Catering insurance
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Rated 4.7/5
Based on 39,717 reviews
Claims paid in 24 hours
For 80% of settled claims
Why do you need catering insurance?
From a brand new referral to the most specific dietary requirements, your clients are looking for tip-top quality. Maybe you’re known for amazing street food, or large-scale corporate fine dining – either way, your business faces specific risks. Catering insurance can cover you for accidents and damage, along with employers’ liability claims, if you have any staff.
Are you looking for catering trailer insurance? Jump to our catering van insurance for cover built to fit your trade.
- catering public liability insurance between £1 million and £5 million
- quotes start at £3.19* a month
- peace of mind, letting you focus on the menu, not the what-ifs
What does catering insurance cover?
We’ll start with catering liability insurance, including public, product and employers’ liability, covering you against accidents in your kitchen or claims against your product – for example, if someone has an allergic reaction to an ingredient you’ve used. From there, you can add insurance for stock and equipment, plus personal accident cover for you or anyone else you’ve covered.
Public liability insurance
In case your catering business causes an injury or property damage.
Employers’ liability insurance
In case anyone gets ill or injured while working for your catering business.
Tools insurance
In case something happens to your catering kit.
Stock insurance
In case something happens to your catering ingredients or materials
Business and office equipment insurance
In case something happens to the equipment you use to run your business
Legal expenses insurance
In case you have to pay legal costs connected with your catering business
Personal accident insurance
In case you or anyone you’ve covered has an accident – at work, or off-duty
Public liability insurance
In case your catering business causes an injury or property damage.
What’s typically covered by catering public liability insurance?
Claims against your business for:
- damage to someone’s property, because of your catering business
- an injury or illness caused by your business activities or products
- accidental damage or injuries caused by your employees
For example:
- one of your employees drops a dish and stains the carpet in a venue you’re catering for
- some canapés you’ve prepared for a wedding reception contain nut traces and cause an allergic reaction
- a worker at your venue burns their hand on a container you’ve filled with hot food
What you’ll need additional cover for
- a catering trailer – jump to our mobile catering insurance for cover that’s built to fit your mobile catering business.
- If you do employ anyone, you’re usually required by law to have employers’ liability insurance too.
Read more about public liability insurance
Employers’ liability insurance
In case anyone gets ill or injured while working for your catering business.
What’s typically covered by employers’ liability insurance?
Claims against your business for:
- an injury or illness that happens as a result of working for you (including temps and casual workers)
**Employers’ liability insurance is required by law if you have people working for you. Without it, you could be fined up to £2,500 a day for each employee.**
For example:
- one of your wedding season temps scalds themselves while using a pressure cooker
- your head chef slips on some oil in the stock room, damaging their lower back
Tools insurance
In case something happens to your catering kit.
What’s typically covered by tools insurance?
- the specialist tools you use for catering, like handheld or portable electronic equipment
- loss, damage or theft
For example:
- you drop and smash a set of expensive champagne flutes
- your employee damages a set of funnels and measuring equipment while setting up for the day
Read more about tools insurance
Stock insurance
In case something happens to your catering ingredients or materials
What’s typically covered by stock insurance?
- loss, damage or theft of things like your fresh ingredients, specialist flours or packaging materials
For example:
- your stock of ready-prepared sauces and fresh meat goes bad, due to an electrical fault
- a fire destroys your branded uniforms, linen and tableware
Read more about stock insurance
Business and office equipment insurance
In case something happens to the equipment you use to run your business
What’s typically covered by business and office equipment insurance?
- theft of the equipment you use to operate as a caterer, from your laptop to your new sous vide
- loss of your equipment
- flood, fire or accidental damage
For example:
- a fire in your prep area damages essential equipment, including an oven and plate warmer
- your pastry chef damages a cake mixer, and you have to change the menu at the last minute
Read more about business and office equipment insurance
Legal expenses insurance
In case you have to pay legal costs connected with your catering business
What’s typically covered by legal expenses insurance?
