Who asks a bike shop for what
| Who | What they usually want to see |
|---|---|
| Landlords & commercial leases | General liability with the landlord as additional insured, property coverage on tenant improvements and workers' compensation |
| Banks, lenders & SBA loans | Property or auto physical damage with the lender as loss payee, and liability proof at closing and every renewal |
| Franchisors | The brand's minimum limits across general liability, property, auto and employment practices |
Each of them wants a certificate, and most want it again at every renewal. A live certificate link from the wallet shows today's coverage to every holder and tells them when it changes.
How to check what you already have
- Business owner's policy declarations. Liability limits on the first page, then the property section: building (if you own), business personal property, business income and the named extras such as spoilage, equipment breakdown or employee dishonesty. Confirm the property values are current.
- Workers' compensation information page. Item 3.A must list every state you work in, item 4 must carry the right class codes, and the employers' liability limits should meet what contracts ask. Check that the estimated payroll is close to this year's.
- Crime declarations. Employee theft, forgery, funds-transfer fraud and social engineering each have their own limit; third-party coverage if you work in clients' premises.
- Cyber declarations. The headline limit matters less than the sublimits: social engineering, funds-transfer fraud, ransomware and business interruption, plus the regulatory coverage and the panel of breach vendors.
- Employment practices declarations. Limit and retention, third-party coverage for claims by customers, and whether wage-and-hour claims carry any defence sublimit.
- Products–completed operations. The aggregate, any vendors endorsement naming buyers as additional insureds, and exclusions for specific products or markets.
- Bailee coverage. The limit for customers' property at your premises and in transit, the valuation basis and any exclusions for specific items.
- Garage declarations. Garage liability limits, then garagekeepers: the limit per location against the value of customers' vehicles on hand, and whether it is legal liability or direct primary.
- Property section. Limits for building, business personal property and tenant improvements against replacement cost, the coinsurance percentage, the deductible, and whether flood and earthquake are excluded (they usually are).
- Business income. The limit or actual-loss-sustained wording, the waiting period, the period of restoration and whether extra expense is included.
- General liability declarations page. Three liability numbers matter: each occurrence, general aggregate and the products–completed operations aggregate. Then the forms list: blanket additional insured, waiver of subrogation and primary and non-contributory wording satisfy every contract; scheduled forms satisfy one.
What usually goes wrong for bicycle shops
- E-bike battery fires in the shop and in customers' homes, an emerging product and property claim.
- A repair that fails on the road, the completed-operations claim of the trade.
- Tenant improvements insured by nobody, because the lease says one thing and the policy another.
- Property values set when the doors opened and never raised.
- Inventory at its holiday peak insured at its January value.
- Imported or private-label goods with no manufacturer to stand behind them.
What underwriters will ask a bike shop
- Share of sales versus service, e-bike and battery practice, customer bikes held for service, and test-ride policy
- Square footage, whether you own or lease, the building's age and sprinklers
- Replacement cost of the equipment, fixtures and stock on site
- Average and peak inventory values, and who handles cash and deposits
- What you sell, who makes it and where it is made
- Payroll by class of work, headcount and turnover
Have the answers in the wallet before the renewal and the quote request fills itself in; CoverMatch sends one application to every eligible carrier and lines the quotes up against what you have.
Renewal timing
Workers' compensation is audited on actual payroll and liability on sales, so a busy year ends with a bill unless the estimates were kept honest; pay-as-you-go billing through your payroll company removes most of that. Renewal autopilot starts the comparison sixty days out, prefilled from the wallet.