Business insurance for shops and retailers in Ireland
Protect your shop with insurance tailored to your activity
Whether you run a flower shop, a bookshop or another retail business, your work carries specific risks that business insurance is designed to cover. Public Liability covers you in Ireland when an accident happens.
Business insurance, done differently.
Fully online business insurance in Ireland.
A few questions and you're covered.
No lock-in, no long contracts.
Excess from €0, up to €6.5 million of cover.
Our insurance is for
Why business insurance is essential in retail
Running a shop puts you in daily contact with customers, the public and other people's property. From a Saturday rush on the shop floor to a delivery at a customer's door, these activities share common exposures:
Accidents on your premises: a customer slipping on a wet floor, or a display falling as someone walks past.
Accidents outside your door: a pavement sign or a display stand on the footpath that someone trips over.
Damage to other people's property: a customer's belongings, or the unit next door while you're moving stock.
Something you sold causing harm: an item that fails in use and injures someone or damages their home.
Public Liability puts you back in control when that happens. It lets you focus on selling, knowing that claims for injury or damage you cause to others are handled, with your defence costs and any compensation covered.
What is Public Liability insurance?
How does public liability work? If a third party, like a customer or a member of the public, holds you responsible for an injury or for damage to their property, Public Liability insurance takes care of your defence costs and any compensation due.
What does it cover? Injury or property damage caused to others in the course of your work. You choose a cover limit of €1.25 million, €2.5 million or €6.5 million per claim. Optional covers can be added: Employers' Liability (€13 million per claim) if you have staff, which covers your legal liability if an employee is injured or becomes ill because of their work, and Third-party objects and sites for damage to equipment or premises of others in your care (up to €5,000 per claim).
What is not covered? Your own stock, fittings or premises. Insify's cover in Ireland is liability cover, not property cover.
Cover that fits your profession. You describe your activities fully at sign-up, and your cover matches what you actually do: selling in-store and online, arranging displays, advising customers and handling stock as a florist, clothing retailer, bookshop or other retail trade.
Your excess. The amount you pay yourself towards a claim. The options are €0, €250, €500, €1,000 and €2,500, with €0 and €250 available up to €500,000 annual revenue; above that the minimum is €500. A higher excess means a lower premium.
Is it mandatory? Public liability isn't required by law in Ireland. However, many landlords, shopping centres and suppliers will still ask you to hold it before you can trade. Cover starts from €7.55 per month.
Who needs it? Any retailer who welcomes customers into a shop or sells to the public, from florists and clothing shops to bookshops and specialist stores.
Which cover do you need?
Most businesses are exposed to both. One covers injury and damage, the other financial loss from your work. You can combine them in one Insify policy. Cover limits, excess and exclusions apply. See the policy wording.
Public Liability insurance
Covers claims when your work injures someone or damages something that belongs to them. For example, someone trips over your equipment, or you damage a floor while working at a client's premises.
- Choose your cover: from €1.25 million up to €6.5 million per claim, and up to twice that per insurance year
- Excess from €0, depending on your turnover
- Staff? Add optional Employers' Liability with €13 million cover per claim
- Most relevant when your work brings you into contact with clients, the public, their premises or their belongings
Professional Indemnity insurance
Covers purely financial loss a client suffers through a professional mistake, oversight or wrong advice, with no injury or property damage involved. Think of work a client claims was unfit for purpose and cost them money.
- Choose your cover: from €125,000 up to €1.25 million per claim, and up to twice that per insurance year
- Excess from €0, depending on your turnover
- Most relevant when clients pay you for advice, programmes and plans
What's covered
Participation in or execution of business trips
Use of land, buildings or premises for the insured activity
Stationary and online trade in plants, clothing, fashion accessories, books...
Organisation and execution of company events, seminars or training courses
Optional Third-party objects and sites (up to €5,000 per claim)
Optional Employers' Liability (€13 million per claim) if you have staff
Matters under supervision (such as matters from customers that are processed for repair work)
Design, construction or manufacture of products
Trade in articles for agricultural or business use
Trade in tobacco products, legal highs or related accessories (such as e-cigarettes)
Cover and exclusions shown are indicative and non-contractual. Only the terms of your policy apply.
