Insurance for Restaurants

General liability insurance is necessary for any bar or restaurant. It helps protect your business from common claims that could jeopardize your business’s operations and financial health, including: 

• Bodily injuries
• Third-party property damage
• Advertising injuries 
• Medical expenses for third parties
• Personal injuries, such as slip and fall 
• Defense costs arising from lawsuits related to covered claims

General liability does a lot to protect your bar or restaurant from accidents and unfortunate circumstances, but it doesn’t address all of your needs.

Consider other insurance options for common problems it does not cover:

• Workers’ compensation injuries
• Intentional injuries
• Employee discrimination lawsuits
• Fraud
• Security breaches that fail to protect sensitive information

Whether you rent or own your restaurant’s property, commercial property insurance is crucial. Your mortgage company or landlord likely requires you to have it, and it’s just good sense. It covers your building and all of your equipment if you suffer a loss caused by the following: 

• A fire at your location
• Burglary, theft, or robbery
• Wind or lightning

This part of your policy covers the physical assets of your food service business, including: 

• The building where you provide your services
• Your restaurant’s equipment
• Your restaurant’s tools
• Your restaurant’s inventory
• Your restaurant’s furniture and decor
• Personal property stored in your restaurant

This policy also includes business interruption insurance, which helps replace lost income if, as a result of property damage, your restaurant can’t open its doors.

Did you know that every seven seconds, someone is hurt at work? Knowing that, it makes sense that in most states, you’re required to carry workers’ compensation insurance. 

Workers’ compensation insurance protects restaurants from serious liabilities and lawsuits by covering the following:

• The medical costs incurred by an employee if they become sick from working in a restaurant
• The medical costs incurred by an employee if they are injured while on the job
• The costs of rehabilitating or retraining employees for a new job if they are unable to return to their previous job
• Legal fees if the employee files a lawsuit against you
• The pay of a temporary employee during the time your injured or sick worker is off the job

Keep in mind that most workers’ compensation policies do not cover contractors, nonemployees or volunteers.

Similar to your personal car insurance, commercial auto insurance protects yourself and your employees while a commercial vehicle is being driven on commercial business. All that means is that your employees and the car they’re riding in are insured from all the financial woes of accidents, other drivers, and the occasional falling tree. 

Whether you need this special liability insurance coverage depends on your business’s needs. The most important thing is that your business is protected from loss by protecting you, your employees, and any commercial vehicles in use. Here’s what it includes: 

• Third-party bodily injury
• Third-party property damage
• Uninsured or underinsured drivers who cause an accident
• Damage to an employee vehicle, regardless of whether it is owned, rented or hired
• The medical care expenses for you, your employees, and any passengers in the vehicle if they experience an accident
• Theft and damage to covered vehicles

Any venue, restaurant, pub, bar, brewery, club, or entity that serves alcohol must have general liability insurance in Oklahoma, as governed by the ABLE Commission in Title 37A. 

This is the only liability requirement for liquor, but it’s important to understand it’s not infallible. In fact, many general liability policies become less effective as alcohol sales rise.  For instance, many states have enacted dram shop laws, which hold your business completely responsible for damages incurred by intoxicated patrons.

Without proper coverage, this will be your worst nightmare. What if a customer leaves your bar after one too many and gets in an accident? Not only could you be held liable for the intoxicated person’s injuries (or even death), but your business is now responsible for the other injured party. We all like to think these things won’t happen to us, but insurance is designed to protect you and your business from the unimaginable. As is usually the case with insurance, you’re better off having it without needing it than needing it without having it. 

So how does liquor liability insurance provide you with the coverage you need to fill in the gaps? Here’s what’s included: 

• Covers legal costs from suits 
• Claims of assault and battery
• Property damage to premises or others’ belongings
• Drunk driving stemming from your premises serving an intoxicated individual
• Third-party bodily injury and property damage