Restaurant Insurance
When it comes to Restaurant Insurance coverages understanding them is a good step in the direction of protecting your restaurant from loss. The Restaurant Insurance coverages you can purchase protect your business from unexpected future losses, and this insurance is just what you would need to have in place to keep your restaurant open. There are quote a few insurance coverages you should consider for your restaurant.
Restaurant Insurance Coverages
Restaurant Insurance – The Business Owners Package
The first Restaurant Insurance policy you will need is a Business Owners Package. The Business Owners Package, or BOP, is a combination insurance policy which includes both Liability Insurance as well as Property 
Insurance. The liability insurance in this covers your Restaurant for the slip and fall to other kinds of accidents you could cause like food poisoning. The property insurance insures your owned building and contents for a wide range of perils – everything can be included from Fire to Theft to Earthquake to Flood. Just make sure you understand what is covered and what is excluded. Most proposals state what is covered, and earthquake and flood are rarely covered. If you are in a hurricane prone are you will even find that wind coverage is as hard as getting earthquake coverage in Los Angeles. The Restaurant Insurance BOP policy can also include Spoilage coverage, so if there is a covered loss you will be reimbursed for food that may have spoiled.
Restaurant Insurance – Workers Compensation
Workers Compensation is the next biggest insurance coverage your restaurant will need. Workers Compensation is a needed coverage when you have employees. It accomplishes two things; the first is it covers them should they get injured on the job and it pays their medical bills as well as lost wages, the second is that it covers the liability should they sue you. Both parts make workers compensation a needed restaurant insurance coverage.
Restaurant Insurance – Auto Insurance
After the Business Owners policy and the Workers Compensation a lot of restaurants may carry some commercial auto insurance. Typically most have Hired & Non Owned auto coverage and they can purchase this on their business owners policy. The Hired & Non Owned Insurance covers your should you hire someone like a courier but where it really shines is in the non owned auto portion of the insurance. Non Owned insurance covers you should an employee run an errand in their own vehicle. So, if they drove their vehicle for your business and got into an accident and they were sued your business would be covered if your business was involved as well.
Some restaurants also have their owned auto in the business name, if so you do need a commercial auto policy to protect yourself and a personal auto policy just would not do it.
Restaurant Insurance – Liquor Liability
Liquor Liability may be included in the Business Owners Policy as well. If you serve liquor you need to purchase this insurance coverage. Each states liquor laws are very different, and some states do have some pretty amazing laws on what you are responsible for. Make sure you do carry this restaurant insurance coverage.
Restaurant Insurance – Umbrella
A Commercial Umbrella is a special kind of policy that covers you in excess of the limits of the policies it goes over. Should you have a Business Owners Policy with $1,000,000 of Liability, Auto Insurance at $1,000,000 and Workers Compensation at $1,000,000 you could then purchase an umbrella that would go into effect if you used up all of those lower limits. A Commercial umbrella is not as expensive as the underlying policies, so they are worth the cost.
Restaurant Insurance – Coverage Limits
When it comes to how much insurance you may need I would look at the size of your business as well as what you would have to lose if something happened. If you are a busy restaurant, I would make sure to purchase the needed coverages where you have an exposure and make sure you have limits that you are comfortable with. Being under insured would not be fun when a loss happens.
There are many restaurant insurance companies that write these types of policies. We are agents with access to many of them, this is nice since we can shop it for you while you run your restaurant. Contact us today for a restaurant insurance quote.
