How Do You Insure a Gun Store?

How Do You Insure a Gun Store or Gun Range?

Ensuring that your customers always feel safe in your FFL business is of the utmost importance for a gun store or gun range business owner. For those who are looking to purchase and/or use guns, you can imagine that safety is on their priority list as well. In the United States, the gun store industry is highly competitive, with a lot of big names paving the way for the smaller guys. You’ll need to do your part to ensure that your store is set up for success, including purchasing insurance. Here is some advice from Hitchings Insurance Agency on how to insure a gun store/gun range, or any other retail store in the firearm/ammunition industry.

Do Gun Dealers and Gun Stores Need Special Insurance?

Any industry has specialized insurance needs that differ from other businesses. Moreover, different businesses in the same industry may need different insurance coverage, depending on how they run, what they do, what they sell, and more. It can seem like a hopeless endeavor trying to find the “exact fit” for your business – but that’s where the professionals at Hitchings Insurance Agency excel. We can help you determine the right fit for your gun store business to ensure you can have peace of mind and focus on staying competitive in the industry. As a general rule of thumb, due to their increased liability risk, gun stores and gun dealers may benefit from purchasing enhanced liability protection in the form of a commercial umbrella policy.

Insurance Coverages for Firearm Stores and Ranges

Business insurance is designed to cover a wide variety of businesses and can be customized depending on that business’s needs. Due to the unique liability risk posed by running a gun store, business owners may need to consider investing in enhanced comprehensive coverage to make sure their assets are protected. If you are ever at a loss for where to start, or you don’t understand the insurance world well enough to call the shots yourself, you can always enlist an agent – like the experts here at Hitchings Insurance – to help you work through your coverage needs.

The following types of insurance coverages may help protect a gun store and/or range:

Commercial General Liability Insurance

All shops require liability insurance. Because gun stores in particular face an increased risk of a liability claim, it’s imperative they purchase some form of liability insurance. Should anyone get hurt on your business property or as a result of the products you sell, you could be held liable for their medical expenses. Even just one liability claim can risk putting any business out of work for good due to the higher cost of lawsuits. If you are only looking to purchase the very base minimum of insurance for your business, ensure that you at least include liability insurance.

Commercial Property Insurance

If you own a retail store, it’s imperative to your operations that your store stays in tip-top shape. If something were to occur – like a fire, a break-in, theft, or a natural disaster – you could be forced to go out of business if you didn’t have the financial muscle to recover from a loss and/or you couldn’t make up for the loss of income during an ongoing period of downtime. Commercial property insurance, also known as business personal property insurance, can also replace your products if they were ever stolen. This is a greater risk for gun stores, as the items they sell are of higher value.

Worker’s Compensation Insurance

So long as you have at least one employee working at your store, worker’s compensation insurance is a necessity. You probably have a few staff helping you to sell firearms and ammunition, or handling your range, and answering questions. You should invest in worker’s compensation insurance. This ensures that in the event that an employee is injured while working at your store (which is always a potential, whether your business operates in the firearm industry or not) the lost wages and/or medical bills can be covered. Worker’s compensation can also cover you if your employees attempt to sue you after an injury that occurs at work.

Umbrella Liability Insurance

Any business necessitates liability coverage. No matter your industry, no matter what you do, something could happen which could result in unexpected injury or damage. But gun stores face an increased liability risk that is unique to their industry. Umbrella liability insurance or “excess liability insurance” may help to add excess liability protection to your policy. This will help if you have to pay for any major medical expenses or losses if one or more people are injured using the firearms you sold them or injured while on your property.

Is Gun Store Insurance Expensive?

That depends. The cost of gun store insurance is based on your company’s risk profile, including such factors as its location, what it sells, its annual revenue, special events, business property, insurance history, and business experience. With the right help, you can find a comprehensive policy that matches your business’s insurance needs without needing to break the bank.

Purchasing umbrella liability insurance isn’t exceptionally expensive in and of itself, but it isn’t a standalone policy and must be purchased on top of your existing liability insurance. The more coverage you buy, the more it’ll cost you. Work with an insurance professional to determine the right amount of added coverage to ensure you get the best bang for your buck.

Hitchings Insurance Agency proudly serves the area around Findlay, Ohio and is happy to help you get a gun store insurance quote. Our insurance professionals can work with you one-on-one to determine your retail business’s insurance needs so you can get back to work with peace of mind.

NOTE: Our current insurance carriers require businesses with experience, current insurance coverage and it cannot be an at-home operation.