Vending Machine Insurance
Getting vending machine insurance is essential.
Vending machine businesses need to be protected against claims involving events like personal injury, breach of contract, and fraudulent misrepresentation.
For instance, if your business was contractually obliged to refill a customer’s vending machine and failed to perform this duty, it may be liable to pay damages for this breach of contract.
We’ll help you find the most personalized and affordable coverage for your unique business.
Recommended: Next Insurance is dedicated to matching small businesses with the right policy at the best price.
Best Insurance for a Vending Machine Business
General liability insurance is — generally speaking — the most/one of the most important insurance policies for vending machine businesses.
Some of the risks general liability insurance covers are:
- Bodily injury
- Property damage
- Medical payments
- Legal defense and judgment
- Personal and advertising injury
The vending machine industry is a unique one that presents similarly unique risks. It is possible to not be fully protected from these risks with general liability insurance alone.
In this way, additional policies can be useful to help keep your assets protected despite the risks extending beyond the scope of general liability. Some of the policies a vending machine business will find useful include:
- Commercial property insurance: Helps you repair or replace broken inventory and equipment due to vandalism, bad weather, or fires.
- Business interruption insurance: Provides financial assistance to help keep your business afloat if it is unable to operate.
- Product liability insurance: Protects your business from being responsible for the legal costs of any lawsuits filed against it for injuries caused by its products.
- Commercial auto insurance: Insures vehicles belonging to your business (and their drivers) in the event that they are involved in a crash.
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Vending Machine Insurance Cost
On average, vending machine businesses in America spend between $500-$1,200 per year for $1 million in general liability coverage.
Check out the chart below for a snapshot of average general liability insurance expenditure across a variety of industries.
Several factors will determine the price of your policy. These include your:
- Location
- Deductible
- Number of employees
- Per-occurrence limit
- General aggregate limit
You may acquire general liability insurance at a discounted rate by purchasing it as part of a business owner’s policy (BOP) rather than a standalone one.
A BOP is a more comprehensive solution that includes multiple forms of coverage, such as business interruption and property insurance.
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Common Situations That General Liability Insurance May Cover for a Vending Machine Business
Example 1: A prospective customer comes to visit your facilities and see your products. During that time, they trip over a vending machine cord that should have been secured to the wall. General liability insurance would cover the costs of their injuries.
Example 2: When one of your customers performs a routine reset of the vending machine, one of the fuses in the machine malfunctions and causes the power in the building to go out. The customer claims lost revenue and productivity time. General liability insurance would cover the perceived losses of the customer.
Example 3: One of your customers claims their employee had food poisoning after eating one of your vending machine products. General liability insurance would cover the costs to either fight the food poisoning lawsuit or settle it out of court.
Other Types of Coverage Vending Machine Businesses Need
While general liability is the most important type of insurance for vending machine owners to have, there are several other forms of coverage you should be aware of. Below are some of the most common types of coverage:
Commercial Property Insurance
If you own the space used to manufacture, house, or stock your vending machines, you’ll need commercial property insurance to protect your inventory. This insurance will help you repair or replace broken inventory due to vandalism, bad weather, or fires. It will also cover the land and the physical structure used to house your products and workers.
Workers’ Compensation Insurance
If you have any employees working for you, workers’ compensation coverage is available to cover them in the case of an accident or injury. Vending machines are heavy and difficult to maneuver, so this insurance is necessary to safeguard against any physical harm sustained on the job.
Commercial Auto Insurance
If you use trucks to transport machines and workers, you’ll need commercial auto insurance to cover the machinery and stock. A personal auto insurance policy will typically deny claims for business-related expenses or accidents caused by business-related transport.
Business Interruption Insurance
Business interruption insurance will supply a company with income even if the business is temporarily closed. Events such as fire, bad weather, and criminal activity are all covered under this insurance. If you can no longer provide vending machines or stock to your facilities because your warehouse is being rebuilt, you can use this insurance to sustain your livelihood.
