Retail Shop Insurance, matched properly
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Step 1 of 3What insurance do retail shops need?
Most shops look at public liability and a business pack covering stock, contents, glass and theft, plus workers’ compensation, which the law requires once they employ staff. The lease often sets the rest, such as a public liability minimum, glass cover and the landlord named on the certificate of currency.
What shops commonly insure.
The covers shop owners most often look at. What a shop needs depends on its lease, its stock and whether it employs staff.
- Public liability Injury to customers and damage to their property. upcover says slips, trips and falls are among the most common claims1. Retail leases commonly require it (see below).
- Products liability Injury or damage caused by goods you sell. upcover notes a retailer can be liable even when it didn’t make the product2.
- Stock and contents Stock, fit-out and equipment against events such as fire and storm, usually as part of a business pack3, 4.
- Glass and theft Sections you can add to a business pack, each with its own conditions and limits (see below)3, 4.
- Business interruption Lost income after damage the policy covers. AFCA upheld a decline when a water leak damaged a leased shop’s flooring and closed it for 28 days, because the flooring damage itself wasn’t covered5. One pack extends it to damage elsewhere in a multi-tenanted retail complex that stops access to your shop, if that damage would have been covered4.
- Cyber Online sales bring customer data and payments into scope, which upcover says is what cyber insurance deals with3. Most businesses with annual turnover of $3 million or less aren’t covered by the Privacy Act, but some are6.
- Workers’ compensation Compulsory for most employers in every state and territory. It doesn’t cover sole traders7.
Lease rules by state.
Retail lease laws don’t set insurance minimums. The lease does, and state law controls which of the landlord’s insurance costs a tenant can be charged.
- Public liability Leases commonly set a minimum of $10 million or $20 million, want a certificate of currency before handover, and may ask for the landlord to be named as an interested party3, 8, 9.
- Shopping centres A centre’s licence agreement can add its own requirements on top of the lease3. For short-term stalls, one casual mall leasing agent asks for at least $20 million of public and products liability10.
- Glass Almost all leases require plate glass insurance, according to one law firm8. In Queensland, tenants are typically responsible for the glass windows and shopfront, and for repairing or insuring their own fit-out11.
- NSW The lease may require certain policies, and tenants commonly contribute to the landlord’s building insurance. The landlord’s disclosure statement lists outgoings, including insurance12, 13. The Retail Leases Act doesn’t apply to shops of 1,000 m² or more14.
- Victoria The landlord’s insurance premiums can be charged as outgoings. A statement covering only GST, utilities, rates and insurance doesn’t need an audit if it comes with proof of payment15, 16.
- Queensland Retail tenants can be charged the landlord’s insurance premiums, but not premiums for loss of profits or the excess on the landlord’s claims17, 18.
- WA Tenants pay only the operating expenses the lease itemises. A lease may require you to insure against damage to the building and public liability19, 20.
- SA On top of rent, the tenant usually pays for building insurance, public risk insurance and plate glass insurance21.
Theft, stock and glass.
Where shop policies commonly draw the line, from one insurer’s business pack wording and brokers’ guides.
- Break-ins Theft cover generally responds to forced entry3. One pack lists visible, forcible and violent entry, a hold-up or assault, a person hiding in the shop until it closes, and forced entry into a locked cabinet or showcase4.
- Shoplifting Commonly excluded3. In one pack, even the extension for theft without forced entry doesn’t cover theft from retail areas open to the public4.
- Staff theft Usually needs its own fidelity or crime cover, according to upcover3. One pack’s money section pays up to $1,000 a year for staff theft, if it’s found within 21 days4.
- Missing stock Stock that simply goes missing is commonly excluded3. One pack’s theft section excludes unexplained shortages and disappearances, including those from clerical or accounting errors4.
- Busy seasons Some packs raise stock cover for busy periods and some don’t3. One adds 50% to the stock sum insured from 60 days before Christmas to 20 days after Boxing Day, and in the weeks around Easter4.
