The Insurance Options Necessary For Opening A New Restaurant
If you are realizing your life-long dream of opening up your first restaurant this fall, then it's important you purchase all of the various insurance policies it needs.
The business insurance required for a restaurant includes:
Workers' Compensation Insurance
All restaurants and other businesses who have employees are required by federal law to have workers' compensation insurance policies. This insurance protects your staff if they are injured on the job.
Commercial Property Insurance
Commercial property insurance protects your restaurant in case the building is damaged by storms, criminals, fire, and sometimes floods if you opt for flood insurance.
Commercial Liability Insurance
As its name implies, commercial liability insurance protects your restaurant in case someone becomes sick or injured on the premises. Situations where your business could be held liable for someone else's injury or death are covered by this vital policy.
Business Owner's Insurance
It's important to note that often commercial property and commercial liability insurances are combined into one single policy referred to as a business owner's policy. Whether you choose to purchase these two types of insurance separately or bundled into a business policy doesn't matter as long as you work with your agent to ensure you have the right coverage levels.
Food Contamination and Spoilage Insurance
Since your restaurant will often have thousands of dollars of food onsite that could easily spoil during a long power outage or another unforeseen emergency situation, it's advisable you purchase a food contamination and spoilage insurance policy. This type of insurance will pay to replace food that is spoiled or becomes contaminated from causes outside of your control.
Additional Commercial Insurance Options that are Optional or Situational
In addition to each of the common insurance options above, there are a few other types of insurance that are either situational or optional.
For example, if your restaurant delivers food or owns vehicles for another purpose, then you need to purchase a business automobile insurance policy with adequate coverage for a major accident.
If your restaurant will be serving alcohol, then it will need a liquor liability insurance policy in case someone serves a customer who leaves your establishment and gets into a DUI accident.
Finally, if your customers can be injured by dishonesty by an employee, such as their suggesting a dish containing seafood after a customer clearly explains they are allergic to fish, then having employee dishonesty coverage will protect your business if a lawsuit is filed against it.
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