Shop Insurance

An Experienced Provider of Commercial Insurance Cover

Whatever your business may be, a High Street shop, an out-of-town retail outlet or an online shop, Performance Direct has a choice of excellent policies that will keep you covered. From hairdressers, beauty salons, newsagents and corner shops, to food shops and delis, coffee shops, hardware shops, chemists, clothes shops, toy shops and hardware shops, all manner of retail premises, we insure thousands of businesses across the
UK and it can help you find the right insurance cover for your business. 

At Performance Direct we can tailor insurance to your needs, to your fixtures and fittings, and your concerns to make sure your insurance is right for you and your business. Insuring with us, you can choose the exact cover that you require for your retail premises and, potentially, omit those elements of cover you don't need.

The Elements of Shop Insurance Policies 

The basics.

In this instance, we’re are discussing insurance for shops and retail outlets that are run from commercial properties. If, however and for example, you have a restaurant or a pub this may require specific specialist cover rather than shop insurance. Call Performance Direct and we will be able to help you in terms of the classification of your business regarding its insurance needs 

What are the main elements of shop insurance?

Public Liability Insurance:

Since you are responsible for every customer and visitor to your premises, public liability insurance is very important – ask us for more details when you arrange your policy.

As the owner of your shop, it's your responsibility to ensure that customers and staff are safe and that you are covered with the appropriate insurance should accidents happen.

Public liability insurance will cover loss damage or injury to any third party on your premises. For example, if someone comes to your shop and falls over a bucket left carelessly on the floor buy a window cleaner your public liability insurance will cover this eventuality. 

Employers Liability Insurance:

if you have contractors, casual workers, occasional staff and employees it's a legal imperative that you carry employers liability insurance to ensure that your staff and visitors are covered, should they become injured or unwell while working for you or visiting your premises.

Professional indemnity insurance:

this will protect you and your business against claims of professional negligence should they arise from third parties. 

Shop contents insurance:

Anything permanently fixed down to your building will be covered by your buildings insurance, however, anything that isn't fixed in the building needs to be covered by shop contents insurance. For further information speak to the specialist team at Performance Direct and we can help guide you through any questions that you may have regarding shop contents insurance. 

Business interruption insurance. Obviously a very important element of shop cover, business interruption policies cover you for loss of earnings and will pay any outgoings, such as overheads and wages should your business have to cease trading.

There are various other extras you can include within your policies; these may include cover for business equipment and any legal cover that you may incur. Businesses vary of course and so do our shop insurance policies. 

Different shops. Different insurance needs.

Although Performance Direct covers many different kinds of shop insurance, there are certain types of retail premises that occur regularly in our portfolio of clients. One such example is clothes shops; not only are clothes shops owners’ responsible and liable in the same way as other shops they often have a particular concerns regarding their insurance, namely stock and damage to stock as a result of accidents fires and floods. In the case of light smoke damage, for example, a clothes shop owner may have to replace their entire stock while another retailer may not. From menswear retailers to bridal shops, leisurewear retailers, children’s clothes shops, fashion retailers, High Street fashion retailers, school uniform retailers and knitwear shops, Performance Direct can arrange cover for them all.

Experienced Commercial Insurance Brokers

Performance Direct insurance is a part of Grove & Dean Group, family company based in Romford, Essex, which was formed in 1974. Over the past 45 years the company has developed an excellent reputation in the field of commercial insurance and we now insure business owners, shop owners and commercial clients across the UK. Our friendly team represents the perfect mix between a small business offering bespoke and dedicated customer service and a large company with the latest computer systems ensuring our clients receive the best service and the finest cover at all times. 

As well as providing shop insurance and commercial insurance Performance Direct is also well known as an insurer of commercial vehicles, such as vans, and we have many thousands of van owners on our books, many of whom also, of course, own shops and retail outlets. 

The Changing British High Street

Walk around any British High Street and you'll find a huge variety of shops and retail outlets, from restaurants and coffee bars (of which there are now many thousands) to food shops and delicatessens.

So many different specialist food shops now exist in the UK, from the more traditional Italian food shops, to French, ethnic and street food shops. The High Street in the UK will also generally have a selection of home shops, gift shops and a selection of clothes shops. 

Although the British High Street has changed massively in the last twenty, and even five years, it still remains a hub for local communities and local shops remain at the heart of their towns.