- legal costs associated with day-to-day operations, like an employee dispute
- legal costs associated with property damage, nuisance or trespass
- HMRC, tax and compliance issues, if they come up
- includes a tax advice helpline, a 24/7 confidential legal helpline and crisis support to help you protect your reputation, as a highly recommended caterer
For example:
- your client is refusing to pay the deposit for their wedding catering service, and you need to raise a legal case
- a contractor you’ve hired for the busy summer season brings a legal case against you
Read more about legal expenses insurance
Personal accident insurance
In case you or anyone you’ve covered has an accident – at work, or off-duty
What’s typically covered by personal accident insurance?
- injury or death of anyone you’ve chosen to cover in your policy – whether this happens at work or elsewhere
- lost income, hospital bills or other medical costs associated with the accident
For example:
- you break your leg while at your son’s sports day, keeping you out of the kitchen for two months
- your office manager shuts their hand in the front door while locking up, causing a serious injury
Read more about personal accident insurance
This content has been created for general information purposes. Make sure you have the right level of business insurance by checking your policy documentation for details. Read our full Terms and Conditions
How much does catering insurance cost?
Find out how much you’ll pay by comparing prices from a range of trusted insurers. You choose what goes into your policy, so you only pay for what you need.
Prices start from £3.19 per month
Get your quotes in 7 minutes – prices are guaranteed for 30 days.
Get your tailored quotes in 7 minutes
10% of our customers paid up to £38.32 a year for a public liability insurance policy between 1st April 2023 - 30th June 2023. Equivalent to £3.19 per month based on a monthly cost when paying for the policy in one annual payment. Paying monthly is usually more expensive as you'll pay interest. Most customers pay more than this but some pay less.
Example caterer insurance quotes, real prices
£15.93 /month
£139.34 /year
A caterer who prepares food for small events such as weddings and celebrations (exc. mobile van)
- 3-4 years' experience
- Sole trader
- No employees
- Based in Reading
Public liability
£1,000,000
Employers’ liability
Not included
Contents & business equipment
£5,000
£44.70 /month
£397.31 /year
A small catering company that prepares food for conferences, weddings and large gatherings (inc. mobile van)
- 5+ years' experience
- Limited company
- 2 employees
- Based in Leicester
Public liability
£1,000,000
Employers’ liability
£10,000,000
Contents & business equipment
£20,000
How we work out example quotes These examples are real quotes from our online system (created 06/03/2023). They’re based on a range of factors, like employees and location. Your own quote will be based on what you tell us about your business. Prices may go up or down from day to day, so the prices you’re quoted may differ to the ones you see here.
What kind of excess should I expect?
An excess is an amount you pay towards any claim you make on your insurance. For example, if your excess is £250 and you make a claim worth £1000, your payout will be a maximum of £750.
Insurance cover | Lowest excess | Highest excess |
|---|---|---|
Public liability | £100 | £2500 |
Employers' liability | No excess | No excess |
Tools | £60 | £500 |
Stock | £100 | £500 |
Business and office equipment | £50 | £750 |
The figures above are for guidance only and any excess applying to your quote may differ. You’ll get a breakdown of the excesses for each quote when you compare with us.
How it works
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How do I choose catering insurance uk?
Making sure you have the right type and level of business insurance can be the difference between getting a claim paid and having to cover the cost of an expensive accident yourself. Read our tips for guidance on what to consider when buying a policy.
Can I just cover my most expensive catering tools?
Which type of workers do I need insurance for?
Will tools insurance cover all my equipment?
Does catering insurance cover my work correctly?
Do I need cover for other types of work?
Which public liability cover limit should I choose?
Can I just cover my most expensive catering tools?
Make sure you cover the total cost of replacing all your tools or you’ll only get a proportion of your claim paid out if something happens to them. Learn about tool cover.
Which type of workers do I need insurance for?
Employers’ liability insurance is a legal requirement if you employ people.
If you have people working for you, including bona fide subcontractors (BFSC), labour-only subcontractors (LOSC), part-timers, or full-time staff, employers’ liability insurance is required by law.
Read on for our simplified guide to the difference between labour-only subcontractors and bona fide subcontractors.
