Restaurant Insurance in Texas

What is restaurant insurance?

Restaurants are multifaceted businesses, and their exposed to multiple risks. Kitchen fires, parking lot slips, and overnight burglaries are just some examples of what might befall a restaurant. To help restaurants in Texas protect themselves, there’s restaurant insurance.

Restaurant insurance is offers specialized protection against many of the risks restaurants face. Policies usually come with multiple coverages, including both liability and property protections.

What Texas dining establishments need restaurant liability insurance?

The vast majority of Texas eateries should have restaurant liability insurance, and property insurance too. These policies are usually the right choice for any establishment that has sit-down dining. For example, restaurant policies are commonly purchased by:

• Casual and family-friendly restaurants
• All you can eat buffets
• Pizzerias and  fast food places
• Coffee shops, bistros, and cafes
• High-end steakhouses and seafood restaurants

For businesses that serve food but don’t have sit-down dining, another option like catering insurance or food truck insurance is probably more suitable. Restaurants that offer these additional services might fold catering, food truck, or other similar insurance coverages into their restaurant policy.

What restaurant liability insurance coverages are important for eateries to have?

Restaurant liability coverages may provide important protection against lawsuits filed over covered events. These coverages can be particularly important, as legal fees and settlements can be extremely expensive. Some restaurant liability coverages that might be recommended are:

• General Liability Coverage: May insure against common accidents involving customers or vendors, like slip and fall accidents, when they happen on a restaurant’s premises. Protection frequently also includes defamation cases.
• Liquor Liability Coverage: May insure against situations that involve an intoxicated customer. Protection might extend to common accidents, physical altercations, sexual assaults, DUI accidents, and alcohol poisonings.
• Product Liability Coverage: May insure against harm or illness resulting from the consumption of the restaurant’s food or beverages. Protection could apply if customers become seriously ill, or if a customer chokes on some food.
• Umbrella Liability Coverage: May insure against legal expenses that surpass the limits of other restaurant liability insurance policies.

What property coverages should eateries include in their policies?

Which property coverages a restaurant should have depends on what assets the restaurant owns. There are several common ones that may be needed:

• Commercial Building Coverage: Might extend to a restaurant’s physical location if the restaurant owns a building. Protection could include the building itself, private parking areas, and any outdoor dining spaces.
• Tenant’s Betterment Coverage: Might extend to enhancements made during the build-out of a leased space. Protection normally includes both back-of-house and front-of-house improvements that a restaurant makes.
• Commercial Contents Coverage: Might extend to items kept at a restaurant’s location, whether the restaurant owns or leases. Protection could include appliances, kitchen equipment, cookware, dishes and tableware, a POS system, furniture, and most other items a restaurant may have.
• Food Contamination Coverage: Might extend to cover lost foods, including ingredients and prepared foods, if they spoil as a result of a covered incident. Power outages are often covered.

Do restaurants need additional coverage when hosting private events for customers?

Sometimes restaurants need additional coverage if they hose private events, such as birthday parties, family reunions, company outings, and  similar affairs. This may be covered automatically by a policy in some cases, but might not be in others. Additional coverage probably should be selected if protection is needed and not included.

An insurance agent who specializes in restaurant liability insurance will be able to review what protections a particular policy offers, including whether it already covers private events.

How much are the insurance premiums for a restaurant?

The insurance premiums that restaurants pay vary, but they tend to be quite affordable. A policy’s premiums are almost certainly less than what a significant claim could cost.

Restaurants can find out how much their insurance premiums will be by working with an independent insurance agent. Independent agents are able to check quotes from several insurers.

Where can Texas restaurants get restaurant insurance?

If you need help insuring a restaurant, contact the independent insurance agents at Steve White Insurance. Our Texas agents will help you find the right restaurant insurance for your establishment.