Do you own a restaurant, a cafe, a diner, or even a food truck?
Any dining establishment is required to carry restaurant insurance.
That is because if you don’t have the proper insurance coverage, a minor accident at your restaurant – whether it involves an employee or customer or both – could turn in a major and costly problem that might even cost you your restaurant.
Restaurant insurance policies protect against the standard liabilities along with things like food poisoning, kitchen fires, kitchen accidents such as cuts and burns and slips and falls, and other unique risks of the restaurant and food service business.
What is Restaurant Insurance?
Restaurant insurance is a group or package of insurance policies that restaurant owners need to carry in order to ensure that their establishment, their staff, and their finances are adequately protected in the case of everything from minor incidents to major catastrophes.
Owning and operating a restaurant poses unique risks and exposures that mean specialized restaurant insurance bundles – and agents with experience putting them together – are a restauranteur’s best friend.
Why Do You Need Insurance for Your Restaurant?
Everything from a power outage or refrigerator or freezer breakdown that destroys all or most of your inventory, food poisoning claims that can be a public relations disaster and result in lawsuits, injuries to the restaurant staff, kitchen fires or grease fires that close the restaurant temporarily or permanently, slip and fall injuries from customers or staff, or any number of other issues can be devastating.
How Do You Choose the Right Types of Restaurant Insurance?
If you are a restauranteur, then you need several different insurance policies.
Your insurance agent will be able to put together a package that covers everything that you need based on the type of restaurant that you have, the amount of staff you have and their duties, your annual revenue, the type and amount of equipment that you have as well as specialty equipment (like a brick oven, specialized smoker, and similar types of appliances), whether you serve alcohol, your opening hours, your location, and more.
What Type(s) of Insurance Do You Need for Your Restaurant?
Depending on the type of restaurant that you own, you may need to carry a business owner’s policy, workers comp or workers compensation insurance, a liquor liability license (if your establishment serves alcohol or allows corkage or BYOB), and general commercial liability coverage.
What Other Types of Insurance Are Related to Restaurant Insurance?
Restaurant owners should also carry general commercial liability coverage along with a robust workers compensation policy that is specific to kitchen and restaurant staff due to the unique risks of those positions.
Be aware that workers compensation for restaurant employees often has unique requirements that vary by state and even type of establishment, so be sure to work with your insurance agent to determine that your workers compensation and other restaurant insurance policies meet regulations and provide you with enough coverage to not only protect your business, but to provide you with peace of mind as well – running a restaurant is stressful enough!
Contact ASCO Insurance specialists to learn more about the best restaurant insurance policy for you.