As a result of the experience we've gained over nearly 50 years in business Performance Direct can provide expert help and guidance for shop owners regarding their insurance, employer’s liability cover, professional indemnity insurance, fixtures and fittings cover and everything they'll need to ensure they have peace of mind running their business.

For those with out of town commercial premises in shopping parks and retail cities, large operations obviously also require insurance and we can provide cover for these larger outlets as well as smaller High Street shops. 

Performance Direct Insurance is based at Tollgate House at the head of the iconic and famous Romford Market Square in Essex. Romford itself is a vibrant shopping town with a large shopping centre and many more traditional shops and restaurants.

In recent years the city centre has been transformed as a retail hub. Performance Direct provides insurance from many shops in the area as well as garages and other service industries. 

Insurance for Online Businesses

Although in recent years many shops have closed or moved online, Performance Direct can still provide an excellent insurance service for these new types of businesses.

Although online shop owners may not have the same High Street premises they did in the past they will still hold stock, perhaps have fixtures and fittings, and require insurance in the event of fire flood and other sorts of damage.

Such businesses are also liable to theft, and if employees or other tradespeople are working with the business, the business owner will still have to seek out professional liability insurance and indemnity cover. In addition, the legal cover that we can provide as part of our shop insurance policies may also be relevant. 

So, although the world may have changed and we are all moving online, insurance is still an absolute necessity for every business. Whatever the nature of your retail business, be it High Street, retail park or online will have the cover for you and be able to save you money on your shop insurance cover. 

The History of Shop Cover

Since the 1970s, retail and commercial premises insurance has stayed roughly the same.

However, the nature of businesses and the cover provided for those businesses has changed. For example where in the 1970s we may have been insuring what may be described as more traditional businesses like green grocers, stationers and clothes shops, in more recent years whole new breed of High Street shop has come into being.

The main change (certainly in the last 20 years) has been the growth in cafe culture and the number of entertainment businesses on the High Street.

Whereas in the past perhaps a single tea shop may have been based on the High Street – along with perhaps an occasional restaurant – these days it's not uncommon to find many, many coffee shops and all sorts of snack food shops on the average British High Street. 

As a result our insurance policies are now more tailored towards businesses of this nature , businesses where customers will spend large amounts of time within the premises consuming items they have bought. Obviously, of course, shops have changed too.

Whereas in the 1970s you might struggle to find a business selling computers and telecoms in any shape or form, such outlets are now a mainstay of the British High Street.

Not only are computer shops and telecoms shops now a common site, computer exchange shops and all sorts of other mobile-related businesses are now popular. 

In addition, again over the last 10 years, many more small supermarkets have come back into the High Street. In the 1970s this was common too but then during the 80s and 90s supermarkets moved out of the High Street and into large retail parks and bespoke purpose built locations.

However, the need for more and more local convenience has meant that all the major brands Tesco, Sainsbury's, Waitrose, Marks & Spencer, plus the new discounters such as ALDI and Lidl have all engage with the High Street. In this way Performance Direct is able to offer insurance policies to a huge range of businesses old and new on our High Street. 

Looking for insurance for your shop. Get in touch

If you have a shop or retail premises and looking for insurance or simply advice on the insurance that you should have, whatever that insurance may be, contact Performance Direct today.

Our expert team will be glad to help you and to assist with any queries you may have. Over the past near 50 years we've dealt with all sorts of different scenarios and challenges, so we have the experience and expertise to help in almost every situation. 

Whatever your needs and whatever your business, even if you sell items and run a shop it is unlike any other, give Performance Direct a ring or go on-line for a cheap shop insurance quote and we’ll find you the policy which is best for your needs your budget and your requirements. 

Simply give us a call or go online. For more information, our opening times are provided on the page above and we will be delighted to help you and to give you a standard of service that we are rightly proud of. 

Whatever shop or retail premises you own, be it a clothes shop, book shop, a toy shop, a shoe shop, hardware shop, a lighting shop, an electrical shop, a computer shop, a mobile phone shop, a chemist or any other commercial operation, you can be sure of finding the best insurance cover at the keenest price with Performance Direct insurance. 

The past couple of years have been uniquely challenging for the retail industry and we hope that our professional swift and expert service will help retailers and shop owners to find the best insurance cover at the best possible prices and to support their needs now and into the future.