- Tobacco One pack’s theft section counts cigarettes and tobacco separately from stock4. A service station’s stolen cigarettes were paid at its $10,000 limit, plus $3,068 for stolen cash22.
- Glass and signs One pack pays for temporary shuttering, and for signwriting and tiled shopfronts damaged when glass breaks, up to $10,000. Illuminated signs are covered to $2,5004.
- The landlord’s property After a covered theft, one pack pays up to $1,000 for damage to the landlord’s property, other than glass, that the lease makes you liable for4.
How much does shop insurance cost?
Published figures for retailers from two online brokers. A guide, not a quote.
Typical premium, the midpoint of policies arranged from 2022 to 2026. upcover, August 2026.23
Typical premium, from policies arranged from 2022 to 2026. upcover, August 2026.24
BizCover customers’ average monthly payment, July 2023 to June 2024.9
BizCover customers’ average. The page gives no data period.25
Typical public liability premium a year by industry, from policies arranged through upcover from 2022 to 2026. upcover, August 202623.
One broker’s example: a suburban NSW retail shop with $150,000 of contents and no building, $650 to $1,100 a year, assuming a standard excess and no recent large claims26.
Retail in numbers.
Crime, injury and business figures from state crime statisticians and national agencies.
20,998
Steal from a retail store incidents with an alleged offender, up 11.7%27.
Up 10.4%
Retail theft, the only one of 13 major crime categories to rise significantly28.
10,000
Serious workers’ compensation claims, with a median payout of $14,60029.
Retail businesses made up 23% of theft claims lodged with BizCover from January 2022 to August 2025, second to food and drink businesses at 28%30. Australia had 156,143 retail businesses at 30 June 2026. The ABS recorded 24,568 entries and 24,443 exits in retail during 2025–2631.
Real claims.
Published decisions from AFCA and the courts. Every claim depends on the policy wording.
- Retail storeSomeone walked in during trading hours, grabbed a chainsaw and ran. AFCA found it was shoplifting, which the policy excluded, and the decline stood. July 202532.
- JewellerA customer concealed a roll of gold chains while an assistant was in another room for nearly three minutes. The insurer said the roll was unattended. AFCA found other staff could see it and ordered the claim paid, with interest. December 202533.
- Service station shopThieves broke in after closing, and the owner claimed $69,004.54 for stock, cash and equipment. The policy limited theft of contents and stock to $20,000 and money to $5,000, and AFCA found a settlement at those limits fair. November 202534.
- Homeware and variety shopA storm and then a flood hit the shop. The insurer paid $309,219 for stock and contents damaged by the storm but not the flood, which the policy didn’t cover. AFCA ordered business interruption paid for the full 12-month indemnity period, not eight weeks. May 202535.
- Shop in a shopping centreFloodwater closed the centre and the landlord ended every lease. The shop’s damaged stock was paid ($16,879.54), but not its business interruption claim, because the policy didn’t include flood. October 202536.
- SupermarketA shopper slipped on oily liquid in an aisle and tore a hamstring. The supermarket admitted liability, and the NSW Supreme Court awarded $907,375.50. August 202637.
Common questions.
Is insurance compulsory for a shop?
Workers’ compensation is compulsory once you employ staff. Retail leases commonly require public liability, and many require glass cover.
How much public liability does a retail lease ask for?
Often $10 million or $20 million, set in the lease’s insurance clause, with a certificate of currency before you move in. Some leases also ask for the landlord to be named as an interested party.
Does shop insurance cover shoplifting?
Usually not. Theft cover generally needs forcible entry, a hold-up or an assault, and shoplifting is commonly excluded.
Who pays for broken shopfront glass?
Whoever the lease makes responsible, which is often the tenant. In Queensland, tenants are typically responsible for glass windows and the shopfront.
Can my landlord charge me for their building insurance?