Will tools insurance cover all my equipment?
Depending on what you use to do your work, you may need other covers.
You may need more than tools insurance – for example, business equipment insurance if you have a work laptop, plant insurance if you use machinery.
Does catering insurance cover my work correctly?
Make sure you're picking the right cover to protect you properly. It's important to know that if you have another trade or job, you'll need additional cover. For example, do you need to consider private chef insurance or courier insurance?
Do I need cover for other types of work?
If you provide other services, make sure you’re covered:
Other types of insurance
Which public liability cover limit should I choose?
Think about the maximum possible loss your business could face in the event of a claim, and make sure you take legal fees and damages into consideration. You can choose from three levels of coverage – £1 million, £2 million, or up to £5 million.
Talk to an expert
Our team of UK-based insurance experts are here to help, Mon 09.00am - 05.30pm, Tues 09.00am - 05.30pm, Weds 09.00am - 05.30pm, Thurs 09.30am - 05.30pm, Fri 09.00am - 05.30pm, Sat 09.00am - 02.00pm
Call our team
How do catering insurance claims work?
Unlike price comparison websites, we take the hassle out of claims for you. We know how important it is to get your business back on track quickly – and with a minimum of fuss. That’s why you get access to your dedicated claims any time, day or night. Call them on 0333 207 0560 or claim online. They’ll do their best to be fair and supportive.
£39 million in claims paid out in 2022
Paying 80% of settled claims within 24 hours in 2022
The figure above is rounded across our range of products. Our claims process may vary for different products and operates on a ‘claim by claim’ basis.
Example claim
Having caterers’ insurance through Simply Business has saved UK hospitality professionals thousands of pounds when the unexpected happened.
Priya saved £10,400
While walking across the courtyard at her venue, Priya (not her real name) tripped on a loose stone, tearing an ankle ligament. The personal accident cover in her catering business insurance policy covered Priya’s treatment fees and lost income.
Insurance payout
£10,400.00
Covering the cost of personal accident
Priya’s costs
£100
The excess amount stated in Priya’s policy terms
Chosen by 900,000 small businesses and landlords
We started out as a team of five back in 2005. We’ve grown since then with 900,000 customers across 1,500 trades now trusting us to provide their business insurance.
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Catering insurance FAQs
Whether you’re new to buying business insurance or you’ve been trading for a while, here are the answers to some commonly asked questions about catering public liability insurance, catering risks and how our policies work. You can also check out our business insurance FAQs.
The equipment and tools you rely on usually fall into two categories: handheld or portable tools of the trade, like a whisk or vegetable prep machine, and operational equipment that supports your business, like your laptop or an oven. We offer comprehensive catering insurance policies which let you add what you need, depending on what’s in your kitchen, your bag or your office, if you have one. Just tell us what you need when running a quote.
Yes. It’s important to make sure you have the right type and level of insurance for the different types of work you do. For example, if you’re a caterer, you may also teach cookery classes so you'll need additional cover for this. When you start your quote, you’ll have the option to add another trade or profession to your policy. If you need to add a third trade, give us a call on 0333 043 8527 and one of our insurance experts will help you set up your policy in minutes.
This will depend on whether you have employers’ liability insurance in place. Public liability insurance for catering is designed to protect your business against the consequences of legal action brought by members of the public for injuries or damage to their belongings. But when it comes to your employees causing injury or damage, this protection only activates if you also have employers’ liability insurance.
If you employ people, you’re required by law to have employers’ liability insurance.
There’s one exception here. Family businesses that aren’t incorporated as a limited company are not legally required to have employers’ liability insurance. The government defines a “family business” as one where all your employees are closely related to you (as a spouse, civil partner, sibling, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, step-parent, stepchild or half-sibling). So if you run an unincorporated family business and you choose not to get employers’ liability insurance, it’s important to know that your public liability insurance wouldn’t cover you against damage or injury caused by your team.
We create this content for general information purposes and it should not be taken as advice. Always check policy documentation for details and seek professional advice. Read our full Terms and Conditions
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