Choosing Restaurant Insurance

There are a vast amount of restaurant insurance policies to choose from and the best time to decide is way before you have opened your doors.

You are legally obliged to have some types of business insurance for your restaurant, although there are seemingly endless options for top up policies.

It is worth assessing your business with a very critical eye before you decide what you do and don’t need – there is no point in insuring yourself against every distantly possible disaster as you will tie yourself up in knots, but just crossing your fingers and hoping for the best is not a very practical approach either.

Here is some information about the various types of restaurant insurance available, with tips on understanding whether or not they are worth the money for your business.

Liability Insurance

You will need to have adequate liability insurance in case of any accidents involving yourself, your staff or your customers on your premises. There is now point in scrimping on this cover, although do make sure you shop around to get a good quote. There are plenty of competitive companies that offer restaurant specific insurance, which you may find helpful as they will understand your industry, although it is not necessarily the most competitive.

Contents Insurance

Much the same as your household contents insurance, contents restaurant insurance covers whatever contents you include on your policy. You ought to think about whether, for example, it is better to buy cheaper glasses (you will be amazed how many get broken) rather than include fancy ones on an insurance policy, bumping up the premium.

Also be aware of ‘new for old’ policies – you don’t want to claim for a broke oven only to be given enough to barely cover a new door.

Business Interruption

This is a popular add on for restaurant insurance as it gives you a pay out for loss of business if, for example, you have an equipment malfunction or something causes an unforeseen temporary closure of your business.

However, it is very important that you read the small print even more carefully than you normally would, because some people may think that they are covered when in fact they are not – not all restaurant insurance policies cover business interruption through natural causes, say, or if you are in a certain postcode and there is a particular reason for the business interruption.

Understand the Types of Customers

When you asses your restaurant insurance, make sure you are open and realistic about your customers. If you have a family pub, expect there to be children running about, bashing their heads on sharp corners. If you run a bar in a holiday resort, expect people to be getting rather drunk and possibly falling down stairs.

Think of your potential liability and plan ahead. Be clear about what sector of the restaurant business you are in, what type of people your establishment will appeal to and what type of scrapes they may get into.

Similarly, if your premises are in an area prone to flooding, or where there are volatile people in the evenings, think about additional assurance for contents or windows. Make sure you take all the necessary precautions though, because even if you are well insured, excesses can be expensive.