How do you determine how much restaurant and liquor insurance coverage your establishment needs?

Opening your own restaurant offers an exciting opportunity, but you need the right insurance just as much as you need the right sous chef. Few chefs realize it with their first restaurant, but commercial insurance provides one of the most critical business tools at their disposal.

Your restaurant’s insurance protects your financial investment from most losses. Suppose your food doesn’t taste good, so no one eats there. In that case, that’s on you, but if a tornado damages your café or hurricane winds tear apart your restaurant’s patio and roof, commercial property insurance from Martin Insurance Team covers it. Business interruption insurance helps you pay yourself and your staff while you’re closed for repairs.

Most restaurants, cafes, coffee houses, and bars carry more than one insurance policy. What policies do you need, though, and in what amount of coverage? The amount in question varies by eatery. We’ll help you determine how much based on your building cost, operating costs, sales volume, number of employees, etc.

Most establishments start with a business owners policy (BOP), then add to it. The BOP contains four policies that every business needs – general liability, business property, business liability, and business interruption insurance.

If you serve alcohol of any kind – beer, wine, mixed drinks, etc., you need to carry liquor liability to cover damages by an intoxicated individual or group. If you’re a dry establishment, you can skip this policy.

Without Exception, Buy This Coverage for Your Eatery

• Spoilage: If the power goes out and your food spoils in the refrigerator or freezer, this insurance covers your loss.
• Equipment Breakdown: This policy covers damage, repairs, and replacement of freezers, refrigerators, steamers, boilers, ovens, ice makers, and food warmers.
• Employment Practices Liability: This policy protects you if an employee sues your eatery for harassment, discrimination, or another workplace tort.
• Umbrella: Commercial umbrella insurance extends your general liability and commercial auto liability coverage policies.
• Sewer Backup: Yes, there’s a specific policy for sewage. Most property damage policies exclude sewer backup as a peril, and sewage happens.
• Utility Interruption: This policy covers interruptions to any utility needed to operate your restaurant – electric, gas, water, Internet, telephone, etc.
• Electronic Data Processing: The electronic data processing insurance policy has only existed as long as computers and modern cash registers, but it does qualify as a must-have. It covers your computers, registers, and electronic table ordering systems.
• Extra Expense: When a named peril like fire damages your Ft Myers, FL eatery, you may need to rent a new location temporarily to continue operation while your main location undergoes repairs. This policy pays for that.

Contact Us

In Ft Myers, FL, call Martin Insurance Team for the restaurant insurance you need to protect your business investment. We’ll help you build a policy that covers exactly what you need.