injuries.
What insurance is available for butchers?
Public liability insurance
For butchers, public liability insurance can help to shield against the risks that working alongside people can create. Even the smallest of butcher shops have a responsibility to people outside the business – whether these are customers, couriers or visitors from the local farm. Businesses may be liable for injuries and property damage caused by something as simple as uneven flooring, or a stack of boxes that topple.
Public liability insurance can help to cover compensation pay-outs and legal costs if someone takes action, while product liability insurance does the same if customers claim your meat, eggs or pre-made pies caused their food poisoning.
Business contents insurance
Business contents insurance can help support a butcher shop against the risk of loss, damage or theft of items stored inside. Someone might break in and steal your computer equipment, or a burst pipe could lead your dry aging meat maturing cabinet to be damaged beyond repair.
Business contents insurance from Hiscox can cover butchers for theft even in normal business hours, accidental damage, plus £5,000 worth of visitors’ personal property.
Employers’ liability insurance
Processing meat can be labour-intensive – few people know this better than you. From slicing and dicing to hanging prime cuts and managing deliveries, there’s a great deal to do. Employing others is often the solution, but it’s worth knowing this can mean you need employers’ liability insurance by law (external link).
Even if you’re usually your butcher shop’s sole employee, this rule can still apply. Employers’ liability insurance helps to pick up costs if someone claims for a work-related illness or injury.
Some butchers also opt for cyber and data insurance to cover cyber breaches as part of their commercial policy. Legal protection may also help if you need to negotiate your rights – as part of contractual disputes, for instance.
Not sure what insurance you need? Tell us more about your butcher shop
Build tailored coverInsurance for butchers: FAQs
What insurance does a butcher need?
All butchers are different, as are butcher shops, so insurance needs can vary. As a butcher, you might need public liability insurance if you have contact with members of the public. Employers’ liability insurance can also be a legal requirement for butchers who employ others – even casual or seasonal support staff.
Depending on your situation, you might choose to add varying levels of property insurance. Working digitally can leave you exposed to cyber risks, so butchers who process orders online may also opt for cyber and data insurance.
Are my retail premises and stock covered under butcher insurance?
Yes, your retail premises and stock can be covered under butcher insurance from Hiscox – but it may be wise to check you’ve added the right sections to your policy.
If you own your butcher shop premises, then commercial property insurance is the type of cover that can help if there’s damage to the building itself. Business contents insurance can insure what’s inside, including stock such as meats and cooked goods. In the event your stock was damaged or stolen, we may be able to support with replacements at the cost price to you.
Meanwhile, portable equipment insurance helps with repairs and replacements if a laptop or work phone is lost, damaged or stolen away from your base.
Equipment breakdown insurance helps if a mechanical or electrical fault causes problems for your butcher business.
I use my van to transport goods – can insurance cover this?
Hiscox business contents insurance provides cover for goods and money in transit, so may help support a butcher’s delivery work. If your goods or samples, including meat, pies and eggs, are stolen from your van, this cover could help to pay replacement costs.
To secure cover against loss, theft or damage to portable equipment such as your work phone, you may also choose to add portable equipment insurance.
Hiscox business insurance can be tailored to help protect against the liability risks you or your staff might encounter during deliveries. Claims relating to your van itself or the act of driving do not fall under business insurance coverage, however, so you’ll require separate insurance for this.
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