Product Liability Insurance
This insurance covers a company in case a defective product causes physical injury to an unsuspecting party. Like general liability, it can cover medical and legal costs in the case of a serious claim from a customer about the safety of your vending machines and stock.
Commercial Umbrella Liability Insurance
This insurance is available in case a general liability policy reaches its financial limits in a serious lawsuit. For example, if a lawsuit costs $200,000 to fight and a general liability policy only covers $100,000, vending machine operators can purchase additional coverage in the form of an umbrella policy.
Commercial Auto Insurance
If you own a vending machine business and use a vehicle to transport your machines, you'll need commercial auto insurance. This type of insurance provides coverage for your business vehicles in case of an accident, theft, or other damage.
Commercial auto insurance can also cover liability claims if you or one of your employees causes an accident while driving a business vehicle. It's crucial to have this coverage in place to protect your business from financial losses that could result from accidents or other damage to your vehicles.
Cyber Liability Insurance
Vending machines are becoming more high-tech and many now feature cashless payment options and connected technology. As such, vending machine businesses may be vulnerable to cyber-attacks and data breaches, which could expose sensitive customer information and lead to costly legal battles.
Cyber Liability Insurance can help protect your business from these risks by providing coverage for data breaches, cyber-attacks, and other cyber-related incidents. This insurance coverage protects machine operators from the costs of legal fees, data restoration, and other expenses that could result from a cyber incident.
Commercial Crime Insurance
Vending machines can be tempting targets for thieves and they are at risk of theft, vandalism, and other types of criminal activity. Commercial crime insurance or employee dishonesty insurance can help protect your business from these risks by providing coverage for losses resulting from employee theft, burglary, robbery, forgery, and other types of crime.
This insurance can also cover the costs of repairing or replacing vending machines that are damaged or destroyed due to criminal activity.
Commercial Property Insurance Policy
Vending machines are expensive pieces of equipment and they are often placed in public areas where they may be at risk of damage or theft. A commercial property insurance policy can provide coverage for damage to your vending machines, as well as other business property, such as your warehouse, office, or storage space.
This type of insurance can help protect your business from financial losses resulting from natural disasters, theft, fire, and other types of damage to your property. Having this coverage in place can help you avoid costly repairs or replacements and ensure that your vending machine business continues to operate smoothly.
Additional Steps To Protect Your Business
Although it’s easy (and essential) to invest in business insurance, it shouldn’t be your only defense.
Here are several things you can do to better protect your vending machine business:
- Use legally robust contracts and other business documents. (We offer free templates for some of the most common legal forms.)
- Set up an LLC or corporation to protect your personal assets. (Visit our step-by-step guides to learn how to form an LLC or corporation in your state.)
- Stay up to date with business licensing.
- Maintain your corporate veil.
Vending Machine Business Insurance FAQ
Yes, absolutely. You will need to first get a quote from an online business insurance provider like Next Insurance. Next allows you to then purchase a policy immediately and your coverage will be active within 48 hours.
A typical business owner’s policy includes general liability, business interruption, and commercial property insurance. However, BOPs are often customizable, so your agent may recommend adding professional liability, commercial auto, or other types of coverage to your package depending on your company’s needs.
"Business insurance" is a generic term used to describe many different types of coverage a business may need. General liability insurance, on the other hand, is a specific type of coverage that business owners need to protect their assets.
It is likely that you will need to purchase some business insurance if you want your business to operate legitimately. Some of the policies you might need include:
- Commercial auto
- Workers’ compensation
- Business interruption
It is a good idea to find the best vending machine business insurance for your business before its operations commence so there is no chance of it facing the industry’s risks unprotected.
Not necessarily. Certain exceptions may be written directly into your vending machine business insurance policy, and some perils may be entirely uninsurable.
Yes, an LLC is meant to create a legal barrier between your business and your personal assets and credit. If you haven’t formed an LLC yet, use our Form an LLC guide to get started.
An LLC doesn’t protect your business assets from lawsuits and liability– that’s where business insurance comes in. Business insurance helps protect your business from liability and risk.