Some examples
A customer slips on a wet floor in your shop and is injured. Public liability covers their medical costs and your legal defence.
While arranging a window display you knock over and break a landlord's glass panel. Third-party property damage is covered under public liability.
A delivery to a customer's home was left where it could topple, and it fell and damaged their flooring and a doorframe. Public liability covered the repairs and the legal costs.
A customer slips on a wet floor in your shop and is injured. Public liability covers their medical costs and your legal defence.
While arranging a window display you knock over and break a landlord's glass panel. Third-party property damage is covered under public liability.
A delivery to a customer's home was left where it could topple, and it fell and damaged their flooring and a doorframe. Public liability covered the repairs and the legal costs.
Examples are for illustrative purposes only. Compensation depends on the exact circumstances of the claim. No rights can be derived from these examples.
Your business insurance with Insify SmartGuide
Taking out insurance can be quick. Making sure you have the right cover is another matter. With Insify SmartGuide, you don't sign a contract blindly. You ask all your questions, and get clear, immediate and personalised answers, before you take out a policy.
Are you covered if you accidentally damage a client's equipment while working?
What excess should you choose?
Are you protected in the event of a dispute with a client?
Insify SmartGuide guides you step by step to understand what's covered, what isn't, and why. In just a few clicks, you build insurance that's truly tailored to your business, with complete confidence. Try Insify SmartGuide. Understand your insurance before you need it.
More than 40,000 entrepreneurs trust us
When I had to make a claim, I was amazed how quickly and efficiently it was handled. Within a few days I had a resolution.
Very friendly, quick and thorough. It gives me real confidence in taking out the cover. The company feels genuinely transparent, exactly what I look for. You don't find that often.
Very friendly, quick and thorough. It gives me real confidence in taking out the cover. The company feels genuinely transparent, exactly what I look for. You don't find that often.
When I had to make a claim, I was amazed how quickly and efficiently it was handled. Within a few days I had a resolution.
The cover itself was sorted quickly, and when I later needed support I got that fast too.
Very friendly, quick and thorough. It gives me real confidence in taking out the cover. The company feels genuinely transparent, exactly what I look for. You don't find that often.
When I had to make a claim, I was amazed how quickly and efficiently it was handled. Within a few days I had a resolution.
The cover itself was sorted quickly, and when I later needed support I got that fast too.
Frequently Asked Questions
Public liability isn't required by law in Ireland, but in practice most landlords, shopping centres, markets and suppliers will ask you to have it before you can trade. It protects you if a customer or member of the public is injured, or their property is damaged, because of your business. Having cover in place is often what lets you sign a lease or a supplier agreement.
Shop insurance in this context means public liability: it covers you when a third party, such as a customer or passer-by, is injured or has their property damaged because of your business. A common example is a customer slipping in your shop and being hurt. It pays your legal defence costs and any compensation due, up to the cover limit you choose (€1.25 million, €2.5 million or €6.5 million per claim), after any excess. If you have staff, you can add Employers' Liability.
It covers injury to other people and damage to their property caused by your business: a customer slipping on a wet floor, stock falling on a passer-by, or a delivery damaging someone's home. It pays your legal defence costs and any compensation due, up to your chosen limit and after your excess. What it does not cover is your own stock, fittings or premises, because Insify's cover in Ireland is liability cover rather than property cover. If you want protection for damage to a customer's belongings while they are in your care, that is the optional Third-party objects and sites cover.
If a customer trips, slips or is hurt by a falling object, public liability responds. It covers their medical or compensation costs and your legal defence, up to your chosen limit and after any excess. For example, on a €10,000 claim with a €500 excess you pay the first €500 and the policy pays the rest. You should report the incident to us as soon as possible. This is one of the most common claims in retail, which is why most shops hold public liability.
You get a quote online in minutes: describe your activities, choose your cover limit and your excess, and you see your price with no obligation. Once you complete your purchase you receive your certificate straight away and you are covered. There is no long-term commitment and you can cancel any day. Describing your activities fully at sign-up makes sure your cover matches what you actually do.