Restaurant insurance

Public liability insurance

In case you or your employee injure someone or damage their property.

What’s typically covered by public liability insurance for restaurants?

Claims against your business for:

• damage to someone’s property, because of your restaurant business
• an injury or illness caused by your business activities or products
• accidental damage, illness or injuries caused by your employees

For example:

• a waiter spills sauce on the floor and a customer slips on it, hurting their back
• you accidentally spill hot coffee on a child, causing first-degree burns
• a customer sues you after suffering an allergic reaction to the food you’ve served

What you’ll need additional cover for

• 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 restaurant.

What’s typically covered by employers’ liability insurance?

Claims against your business for:

• an injury or illness that comes 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 waiter falls in your kitchen, breaking his leg
• your trainee chef cuts themselves while prepping for the evening service

Restaurant building insurance

In case something happens to your restaurant premises.

What’s typically covered by restaurant building insurance?

• the cost of repairing damage to the structure of your building (or rebuilding it from scratch)
• damage to fixtures and fittings
• damage to underground pipes and cables you’re responsible for

For example:

• your building is badly damaged after a deep fat fryer catches fire, and your restaurant has to be completely rebuilt
• a flood destroys your restaurant’s floorboards and internal doors, which need replacing

What you’ll need additional cover for

• tenants’ improvements – changes to the property’s structure which you’ve organised and paid for yourself, like partition walls or wooden flooring

Read more about building insurance

Contents insurance

In case something happens to your restaurant’s fixtures and fittings or operational equipment.

What’s typically covered by business contents insurance?

• accidental damage to your restaurant’s fixtures and fittings, or the equipment you use to run the business
• theft, flood and fire damage

For example:

• your pressure cooker, barbecue grill, dough mixer and toaster are stolen from your restaurant overnight
• a new employee operates your dough mixer incorrectly, breaking the unit

Read more about contents insurance

Stock insurance

In case something happens to your prepared food, raw ingredients or other essential materials.

What’s typically covered by stock insurance?

• loss, damage or theft of things like your fresh or frozen produce, prepared food items, branded goods and other materials you use to stock your restaurant

For example:

• your fridge develops a fault, causing your fresh produce to go off
• a burst pipe in your kitchen causes a flood, and the water destroys the dry ingredients you keep in your storage room

Read more about stock insurance

Legal expenses insurance

In case you have to pay legal costs while running your restaurant business.

What’s typically covered by legal expenses insurance?

• legal costs associated with day-to-day operations, like an employee dispute
• property damage, nuisance or trespass and associated legal costs
• 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 popular restaurant

For example:

• you get into a legal dispute with an employee over their contracted working hours
• due to a random spot check on your tax affairs, you need to pay for legal representation

Read more about legal expenses insurance

Personal accident insurance

In case you or anyone you’ve covered has an accident – at work, or elsewhere.

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 burn your hand while setting up your outdoor barbecue area
• an employee you’ve covered breaks their ankle while playing football, keeping them off work

Read more about personal accident insurance

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.

Does restaurant 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 guest housing & hostelry in leisure trades or hotels & motel in leisure trades?

Do I need cover for other types of work?

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

• Takeaway insurance
• Fast food insurance
• Pub insurance
• Wine bar insurance
• Sandwich shop insurance
• Coffee shop insurance
• Catering van insurance
• Private chef 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.