Your stock in June is not your stock in November.
Cover for clothing, footwear and fashion retailers, built around a stock figure that moves through the year and a shop that trades on how it looks.
Fashion retail insurance
Usually includes
Stock
Premises & fit-out
Public liability
Money
Stock in transit
Employers’ 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 fashion retail insurance?
Fashion is a stock business with a seasonal shape. The value on the floor and in the stockroom can double in the weeks before a peak and fall away afterwards, and a sum insured set on an average will not answer a fire in the busiest fortnight of the year. Alongside that sits a shop whose fit-out, lighting and window are part of what it sells. Cover is built around stock at its peak, with the premises and liabilities behind it.
It covers the stock at its peak
The figure that matters is the most you hold at once, not the average across the year.
It covers the fit-out
Rails, mirrors, lighting and the window display, which are worth more than most owners assume.
It does not cover unsold stock going out of fashion
A season that does not sell is a trading loss. The policy answers damage, theft and loss.
Who it’s for
Whatever you sell.
✓
Independent clothing boutiques
Owner-run shops with curated stock and a strong seasonal shape.
✓
Footwear and accessories retailers
High unit values in small packages, which changes the theft picture.
✓
Menswear and formalwear
Including hire stock, which is a different exposure from stock for sale.
✓
Bridal and occasionwear
High-value single items and orders that cannot be replaced in time.
✓
Streetwear and trainer resale
Sought-after stock with a resale market, which insurers ask about directly.
✓
Retailers selling online as well
A shop plus despatch, which brings stock in transit into the picture.
What we cover
Cover built around your stock.
We ask what you sell, what your stock peaks at and how you trade before we approach anyone. Then show you what’s available, and you decide what fits.
Stock
Everything on the rails, in the stockroom and on order, valued at your seasonal peak rather than an average.
Premises & fit-out
The shop, the rails, mirrors, lighting and the window, which is a large part of what the business is.
Public liability
A customer injured in the shop or a fitting room, which is where most retail claims happen.
Money
Takings on the premises and in transit, and the card terminal that most of it goes through.
Stock in transit
Deliveries in and despatches out, including returns coming back to you.
Employers’ liability
Required by law from your first employee, including Saturday and seasonal staff.
Business interruption
The trade lost while the shop is closed, which lands hardest if it happens in a peak.
Legal expenses
Lease and landlord disputes, employment matters, and recovering money from a supplier.
Cyber & data
The till, the online shop and the customer data behind both.
Who this cover tends to suit.
This cover is generally bought by clothing and fashion retailers, from a single boutique to a business with several shops and an online channel. 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.
Set the stock figure at the peak
Insurance on an average leaves you underinsured for the weeks that matter most, and a claim can be reduced in proportion. Tell us the highest figure you hold, and when.
Fit-out is usually undervalued
Rails, mirrors, lighting and a shopfitted interior cost far more to reinstate than to remember. It is one of the most common sums insured to get wrong.
Hire stock is not stock for sale
Formalwear and occasionwear held for hire is a different exposure, and often a different section. Say if you hire anything out.
Sought-after lines need naming
Trainers and limited releases attract targeted theft and a resale market. If you hold any, tell us rather than let a general stock figure carry it.
Every shop is different.
A bridal boutique and a streetwear shop don’t carry the same risk, so we ask different questions for each.
Clothing boutiques
Womenswear
Menswear
Childrenswear
Footwear
Accessories
Formalwear
Bridal and occasionwear
Formalwear hire
Streetwear
Trainer resale
Vintage and second-hand
Concession space
Online and shop
Pop-up shops
Multi-site retail
Clothing boutiques
Womenswear
Menswear
Childrenswear
Footwear
Accessories
Formalwear
Bridal and occasionwear
Formalwear hire
Streetwear
Trainer resale
Vintage and second-hand
Concession space
Online and shop
Pop-up shops
Multi-site retail
Why Vara
Bespoke service for you & your business,
without the big-firm minimum.
01
Peak stock, not average stock
This is where fashion policies go wrong, and it is the first thing we establish. A figure set in a quiet month is the reason a claim gets reduced.
02
The fit-out gets valued properly
We ask what it would cost to reinstate the interior, not what it cost to build. Those are different numbers and only one of them pays.
03
Hire and resale are declared
Held for hire and held for sale are different exposures. We separate them rather than describe you as a clothes shop and stop there.
04
We present the risk right
Stock mix, peak values, 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 fashion retail cover and costs.
On a stock figure set in a quiet month? Leave your details and we’ll call you straight back. One conversation covers the lot.
What the review covers
Fashion stock can double in value in the weeks before a peak, so a figure set on an average can leave a claim reduced in proportion to the shortfall.
Rails, mirrors, lighting and a shopfitted interior cost more to reinstate than most owners expect, and it’s a common figure to get wrong.
We approach insurers on our panel who write fashion and clothing retail 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
Fashion retail insurance questions, answered straight.
What insurance does a clothing shop need?
How should I set my stock sum insured?
What is underinsurance, and why does it matter here?
Is my shop fit-out covered?
Do I need different cover if I hire out formalwear?
Am I covered for stock in transit?
Does selling online as well change my cover?
What about theft of high-value lines?
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.