How To Cure Catering Insurance Headaches
Staffing issues, health and safety must-dos and supply dilemmas. Three major headaches for anyone running a restaurant or catering business and three areas where insurance can help prove a reliable medicine, especially if you can source it at a competitive price.
Headache 1) Health and safety
With fines running into the £millions depending on the size of your business, getting health and safety right is always a priority for any business involving food.
“My main headache as a head chef is making sure the team I have working under me keep the kitchen 100% clean and organized,” says Haydn Bye, a head chef with over 25 years of catering for hotels and restaurants. “When service gets busy, it can go a bit haywire. A simple lack of care, for example, spilling oil from a fryer on the floor can become a major slipping hazard.
“Although typically head office or the establishment owners purchase the insurance, the catering team need to be on-board with policies and health and safety 100% to keep people safe and keep costs down. It’s all part of catering management in any well-run operation.
“In some restaurants and catering operations kevlar gloves must be worn for general chopping, or chain mail gloves are required for butchery. Without compliance, it can be serious and this kind of thing may even be part of an employment contract. Even though it may mean some tasks take slightly longer – it’s worth it in preventing hospital trips.”
Staff need to really buy-in to the importance of health and safety, but unfortunately, even in the most health and safety conscious kitchen, mistakes can be made.
Headache remedy
Employers liability insurance is a legal requirement if you employ any members of staff, even if they are family members. It covers you for any injury sustained on your premises or as a result of something to do with your business.
Public liability insurance might not be required by law, but it could be considered an essential for your peace of mind. It will help protect your business in the event of your health and safety precautions failing and a member of the public becoming injured on your premises or because of something you have supplied. This includes cover for food poisoning, an allergic reaction to mislabelled food and slips and trips due to negligence.
In today’s no-win, no-fee claim culture, the public is quick to make claims, and both compensation payouts and legal fees can quickly run into the thousands.
Headache 2) Staffing issues
If you run a catering business you rely on your staff to prepare and serve food. Without key members of your team, your business might not be able to trade properly, and that can be financially devastating.
Headache remedy
Losing good members of staff can be tough for any business, but can be mitigated to some extent by key staff insurance, which offers a payout if staff members are unable to work because of critical illness, such as cancer, or death.
Headache 3) Supplies not turned up or ruined
Your catering business relies on its food supplies. You might need essential ingredients to be picked up or maybe your business needs to supply stock to others. If your business vehicle breaks down or has an accident, you’ll struggle to do either. Or what about if your equipment fails and you’re left with a freezer-full of melted goods or uncooked pies rapidly going off in an oven that won’t heat?
Headache remedy
Whether your business vehicle breaks down or your equipment fails, there’s insurance to keep you covered. You’ll need specialist commercial vehicle insurance for your business van or car, which could include breakdown cover as well as cover for accident and theft.
Make sure that your insurance covers you for a similar courtesy vehicle in the event of theft or accident – if you have to move food that needs to be kept frozen or chilled you’ll be left out on a limb if your temporary replacement vehicle doesn’t have a fridge or freezer.
Stock cover protects you from bearing the cost of stock lost through equipment failure. It pays not to skimp here. Spend a few moments totting up the value and you could be surprised at what a significant dent this could make in your profits if you do suffer from some sort of equipment failure and don’t have the necessary protection.
If cash flow is tight, this situation could even leave you unable to trade and you’ll face going bust. With stock cover insurance, you’ll have peace of mind that you’re covered even if something does go wrong.
Curing your insurance headaches with minimal fuss
Our long experience working closely with the catering trade means we know these are not the only headaches you’ll experience when running your business. Luckily, we have the know-how you need to talk you through all the insurance options available and to help you protect your business.
Our trusted relationships with some of the UK’s biggest insurance providers means we can secure you the best price without leaving you open to risk.
Get in touch with our specialist catering team for a free quote now.