Private chef insurance

Public liability insurance for chefs

In case your business and products cause an injury or property damage.

What’s typically covered by public liability insurance?

Claims against your business for:

• damage to someone’s property, because of your chef 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 spills sauce over a client’s marble surface, causing a permanent stain
• some canapés you’ve prepared contain sesame traces and cause an allergic reaction

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.

Read more about public liability insurance

Employers’ liability insurance

In case an employee gets sick or injured while working for you.

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:

• a sous chef you’ve hired for the busy Christmas period cuts themselves on a broken piece of equipment
• your assistant slips on the wet kitchen floor, damaging their lower back

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 the business, from your laptop to your new deep freezer
• loss of your equipment
• flood, fire, or accidental damage

For example:

• a flood in your workspace causes damage to your equipment, including your laptop which you’ve left out overnight
• your sous chef calls to tell you that the deep freezer has failed and needs replacing immediately

Read more about business and office equipment insurance

Tools insurance

In case something happens to your chef tools and 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:

• your new knife set is damaged while you move premises, and needs replacing
• a new blender you’ve ordered gets stolen from the client’s hallway while the front door is left open

Read more about tools insurance

Stock insurance

In case something happens to your 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 employee is transferring an order of specialist stock to a client’s holiday home, but half of it gets dropped down a deep shaft and needs replacing
• a flood damages the dry stock you’ve ordered for the Christmas season

Read more about stock insurance

Legal expenses insurance

In case you’re hit with legal expenses connected to your business.

What’s typically covered by legal expenses insurance?

• legal costs attributed to your chef business
• property damage, nuisance, or trespass – specifically, the associated legal claims and compensation payouts
• tax and compliance disputes and investigations you need help with
• includes a tax advice helpline, a 24/7 confidential legal helpline, and crisis PR support to help you protect your reputation as a sought-after chef

For example:

• HMRC begins a randomised tax investigation into your business, and you incur costs in the process which need to be recovered
• a customer disputes their contract with you after you cater their birthday party, stating you haven’t fulfilled your obligations – you need to pay for legal representation

Read more about legal expenses insurance

Personal accident insurance

In case anyone you’ve covered is accidentally injured, at work or off-duty.

What’s typically covered by personal accident insurance?

• accidental injury or death at work or elsewhere, for anyone covered on the policy
• lost income, medical costs, and hospitalisation benefit

For example:

• you slip on a greasy floor and injure your lower back, preventing you from carrying out your work as normal
• your kitchen assistant, who you’ve covered on the personal accident policy, breaks their knee while playing rugby, and can’t work for at least two months

Read more about personal accident insurance

Can I just cover my most expensive 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 private chef 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 catering insurance or fast food insurance?

Do I need cover for other types of work?

If you provide other services, make sure you’re covered:

• Catering van insurance
• Takeaway insurance
• Restaurant insurance
• Home baking insurance
• Pub insurance
• Wine bar insurance
• Cafe insurance
• Ice cream van insurance

Other types of insurance

• Limited company insurance
• Self-employed insurance
• Freelance insurance
• Consultant insurance
• Contractors insurance
• Sole trader 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.