Owning a restaurant can be an exciting venture, but one that comes with specific risks other industries may not need to consider, many of which are out of your control.
It’s important to understand where your business is vulnerable, so you can invest in the right insurance policies to protect your restaurant – and yourself. Insurance might not be the most exciting part of opening a restaurant, but it is one of the most vital steps to be successful.
When designed properly, a restaurant insurance policy helps protect you and your business from injuries, property damage, or other situations. In addition to providing protection for your business, the right policy can also cover you from major employee issues or damaging lawsuits. In this post, we’ll explain types of restaurant insurance, and offer other helpful tips. Let’s get started!
How much does Restaurant Insurance cost?
Restaurant insurance costs vary from business to business, and the premiums will depend on factors such as the size of your restaurant, number of employees, types of food you sell, and cooking methods. For example, a small coffee shop with limited cooking can expect their insurance cost to differ from a large restaurant with a bar and full-sized industrial kitchen with fryers and ovens. There usually is a diverse price range for restaurant insurance options, so you can choose a plan that fits your budget.
What does Florida Restaurant Insurance Cover?
This answer will depend largely on what policy or collection of policies you invest in. To choose the right insurance, you should understand the various types of insurance that exist. Below are some of the most common elements of a restaurant policy to understand as you set up your business’ insurance.
- General Liability: A fundamental coverage that protects restaurants against lawsuits and other financial liabilities resulting from accidents or other mishaps. This includes things like food illness, property damage, and customer slips and falls.
- Workers’ Compensation: This policy protects if your employees become injured or ill while at work.
- Property Insurance: This policy insures your business personal property, including restaurant equipment, inventory, computers, etc. It will also protect your property in the case of fire, vandalism, theft, smoke damage, etc. It may not cover natural disasters, such as floods or earthquakes, although there are separate policies for those types of events.
- Commercial Auto: This policy protects company vehicles that carry employees, products or catering equipment.
- Liquor Liability Insurance: Most states require any establishment holding a liquor license to carry liquor liability insurance as well. It helps protect your restaurant from third party liability, such as over-serving, serving minors, serving a known drunk, or serving an individual that gets in a drunk-driving incident after leaving the establishment.
- Business Owners Policy (BOP): This policy is a package of commercial property and general liability coverage. By combining two basic insurance coverages, a BOP can help cut the cost of your insurance rates while helping protect your assets.
Additional Coverage Options
There’s insurance coverage for just about any object, action, or person you can think of so you\’re not limited to those mentioned here. You can purchase other types of insurance for specific concerns you may have, but keep in mind these extras will often come at an additional cost. Below are some examples of additional restaurant coverage options:
- Loss of Business: This policy may help your business if you need extra help after losing sales.
- Specific Peril: This policy covers the damage caused by natural disasters that may not be covered in your general liability or property coverage.
- Food Contamination Insurance: If you lose the food in your walk-in or your freezer due to power outages, you would normally have to deal with those losses out of pocket. Food contamination insurance might help pay to restock your kitchen instead.
- Business interruption: This policy may cover your business when it is forced to temporarily close due to a variety of factors. Natural disasters, fires, and unsafe structures are a few examples of factors that may be included under the coverage.
What Insurance Do You Need For Your Restaurant?
Buying restaurant insurance might seem like a lot of money for little or no return, but it\’s always best to be prepared in case the worst happens. With such a large menu of coverage options, it can be overwhelming to identify which policies are necessary for your restaurant. Don’t worry though, our advisors are here to help prepare a recipe of tailored coverages to keep your business protected.
At Boyd Insurance & Investments, our aim is to keep your business and reputation as impressive as the food you serve. For more help figuring out coverage amounts, coverage areas, and additional methods of protecting your business, call (941) 745-8300 or get an online quote today!
