Why do you need restaurant insurance?
If you have ever been to a restaurant, you will be aware of the many potential risks and hazards that employees and customers alike could be exposed to: a kitchen full of staff trying to work at pace around ovens, stoves, hot plates and each other; maintaining hygiene standards throughout the restaurant while trying to serve food; service staff trying to juggle sharp knives, hot plates and the general public. Plus the most common risk of all - trips, slips and falls.
All businesses would benefit from ensuring that their restaurant insurance policy includes public liability insurance. This will protect your restaurant from claims made against you or your business, in a situation where you or your business has done any damage to a customer or their property. A lawsuit against a restaurant without public liability insurance could be highly damaging to the company, sometimes leaving it without enough money to continue to operate. As well as claims made by members of the public, it is also vital that a business has insurance in case an employee falls ill or is injured on the premises, known as employers liability insurance. Your employees should feel they are working in a safe environment, and this includes knowing that they are covered in case an accident should happen which could leave them unable to work and unable to earn money.
Buildings insurance is a very important thing to have, especially if your restaurant is particularly old, or has any features which may need protecting. Although a very rare occurrence, damage to the building itself could be the result of a fire, which is a very real hazard in the kitchen environment. Another vital part of your restaurant insurance is contents insurance; apart from the actual building, this is where most of the businesses money will be invested, so it makes sense to guarantee all of the stock and equipment in your business is insured in case the worst should happen.
There may also be instances where you have to temporarily cease trading due to a major incident, such as a fire, a burglary or even a flood. This would result in a loss of earnings while you are trying to get the business back on its feet. 80% of businesses which do not have sufficient cover go bankrupt after a major fire. In cases such as these, business interruption insurance would reimburse the restaurateur any earning which would have been lost, meaning you can carry on where you left off.
There are all kinds of potential risks in the restaurant trade, meaning that it is absolutely essential for those who own or run a restaurant of any size, shape or description, to make sure they have the right insurance cover. For those new to the catering sector, this can prove a challenge. Thankfully there are reputable brokers which deal with restaurant insurance. Their expert knowledge and understanding of the complex insurance industry allows them to help restaurateurs of all kinds get the cover they need.
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