Canadian summers are peak season for most small businesses. More customers, activity, and revenue. And unfortunately, more ways for things to go wrong.
Nobody opens a business expecting disaster. But the summer with all its activity, outdoor work, and peak-season pressure has a way of delivering unexpected issues anyway.
A comprehensive business insurance policy is the backstop every Canadian small business owner needs to recover fast and stay open when the unexpected hits.
In this article, we break down 9 real summertime business insurance claims our clients filed last year. Each one shows exactly what went wrong, what coverage applied, and how much was paid out.
1. Equipment Damage
Client’s industry: Photography
A patron bumped our client’s camera off its tripod at a wedding. It fell into a nearby pond and was destroyed on impact.
Coverage that helped: Our client’s portable business contents insurance paid out over $2,000 to replace the camera and lens.
2. Third-Party Bodily Injury
Client’s industry: Hair Stylist
Our client incorrectly mixed dye products while preparing a customer for a wedding. The dye damaged the customer’s hair and didn’t produce the intended colour. The customer sued in small claims court.
Coverage that helped: Our client’s professional liability insurance paid over $400 of their customer’s costs to get their hair fixed elsewhere and settle the case out of court.
3. Third-Party Property Damage
Client’s industry: Contractor
Our client was hired to power wash a backyard deck ahead of summer. During the job, they accidentally blew off decorative parts of the deck, gate, and fence.
Coverage that helped: Their general liability insurance covered over $6,000 to replace the damaged parts of the structure.
4. Drone Equipment Damage
Client’s industry: Photography
While doing aerial photography for a client, a sudden gust of wind sent our client’s drone straight into a tree. It got stuck and was damaged beyond repair.
Coverage that helped: Their portable business contents insurance paid over $1,000 to replace the drone.
5. Theft and Vandalism
Client’s industry: Short-term property rental host
Our client owns a lakeside short-term rental property at a popular summer destination. One day, they got the call every host dreads: the property had been broken into, vandalized, and furniture was stolen.
Coverage that helped: Their Airbnb insurance policy covered over $45,000 in costs to repair the damages, replace the stolen furniture, and through the business interruption coverage included in the policy, their revenue losses were covered during the repairs, so they did not miss out on profits for their busiest season.
6. Third-Party Property Damage
Client’s industry: Contractor
After our client installed a new air conditioning unit in a customer’s condo, the system started leaking and damaged the customer’s floor.
Coverage that helped: Our client’s general liability insurance covered over $6,000 to replace their customer’s damaged floor.
7. Collision With Wildlife
Client’s industry: General contractor
Driving home from a worksite, our client’s vehicle collided with a deer that jumped out unexpectedly. The damage to their vehicle was significant.
Coverage that helped: His commercial auto insurance policy included all-perils coverage, which covered over $6,000 to repair the damage to his vehicle.
8. Equipment Breakdown
Client’s industry: Martial arts gym owner
At the peak of summer, our client’s air conditioning unit broke down right in the middle of a heatwave. With no air conditioning, they had to close the gym until repairs were complete.
Coverage that helped: Their equipment breakdown insurance with business interruption coverage paid over $1,000 to repair the air conditioner and cover their revenue losses for classes they had to temporarily cancel.
9. Third-Party Property Damage
Client’s industry: Landscaping
While trimming hedges, our client set down some hot equipment on the customer’s lawn to tackle smaller hedges nearby. The equipment scorched and burned the surface, which turned out to be expensive artificial turf.
Coverage that helped: Our client’s general liability insurance policy covered over $9,000 in costs to replace the damaged artificial turf.
What These Business Insurance Claims Have in Common
Every single one of these incidents was unexpected. None of these business owners saw it coming, and that’s exactly the point. No small business is without risk.
A camera in a pond. A drone in a tree. Hitting a deer on a dark road. These aren’t freak events; they’re ordinary summer moments that turned into real financial hits. The difference between a bad week and a business-threatening crisis? The right insurance coverage.
Protect Your Small Business Year-Round: Get a Free Insurance Quote
Unpredictability is an inherent trait of the future, and unexpected things can happen to any small business owner, regardless of their industry.
We help protect 100,000+ Canadian small businesses and independent professionals with low-cost, customized business insurance, so they’re covered when the unexpected catches them off-guard.
Fill out our online application for a free quote in just a few minutes.
Our team of knowledgeable insurance experts will shop our partner network of 50+ insurers to find the right policy for your small business, tailor it to your specifications, and issue your policy documents and a certificate of insurance in 48 hours or less.
– Reviewed by Reagan Elly, Senior Claims Advisor, and Brandon Bowie, Senior Broker and Team Lead, Professional Lines, Zensurance.
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