Yes, as an outgoing, if the lease allows it. Queensland retail tenants can’t be charged the landlord’s loss-of-profits premiums or insurance excess, and in WA the expense must be itemised in the lease.
How much does shop insurance cost?
upcover puts typical retail public liability at about $470 a year and a retail business pack at about $763. BizCover’s retail customers paid an average of $83 a month in 2023–24.
Is extra stock at Christmas covered?
Some policies raise the stock sum insured for set periods and some don’t. One business pack adds 50% around Christmas and Easter.
Does taking card payments or selling online change anything?
It brings customer data into scope, which is what cyber insurance deals with. Most businesses with annual turnover of $3 million or less aren’t covered by the Privacy Act, but some are.
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Who requires cover.
- Independent shops Clothing, gifts, homewares, books and specialty stores
- Small retail chains Two or more stores, often in shopping centres
- Grocery and convenience Grocers, delis, bottle shops and convenience stores
- High-value stock Jewellers, phone and electronics stores
Covers shops look at.
Our guides to the covers shop owners most often ask about.
Sources.
- Public liability insurance claims examples for Australian businesses, upcover, 27 July 2026
- Top 6 threats in retail business and how to manage them, upcover, 8 May 2026
- Shop insurance in Australia: what a physical store needs, upcover, 3 September 2026
- Business Insurance Pack Product Disclosure Statement, Allianz, 9 April 2026
- Determination 12-00-1070447, AFCA, 20 November 2024
- Small business, OAIC
- Types of business insurance, business.gov.au
- Retail and commercial lease insurances: what do you need to have and when?, No Borders Law Group, 18 December 2025
- Insurance for retailers, BizCover, data from 2023–24
- Insurance, Mall Managers
- Repairs and maintenance factsheet, Queensland Small Business Commissioner, 2 July 2026
- NSW Retail Tenancy Guide, NSW Small Business Commissioner, 2022
- Lessor’s and lessee’s disclosure statement, NSW Small Business Commission, November 2020
- Retail Leases Act 1994 (NSW), sections 3A and 5, NSW Legislation, 15 August 2025
- Retail Leases Act 2003 (Vic), section 3, Victorian Legislation, 1 July 2024
- Outgoings and other charges under a lease, Victorian Small Business Commission
- Retail Shop Leases Act 1994 (Qld), section 7, Queensland Legislation, 1 August 2025
- Outgoings factsheet, Queensland Small Business Commissioner, 2 July 2026
- Commercial Tenancy (Retail Shops) Agreements Act 1985 (WA), section 12, WA Legislation
- Understanding commercial leases, Small Business Development Corporation (WA)
- Leasing premises, Law Handbook, Legal Services Commission of SA
- The reality of retail: real-life claims, BizCover, 21 January 2021
- How much does public liability insurance cost in Australia?, upcover, 20 August 2026
- How much does business insurance cost in Australia?, upcover, 21 August 2026
- How much does business insurance cost?, BizCover
- Commercial property insurance, National Cover, 21 July 2025
- Media release: adult offending increases as youth offending decreases, Crime Statistics Agency Victoria, 18 June 2026
- NSW Recorded Crime Statistics quarterly update June 2026, BOCSAR, 16 September 2026
- Key work health and safety statistics 2025, Safe Work Australia, October 2025
- Business theft report 2025, BizCover, 13 November 2025
- Counts of Australian businesses, July 2022 – June 2026, ABS, 18 August 2026
- Determination 12-24-151951, AFCA, 14 July 2025
- Determination 12-25-192146, AFCA, 12 December 2025
- Determination 12-25-206797, AFCA, 3 November 2025
- Determination 12-00-1088540, AFCA, 23 May 2025
- Determination 12-24-160769, AFCA, 17 October 2025
- Fuchs v Coles Supermarkets Australia Pty Ltd [2026] NSWSC 948, NSW Caselaw, 7 August 2026