Running a flower shop is a rewarding business. You surround yourself with beauty while helping customers celebrate life’s biggest moments. Beyond the petals and arrangements, however, owning a floral business also means navigating a unique set of operational risks specific to your type of work.
Luckily, the right florist business insurance coverage can safeguard your shop and keep it blooming, no matter what challenges arise.
In this article, Pat Deering—insurance product manager at Central Insurance—outlines the top risks florists face in their work and explains how a Business Owner’s Policy (BOP) can provide the various forms of coverage florists need to keep their business protected.
Top Risks of Owning a Florist Business
While the 41,649 florist operations in the U.S. may differ, they share common commercial property exposures with other small retail businesses.
According to Deering, florists often face the same risks as any storefront owner. Between inventory, tools, coolers, tables, and everything florists use to cut and arrange flowers, the items they keep in storage before they become the completed product are huge risk exposures.
Additionally, floral inventory brings its own unique risk. You rely on coolers to keep flowers at the right temperature so they don’t decompose. If the power goes out, you could lose your inventory. While power outages due to artificially generated electricity, utility failure, electrical disturbances, and mechanical breakdown may not be covered by property insurance, storm-related damage to your premises that impacts electrical wiring or your connection to the grid might be a covered situation.
Beyond the tools of the trade, florists also face significant liability exposures when customers visit their shop. Derring emphasizes how important it is for florists to maintain a safe space, noting that customers expect the premises to be in good working order.
Did You Know: One of the most common liability exposures at a florist is slip and fall risks. Customers—or employees—can trip over an uneven piece of flooring, a threshold too high for someone to step over, or a wet spot on the floor from flower cuttings, among many other things.
BOP: The Smart Choice for Florist Business Insurance
For smaller flower shops, a Business Owner’s Policy (BOP) can be a comprehensive and efficient way to protect your business.
A BOP package includes much of the basic property and liability coverage you might need in one policy, which, Derring explains, can give small business owners peace of mind so they can focus on running day-to-day operations.
Below, we outline the specific coverages within a BOP that are particularly valuable to florists.
General Property: This coverage can protect the contents of your building, including tools, coolers, display items, and unarranged floral inventory. If a covered loss damages your inventory, coverage to repair or replace that inventory may apply.
General Liability: If a customer trips, slips, or falls inside your shop and sues you, it can protect you against legal liability resulting from covered claims of others for bodily injury.
Business Income: If the front of your building is damaged during a storm and you’re unable to operate for a time, this coverage may help replace lost income.
Learn more: How to Customize BOP to Meet Your Business Needs
Optional Florist Business Insurance Coverages Available in a BOP
While the standard BOP offers a strong florist business insurance foundation, there are additional endorsements you can add to customize even further. Deering recommends two of Central’s proprietary endorsements specifically for florists looking for extra protection: BOP Liability Plus and BOP Property Plus.
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Florists who lease or rent their shop space, for example, should consider Liability Plus coverage. This includes coverage for $300,000 of damage to premises rented to you, which protects you if your operations cause damage to the rented building and your landlord suffers a loss.
These two endorsements bundle together a menu of extra coverages and limits into one offering. As Deering sees it, instead of sifting through pages of options, you can get broad, affordable coverage with transparent pricing—a huge time-saver for busy business owners.
Choose Central to Keep Your Shop Blooming Year-Round
With so many moving parts—from temperature-sensitive inventory to customer foot traffic—florists face unique risks every day. That’s why working with the right insurance provider who understands your industry is more than just a smart decision—it’s essential to the long-term success of your business.
Our loss control consultants can work closely with retail business owners like florists to create customized programs targeting their unique risk exposures. By focusing on industry-specific solutions, we help reduce potential losses, improve safety, and support the long-term success of our policyholders. In addition, working with Central means you’re backed by decades of industry expertise, personalized support, and the confidence of an “A” (Excellent) Financial Strength Rating from A.M. Best—proof of Central’s strong and stable financial foundation.
Contact your local, hand-selected Central agent today to review your coverage or get a BOP quote for florist business insurance and ensure your shop is fully protected.
The information above is of a general nature and your policy and coverages provided may differ from the examples provided. Please read your policy in its entirety to determine your actual coverage available.
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