A young entrepreneur in Tampa has a spot lined up for a skincare kiosk in the center aisle of a busy mall from November through January. Her employees will hand out samples, apply creams to the backs of shoppers’ hands and run a heated eyelash curler demonstration. The mall’s specialty leasing office sends a license agreement on a Tuesday and wants a certificate of insurance by Friday, naming three different entities, or the kiosk stays in storage. She has never bought business insurance, and the first online quote she gets describes her as a “retail store” with no mention of demonstrations, imported products or a cart sitting in the middle of the mall.
Kiosks, carts and pop-up stands in mall corridors are their own kind of business. They sell phone accessories and screen protectors, jewelry and sunglasses, cosmetics and skincare, toys, perfume, massage chairs and personalized gifts, and they do it in the open, surrounded by foot traffic on every side, often on short agreements that start and end with the season. A policy written for an ordinary store can miss most of what makes them different.
License Agreements Move Fast
Most kiosk and cart operators do not sign a traditional lease. They sign a license agreement with the mall’s specialty leasing department, sometimes for a full year and often for a holiday season, a few months or even month to month. The insurance requirements, however, are rarely lighter than a full tenant’s: a stated general liability limit, the landlord, its managing agent and sometimes its lender as additional insureds, primary and noncontributory wording, a waiver of subrogation and a certificate before move-in. The difference is time. A kiosk operator may have days, not weeks, to deliver a certificate that matches the agreement word for word.
Have your agent ready before the agreement arrives, and send the full insurance exhibit as soon as you have it. Some carriers write short-term policies for seasonal kiosks, while others write an annual policy that can be cancelled after the season, usually with a minimum earned premium. If you operate in more than one mall, every location needs to be listed on the policy, and each mall will want its own certificate. Our articles on what your contract requires from your insurance and insurance for independent retailers in Florida malls and shopping centers explain the endorsements these agreements require.
Selling in the Middle of the Aisle
A kiosk has no walls. Shoppers walk around it on every side, children run past it, strollers and wheelchairs squeeze by it and display racks, cords and stock boxes sit within reach. Trips over a power cord or a box left on the floor, displays that tip, mirrors that break and merchandise that falls from a high shelf are the everyday liability claims, and because the kiosk sits in the landlord’s common area, those claims usually name the mall as well. Keep cords taped down and inside the footprint, store stock in closed cabinets, keep the space around the cart clear and write an incident report whenever someone is hurt.
Demonstrations Are a Different Exposure
Many kiosks sell by demonstrating, and that is where the most serious claims begin. Applying a cream or serum to a shopper’s skin can cause an allergic reaction or a chemical burn. Hair straighteners, curling irons and heated eyelash tools can burn. Massage chairs and handheld massagers can injure someone with a back or neck condition. Shoppers who were touched or grabbed without agreeing to it can bring claims too, and an aggressive sales approach makes those more likely. Tell your agent exactly what your staff does at the kiosk, because some policies exclude or limit claims arising from services or treatments, and a carrier that thought it was insuring a retail cart may not expect demonstrations on customers.
Services raise the stakes further. Eyebrow threading, ear piercing, temporary tattoos and phone screen installation are professional or bailee exposures, not just retail ones. Threading and piercing kiosks need professional liability and often have state rules to follow, and piercing for minors calls for written parental consent. Kiosks that install screen protectors or repair phones are holding customers’ devices, which our article on cell phone and electronics repair shop insurance covers in detail.
Imported Products and Product Liability
A great deal of kiosk merchandise is imported, and much of it comes from small overseas manufacturers through distributors with little or no insurance. If a phone charger overheats, a cosmetic causes a reaction, a toy breaks into a choking hazard or a piece of jewelry contains a harmful metal, the kiosk that sold it can be named in the claim, and it may be the only business within reach. Buy from suppliers who can show product testing and a certificate of insurance, keep records of where every product came from, watch recall notices and tell your agent if you sell products under your own brand. Our article on product liability for private-label brands explains how that changes your exposure, and kiosks that also sell online should read our article on e-commerce insurance for Florida online sellers.
The Cart, the Stock and Overnight Theft
A kiosk operator’s property is the cart or kiosk unit itself, which the operator may own, lease from the mall or rent from a supplier, plus fixtures, a point-of-sale terminal and inventory. Read the license agreement to see who is responsible for damage to a mall-owned unit, because many agreements put that on the operator. Inventory is the larger exposure. A cart secured with a cover and a padlock overnight is far easier to break into than a store with a gate, and jewelry, phones, sunglasses and perfume are small and easy to resell. Property coverage may limit theft of high-value goods, and theft by employees is excluded, so crime coverage is worth considering. Many operators take high-value stock off the cart and lock it in a storage room at closing, and some carriers require it. Operators who move stock between malls or to events should ask about inland marine coverage for property in transit and away from the listed location.
Small Crews and Workers’ Comp
Most kiosks run with one to three employees per shift, often part-time and seasonal. Florida requires workers’ compensation for non-construction businesses with four or more employees, counting part-time and seasonal workers, and an operator with several kiosks or a busy holiday season can cross that line quickly. Our article on whether you need workers’ comp in Florida explains how the state counts, and our article on pay-as-you-go workers’ comp explains how seasonal operators can avoid a large audit bill.
What Mall Kiosk and Cart Operators Should Confirm
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Does your certificate match the license agreement exactly, including every additional insured?
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Does your policy describe what your staff actually does, including demonstrations on customers?
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Do services such as threading, piercing or screen installation need professional or bailee coverage?
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Do your suppliers provide certificates of insurance and product testing, especially for cosmetics, chargers and toys?
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Who is responsible for the cart or kiosk unit under the agreement, and is it insured?
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Is inventory covered for overnight theft, and do you have crime coverage for employee theft and cash?
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Is every mall where you operate listed on the policy?
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Do you need workers’ compensation for your holiday staff?
Mall Kiosk and Cart Insurance With Prestige
Prestige Insurance Group insures kiosk, cart and pop-up operators in malls and outlet centers throughout Florida, from Miami-Dade and Broward to Orlando and Tampa, including seasonal operators and owners running several locations. We work with over 100 MGAs and specialty markets and can turn around certificates that match a mall’s license agreement. Send us your agreement, a description of what you sell and how you sell it and your supplier information, and we will build the program around it. For mall food and beverage tenants, see our articles on franchise beverage and dessert tenants and mall food court restaurants, and for other retail operations see our page on retail business insurance. Call the office nearest you. Se habla español.
Miami: 305-969-8776 Orlando: 407-993-2331
General information only, not legal advice. License agreement terms, state rules for services such as piercing and threading, product safety requirements, policy forms and carrier appetite vary and change over time. Review your agreement with your attorney and refer to your policy for the terms that apply to your business.
