Industry guide
Insurance for restaurants
Restaurants combine a public space, a commercial kitchen, and a busy staff. Insurance questions usually center on guest injuries, fire and equipment in the kitchen, income lost while closed for repairs, employee injuries, and, for businesses that serve alcohol, liquor liability.
Where insurance questions come from
Guests on premises
Slips, falls, and foodborne illness claims are general liability questions.
Kitchen fire and equipment
Cooking equipment, hood systems, and refrigeration drive property, equipment breakdown, and spoilage questions.
Serving alcohol
General liability policies commonly exclude liquor liability for businesses that sell or serve alcohol, so it is usually added separately.
Staff injuries
Burns, cuts, and lifting injuries are workers' compensation claims.
Coverage that commonly comes up
- Business Owner's Policy (BOP)Many smaller restaurants package liability and property in a BOP.
- General Liability InsuranceGuest injuries and foodborne illness claims.
- Commercial Property InsuranceBuilding, kitchen equipment, and business income.
- Workers' Compensation InsuranceKitchen and service staff.
- Cyber InsuranceCard payments and online ordering.
This page is general information about how these policies commonly work. Every policy's own forms, endorsements, and exclusions decide what it covers. For advice about your business, talk with a licensed insurance agent.
Paperwork customers and contracts ask for
- Liquor liability declarations, if you serve alcohol
- Lease insurance requirements
- Hood and fire suppression service records
- Delivery driver arrangements
Keep these together in your PolicyChecked account, so you can answer a certificate request in minutes.
Before your renewal or your next contract
What to check on your own policy
- Liquor liability, if you serve or sell alcohol
- Food spoilage and equipment breakdown coverage
- Business income limits for a closure while repairs are made
- Hired and non-owned auto if staff deliver in their own cars
- Lease requirements for limits and additional insureds
Not sure what your policy says?
Upload your declarations page. The free AI coverage check lists your coverages, limits, and deductibles in plain language and flags items to discuss with a licensed agent.
Check Your CoverageRestaurants: common questions
Other industries we work with
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- Trucking CompaniesAuto liability, cargo, physical damage, and the filings your authority requires.Learn more
- Retail StoresCustomers in your store, inventory on your shelves, and payments at your register.Learn more
- Landscaping CompaniesProperty damage on clients' lawns, trucks and trailers, mowers, and seasonal crews.Learn more
- HVAC ContractorsWork inside homes and buildings, service vans, and completed-work claims.Learn more
Know what you're covered for before you need it.
Check your coverage free in about a minute, then talk with a licensed agent about anything you want to change or quote.