At The Retail Mutual we take pride in settling our Members’ claims as quickly and easily as possible. But any claim-worthy incident causes disruption to your business, so from time to time we like to share information and experiences with you to help you avoid similar incidents and the inevitable upheaval that comes with them.

Are you liable?

One type of claim we often get reported is where shelving in a Member’s shop has collapsed, often as a result of heavy items such as bottles and cans being stored on them. A collapse of this type can cause a lot of material damage as well as injury to both staff and customers. This can result in Public or Employer’s liability claims against you and unless you have accidental damage protection, the materials damage is generally not covered.

Common sense

Most shelving has a maximum load capacity, but it is not always easy to know what this is. Letting common sense prevail is a good rule of thumb – consider the type of wall material, the fixings used, the number of vertical supports, the shelf material and, of course, the eventual load applied.

Full to bursting

If your shelves look as though they are full to bursting, the chances are they probably are. Take care not to overfill them, check them regularly to ensure they remain safe and secure and consider the benefits of adding accidental damage protection to your cover.