Key Takeaways

  • General liability insurance protects against claims from injuries on your premises or defective products
  • Property insurance covers losses from fires, floods, theft and more to keep operations running
  • Commercial auto insurance provides liability and physical damage coverage if vehicles are in an accident
  • Workers’ compensation covers medical costs and lost wages if employees get hurt on the job
  • Commercial umbrella policy provides additional liability coverage above primary policies’ limits
  • Cyber liability insurance covers costs from data breaches and network security failures

Introduction

As a wholesaler distributing books, periodicals and newspapers, it is important to have the proper business insurance policies in place to protect your operations and finances. Several key types of coverage should be considered to mitigate risks in this industry, based on analyzing industry data and average risks/exposures for NAICS code 424920.

General Liability Insurance

General liability insurance is an essential coverage for businesses in the book, periodical, and newspaper merchant wholesalers industry. It protects the business from legal costs and damages arising from third party claims of bodily injury, property damage or other negligent acts.

As a wholesaler in this industry, there are risks of accidents occurring on your premises as well as potential defective products. General liability insurance helps cover lawsuits, legal fees, injuries and property damage in these situations to protect the financial health of your business. The average annual premium for a policy with $1 million in coverage is approximately $2,500 based on industry data.

Category List
Benefits
  • Protects your business from third party claims of bodily injury or property damage
  • Covers legal costs if you’re sued by a customer or client for negligent acts or omissions
  • Covers any accidents or injuries that happen on your premises
  • Pays for costs related to product liability claims if a faulty product harms someone
  • Covers claims related to contractual liability if you fail to meet contractual obligations
  • Insurance company will provide a legal defense if you’re involved in a lawsuit
  • Covers claims of defamation, libel or slander against your business
  • Covers claims related to contractual liability if you fail to meet contractual obligations
Use Cases
  • Protects against claims of bodily injury or property damage from accidents on your premises
  • Covers liability claims from defective products or poor work
  • Protects from lawsuits alleging negligence, errors, or omissions
  • Covers legal fees and court awarded damages if found liable in a lawsuit

Based on industry data and historical claim rates, the estimated average annual premium for general liability insurance for businesses in the Book, Periodical, and Newspaper Merchant Wholesalers industry with NAICS Code 424920 is $2,500. This was calculated based on an average coverage limit of $1,000,000 and average payroll of $5,000,000 for businesses in this industry.

Estimated Pricing: $2,500

Property Insurance

Property insurance provides essential protection for businesses in the book, periodical, and newspaper merchant wholesalers industry. It covers costs from unexpected property losses and damages, ensuring the business can continue operating after covered incidents. Key benefits include covering losses from fire, water, theft, storms and more; replacing lost inventory; repairing damaged property; and providing liability protection. Top use cases are protection from inventory damage or loss, coverage for owned buildings/equipment, liability protection for customer injuries, and replacement cost coverage after losses. Average pricing is around $2.50 per $100 of insured value.

Category List
Benefits
  • Covers losses from fire damage
  • Covers losses from water damage (burst pipes, flooding, etc.)
  • Covers losses from theft
  • Covers losses from vandalism
  • Covers losses from storms/natural disasters
  • Covers losses from power outages
  • Covers losses from accidents/equipment malfunctions
  • Provides liability protection in the event of injury/damage on premises
Use Cases
  • Protection from damage or loss of inventory and merchandise due to fire, theft or weather-related incidents
  • Coverage for buildings, equipment, and other properties owned by the business
  • Liability protection if a customer gets injured on the business premises
  • Replacement cost coverage to repair or rebuild properties after a loss

Based on industry statistics and profiles, the average property insurance pricing for businesses in the Book, Periodical, and Newspaper Merchant Wholesalers industry with NAICS code 424920 is around $2.50 per $100 of insured value. This was calculated based on the typical property profile of these businesses, which usually involve warehouse/office spaces to store inventory of books, magazines, and newspapers. The risk factor is considered moderate compared to other industries. Pricing may vary depending on individual business’ property values, claims history, and additional insurance riders/coverage.

Estimated Pricing: $2.50/$100

Commercial Auto Insurance

Commercial auto insurance provides essential liability and physical damage coverage for book, periodical, and newspaper merchant wholesalers that rely on vehicles for delivery and sales activities. It protects the business from financial risks in case of accidents involving employees, vehicles, cargo, or additional insured parties during business operations.

