Insuring a restaurant comes with unique challenges. Not only do restaurants have the same complexities of any business, but they also have risks associated with food service, alcohol, and even delivery vehicles. Quality insurance is essential, but it can be complex to understand and even more difficult to shop for. Here, Muller Insurance provides an overview of the restaurant insurance you’ll need to protect your building, equipment, business, and employees against damage, liability, and injury.
Building and Equipment Coverage
The first and perhaps most obvious things in need of protection are your building and equipment. Whether you own or rent your restaurant building, you’ll want to protect your space from anything that could happen. Building and equipment coverages are often included in our standard business owner policy (BOP) package and include:
- Business property coverage, which covers damage to your business’ property from fires, sewer back-ups, and other disasters
- Equipment breakdown coverage, which protects your equipment in case of breakdown due to burnout or power surges
- Lost income coverage, which covers income lost when you need to shut down due to a catastrophe or while repairing damaged property or equipment
Depending on your business, you may also have added risks to worry about, such as lost income when you need to shut down due to a covered loss. This is why some restaurant owners invest in additional protection such as:
- Commercial auto coverage, which covers company-owned vehicles used for catering or food delivery
- Fine arts and collections coverage, which covers artwork or rare collections displayed in restaurants, like sports or historical memorabilia
Protection against Liabilities
Your property isn’t the only thing that needs insurance. For instance, if a customer slips on a wet floor, has a severe allergic reaction, or becomes ill due to food poisoning, your business will be held responsible. Thankfully, general liability coverage will protect you from any lawsuits resulting from accidents at your restaurant. It’s included in most BOPs, though many restaurant owners will purchase additional coverage – especially if they offer valet services, which carries the risk of damaging customer vehicles.
If your restaurant serves alcohol, you should also invest in alcohol liability coverage. If one of your patrons causes damage while drunk, you can be held responsible – even if it doesn’t happen on your property. Alcohol liability coverage protects you from lawsuits so you can serve alcohol without fear of legal complications.
Covering Your Employees
Finally, insuring employees is a must. Any accident that could befall a customer, like slips, burns, food allergies, and more, can happen to your staff as well. When there’s a workplace illness or injury, it doesn’t only affect your employee – it affects you, too. As the business owner, you’re responsible compensate for an affected employee’s lost wages and medical expesnses.
When something like this happens, it helps to have insurance to cover the additional cost. Workers’ compensation insurance not only protects your business and your wallet, but it also covers your employee’s costs so they can recover sooner.
Protect Your Restaurant
Restaurants are complicated businesses with an array of unique challenges and special risks. With the right coverage, however, your restaurant can be protected against almost any eventuality. If your restaurant is in New Jersey or a handful of the other states we’re licensed in, Muller Insurance can help you find the policies you need to stay protected. To learn more about restaurant insurance, contact us today.
