Open late. Cash on the premises.
Cover for convenience stores and newsagents: the shop, the stock, the takings and the people behind the counter when it is dark outside.
Convenience store insurance
Usually includes
Buildings & shopfront
Stock
Money
Assault
Public liability
Products liability
One
conversation.
You explain the business once, and we take it from there.
Bespoke service
for your business
No two businesses are the same, so we start with yours rather than with a template.
Everything
quoted together.
The premises, your stock, your liability and the trade you would lose, priced in one go rather than piece by piece.
Know your cover
What is convenience store insurance?
A convenience store carries two exposures a nine-to-five shop does not. The first is money: a business taking cash across a long trading day holds more of it, in more places, than the schedule usually says. The second is the person on the till. Late opening raises the risk of robbery and of assault, and both are underwritten directly rather than folded into general liability. Cover is built around the premises and stock, with money and assault cover alongside.
It covers the stock
Everything on the shelves, in the chiller and in the stockroom, at the value you hold in a full week.
It covers the money
Takings in the till, in transit to the bank and held overnight, each with its own limit.
It does not cover unexplained shortage
Stock that simply does not reconcile is a stocktaking problem. The policy answers theft, damage and loss.
Who it’s for
Whatever you stock.
✓
Independent convenience stores
Owner-run shops trading long hours, often with family and part-time staff.
✓
Symbol group and franchise stores
Trading under a national fascia with your own lease and your own staff.
✓
Newsagents and CTNs
Papers, tobacco and confectionery, where a high-value category sits behind the counter.
✓
Stores with a post office counter
A separate set of obligations and a separate money exposure inside your shop.
✓
Stores with a food-to-go counter
Preparation on site brings products liability and refrigeration into the picture.
✓
Stores with an alcohol licence
Licensing conditions that attach to how the business is run, not just what it sells.
What we cover
Cover built around your shop.
We ask what you sell, what hours you keep and what security you have before we approach anyone. Then show you what’s available, and you decide what fits.
Buildings & shopfront
The structure if you own it, the glazing, the shutters and the fascia that a break-in damages first.
Stock
Everything on the shelves and in the back, and the categories a thief targets rather than a customer.
Money
Takings in the till, on the premises overnight and in transit to the bank, each with its own limit.
Assault
A payment to a member of staff injured during a robbery, which liability cover does not provide.
Public liability
A customer injured in the shop, from a wet floor to a fall over a delivery cage.
Products liability
Harm caused by something you sold, including food prepared on the premises.
Employers’ liability
Required by law from your first employee, including weekend and evening staff.
Business interruption
The trade lost while the shop cannot open, which for a neighbourhood store means customers going elsewhere.
Cyber & data
The till system, the loyalty data and the card payments that stop working when it does.
Who this cover tends to suit.
This cover is generally bought by convenience stores and newsagents, from a single owner-run shop to a business with several sites and a manager in each. Not every part will apply to every business, so tell us how you’re set up and we’ll show you what’s relevant.
Worth knowing
Check the details before you choose.
Money limits are split by location
Cover for cash is normally limited separately in the till, on the premises overnight, and in transit. The overnight figure is the one shops most often outgrow.
Security conditions are real conditions
Shutters, alarms, safes and their specification frequently appear as warranties rather than suggestions. A claim can turn on whether one was set.
Trading hours are underwritten
Late and twenty-four-hour opening changes both the robbery exposure and the terms available. Tell us your actual hours, not your advertised ones.
High-value categories are named, not averaged
Tobacco, vaping products, alcohol and spirits attract theft and are sometimes sub-limited. Tell us what proportion of stock they are.
Every shop is different.
A village store and a late-night city shop don’t carry the same risk, so we ask different questions for each.
Convenience stores
Newsagents
Symbol group stores
Franchise stores
Late-night trading
Alcohol licence
Tobacco and vaping
Food to go
Post office counter
Lottery and scratchcards
Grocery
Chilled and frozen
Self-service tills
Multi-site owners
Forecourt shops
Village stores
Convenience stores
Newsagents
Symbol group stores
Franchise stores
Late-night trading
Alcohol licence
Tobacco and vaping
Food to go
Post office counter
Lottery and scratchcards
Grocery
Chilled and frozen
Self-service tills
Multi-site owners
Forecourt shops
Village stores
Why Vara
Bespoke service for you & your business,
without the big-firm minimum.
01
Money comes first
Cash is where a shop policy is usually wrong, because the limits are split by location and shops grow past them. We go through all three before we present the risk.
02
Security conditions get read out
A shutter or an alarm specification in the wording is a condition of the cover. We tell you what you are agreeing to rather than let you find out at claim.
03
Hours are declared accurately
Late opening changes the terms. We would rather present it properly than have it emerge after a claim.
04
We present the risk right
Stock mix, hours, security, staff and claims history. How it’s framed changes what you pay.
You talk to a person. The machines do the typing.
Free review of your convenience store cover and costs.
On a policy that assumes you shut at five? Leave your details and we’ll call you straight back. One conversation covers the lot.
What the review covers
Cash cover is normally limited separately in the till, on the premises overnight and in transit, and the overnight figure is the one shops most often outgrow.
Shutters, alarms and safes often appear as conditions in the wording rather than suggestions, and a claim can turn on whether one was set.
We approach insurers on our panel who write convenience store and newsagent risks, and come back with what they’ll offer.
We explain each option in plain English, including what it doesn’t cover.
If it’s not a risk we can place, we’ll tell you straight away rather than leave you waiting.
No obligation to switch. You decide what fits.
Rather not wait? Call us on 0333 091 3663
Good to know
Convenience store insurance questions, answered straight.
What insurance does a convenience store need?
How much cash cover do I need?
What is assault cover, and do I need it?
Are the shutters and alarm a condition of my cover?
Does late-night or twenty-four-hour trading change things?
Is tobacco or vaping stock treated differently?
Am I covered if the chiller breaks down?
What happens if I cannot open at all?
Vara Commercial Insurance · 0333 091 3663
Vara is a trading name of Koral AI Operating Company Limited. Vara is an appointed representative of Innovative Risk Labs Ltd, under Firm Reference Number 1060955. Innovative Risk Labs Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, under FRN 609155. We are registered in England and Wales under Registered Company Number 17256222. Registered office: 167-169 Great Portland Street, 5th Floor, London, W1W 5PF.