Some of the key uses of commercial auto insurance for wholesalers in this industry include covering delivery vans and trucks transporting inventory between warehouses and retail locations, as well as vehicles used by sales representatives visiting client locations. Estimated average annual premiums for businesses in NAICS code 424920 are around $3,500 based on fleet makeup, mileage, loss history, and number of vehicles.

Category List
Benefits
  • Liability protection in case of accidents
  • Coverage for physical damage to vehicles
  • Medical payments for those injured in an accident
  • Coverage for hired and non-owned vehicles
  • Replacement rentals if vehicles are damaged
  • Coverage for cargo being transported
  • Coverage extended to additional insured parties
Use Cases
  • Covering delivery vehicles like vans and trucks used to transport inventory between warehouse and retailer locations
  • Insuring vehicles used by sales representatives to visit client locations
  • Providing liability coverage for company vehicles in case of accidents

Based on the average risks and exposures for businesses in the Book, Periodical, and Newspaper Merchant Wholesalers industry with NAICS code 424920, the estimated average annual commercial auto insurance pricing would be around $3,500. This pricing was derived based on factors such as the types of vehicles used being mostly cargo vans and light trucks, annual mileage being around 30,000 miles on average per vehicle, good loss history, and multiple vehicles.

Estimated Pricing: $3,500

Workers’ Compensation Insurance

Workers’ compensation insurance provides important benefits and protections for businesses in the book, periodical, and newspaper merchant wholesalers industry (NAICS 424920). It ensures employees are cared for if injured on the job while also shielding the company from costly lawsuits. Some key benefits included automatic benefits for injured employees, legal protection for the business, encouragement of workplace safety, and assistance with employee retention. Common uses involve covering medical costs, lost wages, legal defense, rehabilitation, and more for job-related injuries as required by law. National average rates for this industry are estimated around $1.40 per $100 of payroll.

Category List
Benefits
  • It provides employees with automatic benefits if they are injured on the job
  • It protects the business from lawsuits by injured employees
  • It encourages a safer work environment
  • It reduces costs of employee turnover from workplace injuries
  • It demonstrates care for employee well-being which can help with employee satisfaction and retention
  • It is required by law in all states which protects the business from penalties for non-compliance
Use Cases
  • Cover medical expenses if an employee gets injured on the job
  • Compensate an employee who cannot work due to a job-related injury or illness
  • Pay lost wages for an employee who cannot work while recovering from a job injury
  • Cover legal defense costs if an employee sues the company over a job injury
  • Cover rehabilitation costs if an employee requires physical therapy or counseling due to a work injury

Based on national average rates, businesses in the Book, Periodical, and Newspaper Merchant Wholesalers industry (NAICS 424920) can expect to pay around $1.40 per $100 of payroll for workers’ compensation insurance. This rate is derived from analysis of insurance claims data that shows this industry has a moderate risk level compared to other wholesale trades industries.

Estimated Pricing: $1.40 per $100 of payroll

Commercial Umbrella Insurance

Commercial umbrella insurance provides additional liability protection for businesses in the book, periodical, and newspaper wholesaling industry. It protects the company from large claims that exceed the limits of the primary general liability and auto policies. Umbrella insurance is especially important for this industry as wholesaling printed materials carries risks of liability claims and lawsuits. It fills coverage gaps and provides broader protection from a wide range of exposures beyond standard policies. Estimated pricing for an adequate amount of umbrella coverage is around $1,500 annually.

Category List
Benefits
  • Protects your assets from large loss claims
  • Covers losses in excess of the primary general liability or commercial auto limits
  • Protects personal assets from business-related lawsuits
  • Provides additional limits for expensive lawsuits or settlements
  • Covers legal costs like attorney fees in the event of a lawsuit
  • Lowers overall insurance costs by consolidating multiple policies
  • Provides broad coverage for a wide range of risks beyond basic policies
Use Cases
  • To provide additional liability coverage above the limits of the underlying commercial general liability (CGL) and commercial auto policies
  • To protect the business and owners from large financial losses due to liability claims, lawsuits or judgments that exceed the limits of the primary policies
  • To cover risks not included in the underlying primary policies such as some employment practices liability exposures
  • To provide broader coverage than the standard CGL policy for risks that may be excluded in the primary policy

Based on average umbrella insurance pricing data and risk factors for the NAICS 424920 industry, the estimated annual commercial umbrella insurance pricing would be around $1,500. This price was derived by taking the industry average base premium of $1 per $1,000 of coverage and applying a factor of 1.5x for the additional risk of merchandise distribution involved in wholesaling books, periodicals, and newspapers.

