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Point-of-Sale
Equipment Adds to Retail Exposures
A
Basic
Electronic Cash Register Can Be Worth More Than $1,000
It
was an hour before closing when the lights flickered inside a
wireless telephone store. Smoke poured from the electrical outlets
and equipment shorted out. Printers, scanners and computers were
damaged, but it was the loss of electronic cash registers, several
credit card readers and a computer server used to program new
cellphones that shut the store down. The loss totaled $10,225.
SHORT
CIRCUIT SALES
The phone store
relied on electronic point-of-sale (POS) equipment. The
equipment was damaged by a utility power spike that surged
through the electrical system of its leased building. The
lights and electricity were quickly restored, but the
equipment short-circuited and had to be replaced. Equipment
breakdown insurance from HSB paid $9,592 to cover the damage
and $633 for the loss of business income.
POS
SYSTEMS ARE WIDESPREAD
POS
systems can save a business time and money.
Restaurants, convenience stores, supermarkets and retailers
of all sizes use this equipment. Modern electronic cash
registers are integrated with POS systems to perform many
functions including inventory tracking, credit card
authorization and electronic fund transfers. Some retailers
use POS systems as a time clock to help make staffing
decisions, others to print coupons on the spot, offer
self-checkout stations and detect consumer fraud.
RISKY
BUSINESS
A basic electronic cash register with a POS system can be worth in
excess of $700 to more than $1,000; versions with touch screens and
integrated POS systems cost $3,000 and up, each. Many stores with
several units have a significant investment in just cash registers
and POS systems alone. The value of the receipt and customer data
they contain, which can be lost in an equipment accident, and the
potential for lost sales and extra expenses can be as much or more
than the system.
PUMPING
UP PROFITS
There are many types of POS equipment. Barcode scanners,
receipt printers, credit card readers and scales are
networked with POS systems. Even a gas pump, described by
one systems provider as an “information appliance,” may
have speakers and cameras to monitor the pump, a card reader
and a touch-screen to complete the sale. Other pump
electronics collect information, advertise and offer other
merchandise.
THE
POINT IS PROTECTION
POS systems and equipment are essential to operating a retail
business. Your clients rely on fragile equipment using swipe, touch
and scan technologies that are often interconnected and vulnerable
to electrical damage. Make sure they are covered for repairs, lost
income and other expenses with equipment breakdown insurance from
Hartford Steam Boiler.
| Cash
Register Short, No Pay at the Pump
POS systems systems
and related equipment use sensitive computer
components that are easily damaged by power disturbances.
These typical losses were covered by equipment breakdown
insurance from HSB.
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An
underground electrical wire to a service station
faulted, causing a power surge that damaged 14 credit
card readers on the gas pumps. Although the pumps still
worked, credit card billing had to be done by hand until
repairs were complete. The paid loss totaled $27,881.
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A
store's computer system was damaged by a power
surge that came in through the data network lines. Surge
suppressors were installed on the electrical system, but
not on the data lines. The total paid loss was $30,800.
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