Written by Dan Armes, founder of ServoPro.
With the rising value of cigarettes and cash being held on premises, petrol stations are an easy target for theft and burglary. We are seeing in the news almost daily, occurrences of armed hold ups. Petrol stations provide easy access and an opportunity for burglars to get in and out quickly with highly valuable stock and cash.
Because the theft of cash is not part of a generic business insurance policy this is one of the main areas ServoPro’s partner for insurance, Sudale Insurance Brokers, finds that petrol station operators are not covered or they have too much cover.
Coverage for cigarettes also needs to be noted on the insurance policy with a value set to make sure that the business is covered.
If an armed holdup occurs the focus needs to be on supporting the employees affected not on wondering whether the business is covered. It is worth walking around the store, considering the items that are an easy and valuable target for theft such as cash, cigarettes and ATM’s and making sure they are included in your insurance policy.
It’s good business practice to look at ways to reduce the risk of burglary and to limit the amount of money or cigarettes that could be taken. It could be as simple as putting excess cigarette cartons in a locked safe in the office rather than sitting in the front locked cabinets or making sure the till is regularly checked so there is no excess cash sitting in the draw.