Estimated Pricing: $1,500

Cyber Liability Insurance

As a wholesaler in the Book, Periodical, and Newspaper Merchant industry, it is important to protect your business from the financial risks of data breaches and cyber attacks. Cyber liability insurance can help safeguard you from expenses related to network security failures, data loss incidents, and lawsuits stemming from compromised customer information. The top benefits of cyber insurance for your industry include covering legal fees, notification costs, data recovery expenses, and more resulting from a cyber incident. Additionally, common use cases where coverage would apply involve responding to data breaches, legal defense in lawsuits and regulatory fines, loss of income from network outages, and public relations costs after an attack. Based on analyzing your industry risk level and revenue, the estimated average annual pricing for this type of insurance would be around $2,500.

Category List
Benefits
  • Covers legal fees and civil fines/penalties resulting from a data breach or cyber attack
  • Covers costs of notifying affected individuals if their personal information is compromised
  • Covers costs to retrieve and restore lost data as well as business interruption losses
  • Covers PR/advertising costs to repair brand reputation damaged by a cyber incident
  • Covers expenses related to a network security failure or human error that results in a data breach
  • Covers liability claims if a third party suffers a data breach due to your negligence
  • Provides access to legal support and counseling in the event of a cyber attack or data breach
Use Cases
  • Data breach response costs
  • Legal defense against lawsuits from data breach victims
  • Regulatory fines and penalties for non-compliance with data privacy laws (e.g. GDPR)
  • Legal defense against lawsuits from intellectual property infringement (e.g. copyrighted content)
  • Loss of income and extra expenses from network downtime due to cyber attack
  • Public relations and crisis management costs after a cyber incident

Based on analyzing the industry risk level and average revenue for businesses in this industry, the estimated average annual pricing for a cyber liability insurance policy would be around $2,500. This estimate was derived from comparing the industry risk level to similar industries and factoring in the typical policy limits and deductibles offered to businesses in this revenue range.

Estimated Pricing: $2,500

Business Interruption Insurance

Business interruption insurance provides an important financial safety net for book, periodical, and newspaper wholesalers by helping ensure business stability and viability if unexpected disruptions cause operations to shut down temporarily. The top benefits of business interruption insurance for wholesalers in this industry include covering loss of income during temporary closures and reimbursing continuing expenses to keep the business financially stable during difficult times. The top use cases center around losses from property damage, disruptions to suppliers or delivery, and income losses from natural disasters. Estimated annual premiums for wholesalers in this industry average around $3,500 based on 1% of total revenue as the insured value and an average rate of $3.50 per $100 of coverage.

Category List
Benefits
  • Covers loss of income if the business has to close temporarily
  • Reimburses continuing expenses like payroll, taxes and loan payments
  • Helps keep the business financially stable during difficult times
  • Protects cash flow so the business can recover from an unforeseen event
  • Provides funds to restart business operations after an unexpected disruption
  • Limits the financial losses that could threaten the long-term survival of the business
Use Cases
  • Loss of inventory due to fire, flood, or other disasters
  • Loss of business due to property damage halting operations
  • Loss of income if a key supplier experiences an interruption
  • Loss of income if delivery or transportation is disrupted
  • Loss of income if a natural disaster disrupts business operations

Based on typical business interruption insurance pricing models, the average annual premium for businesses in this industry would be around $3,500. This is derived from taking 1% of the total revenue as the baseline insured value, then applying an average rate of $3.50 per $100 of insured value.

Estimated Pricing: $3,500

Conclusion

Being knowledgeable about the appropriate insurance needs will help book, periodical and newspaper wholesalers maintain stability even if unexpected issues arise. Working with an experienced agent can ensure your business has the optimal policies in place. This article also provides estimated average annual pricing for each coverage.

Frequently Asked Questions

Share via
Copy link