Tailors Insurance for the Shop Itself

This is cover for the shop you work from and what belongs to the business in it: the premises, the machines, the bolts of cloth and trimmings, the takings and liability to customers on site. How garments left with you for alteration are treated is the first thing to confirm when you quote.
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Tailor Shop Cover Explained

  • For tailors and alteration shops in Great Britain, where the trade is on the accepted list.

  • Confirm at quote stage how customers' garments left in your care are treated. Do not assume.

  • Machines, cloth and trimmings are business contents and stock at the premises named in your Schedule.

  • Only the sections shown as selected in your Policy Schedule apply, subject to terms and limits.

Retail Insurance for Tailors: What Cover Can Include

The Lukango retail business insurance product can include property damage, public and products liability, business interruption following insured damage, money and assault and goods in transit. For a tailor that means the shop and its fit-out, the machines and pressing equipment, the cloth and trimmings held as stock, the takings and the trade lost if the shop cannot open. Each section is subject to eligibility, terms, exclusions, excesses and limits.

Premises
Machines
Cloth
Customers
Money

Property damage

May cover insured damage to buildings, contents and stock at the named shop premises.

Public and products liability

Can help with certain third-party claims arising at the shop, and garments sold.

Business interruption

May cover trade lost following insured damage that stops the shop opening.

Money and assault

Can include theft, attempted theft or robbery of business money, plus defined assault benefits.

Goods in transit

May cover eligible stock while in transit within Great Britain, including loading and unloading.

Property extensions

May include fixed glass and signage at the shop, within the limits in the wording.

Choosing the Right Tailors Insurance Cover

The first question with tailors insurance is not the one most people start with. Before the cloth and the machines, settle how the garments customers leave with you are treated, because a rail of other people’s suits and dresses is the loss that would hurt most and it is not something a general page can answer for your shop. After that, the numbers that matter are the value of cloth held and what replacing the machines would cost today.

Customers' garments

The first thing to settle, before anything else

A rail of suits and dresses belonging to customers is the most painful loss this trade has. Confirm in writing how garments in your care are treated before you rely on any cover.

Cloth is worth more than it looks

Especially suiting and bridal

A few bolts of good cloth and a bridal order can outvalue the entire fit-out. Set the stock figure against what is genuinely on the shelves rather than a rough average.

The machines are the business

Industrial sewing, overlockers, pressing

A tailor without machines cannot trade at all, so consider both the replacement cost and how quickly you could be working again after an insured loss.

Customers come to you

Fittings, collections, alterations

People are in the shop regularly, often in a changing area. Public liability can respond to certain third-party injury or damage claims arising at the premises.

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Rolled bolts of grey, navy, herringbone and checked suiting cloth stacked in a tailor shop

Tailor Shop Insurance: Premises, Machines and Cloth

Tailors insurance under this product is cover for the shop and the business property in it. Property damage can include buildings, contents and stock at the premises named in your Schedule, where the section is selected and the loss is caused by an insured peril. That is the fit-out, the sewing and pressing machines, and the cloth and trimmings held for the business. Public liability can respond to injury or damage to a third party at the shop, such as a customer in for a fitting. The Policy Schedule confirms which sections apply, the sums insured, excesses and sub-limits.

A half-made grey jacket pinned and basted onto a tailor's dress form with a tape measure over the shoulder

Why Find Tailor Shop Insurance Through Insureworks?

Insureworks is here to make finding insurance simple and transparent, and for a tailor that means flagging one question early rather than late. Garments belonging to customers are the thing most likely to be lost in a fire or a flood here, and how they are treated needs confirming when you quote rather than assuming from a web page. What this product is built around is the shop itself: the premises, the machines, the cloth and the people who come in. This page is information only and is not personal advice. Insureworks is not the insurer and does not underwrite or pay claims.

How Tailor Shop Cover Works

  • Confirm first how garments customers leave in your care are treated, because it is the largest question this trade has.
  • Review the IPID, Policy Schedule and policy wording to understand the selected cover, its limits, excesses, conditions and exclusions.
  • Provide complete and accurate information when arranging, renewing or changing the policy, including your activities and any material changes.
  • Notify a claim as soon as possible, provide requested evidence and report theft, malicious damage or criminal acts to the police.

Tailors Insurance FAQs

Four questions we are asked most often about insuring a tailor’s shop.

That is the question to settle before anything else, and it is not one this page can answer for your business. Property damage covers buildings, contents and stock at the premises, and whether a garment belonging to a customer sits inside that depends on the terms that apply to your policy. Get it confirmed in writing at quote stage rather than assuming it either way.

Cloth, linings, trimmings and other stock held for the business can be included under the property damage section where that section is selected, subject to the sum insured and any limits. Suiting and bridal fabric carry more value than owners often expect, so the figure should reflect what is genuinely held rather than a rough average.

Machines can be included as business contents at the premises named in your Schedule where the property damage section is selected. Cover responds to insured perils rather than every cause of loss, so it is worth reading the wording. A tailor cannot trade without machines, which is also why the business interruption section is worth considering alongside them.

Public liability can respond to certain third-party injury or damage claims arising at your premises, where that section is shown as selected in your Policy Schedule and subject to its limits and exclusions. Fittings mean customers are regularly on site and often moving between a changing area and a mirror, so it is a relevant section for this trade.

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