Catering Insurance

At Park Insurance, we want you to feel that you’re obtaining the right catering insurance cover, leaving you safe in the knowledge that all aspects of your business are secure. The handy guide below will clarify precisely what you must have within your catering insurance policy and discuss additional coverage that different types of caterers may benefit from.

Whether you’re a pub or restaurant offering outside catering for weddings and other events, or you’re a full-time mobile caterer, it can be highly satisfying knowing the difference that you’ve made to someone’s special day. But in doing so, you still need to be careful to protect yourself, and not leave yourself unnecessarily exposed to financial risk should events take a turn for the worse.

At Park Insurance we have been providing specialist insurance to those working in the food industry for more than 20 years. We use our position as preferred brokers to some of the UK’s biggest insurance providers to find you catering insurance that will mean all you have to worry about is what delicious delicacies you’re going to serve up. And we can make sure it fits your budget too.

Understanding the Core Insurance Needs of a Caterer

Whether you cater events, sell food to the public from a stall or serve meals from a café or restaurant, you need catering insurance that protects you against all eventualities. There are four key insurance strands that your business will need:

• Product liability – to protect you should a member of the public fall ill because of a product your business has supplied them with. As a caterer, this will most likely relate to the food you prepare, for example, if it leads to a case of food poisoning or an allergic reaction. However, product liability will also cover you if a product such as a hand soap or sanitiser produces an adverse reaction. The cover is usually offered between £1 million to £10 million, and the higher your coverage, the more you’ll need to pay on your premium.
• Public liability. This is used to protect you against claims made by members of the public who become hurt or whose personal property becomes damaged whilst at your premises, food stall or catering van. Public liability comes into play if a customer slips on a spilt drink in your restaurant and hurts themselves or if a customer’s jacket is torn on the menu board outside your food stall. It can cover any legal costs you incur and any compensation you need to pay.
• Employers’ liability insurance – a coverage which is a legal obligation if you employ any members of staff. The only exception to this rule is if all the staff are immediate members of your family. Your employers’ liability coverage should be a minimum of £5 million. This must be put in place to cover any claims made by staff members for injury or illness attributable to your business.
• Business contents insurance – to cover the cost of replacing contents such as your catering equipment, your tables, seating and tableware should these be damaged or stolen. If your catering business hires in equipment, you’ll need to secure a policy that takes this into account and offers you sufficient coverage. Surprisingly, business contents insurance doesn’t always cover your food and drink stock as standard, but you’ll almost certainly want to ensure that your catering business insurance policy includes this coverage. Stock cover is invaluable when a prolonged power outage leads to the spoilage of your refrigerated and frozen foods.

In addition to these crucial elements of food catering insurance, depending on your individual requirements, you may like to add additional cover. You’ll find more information about these add-ons as the following questions are answered.

What are the catering insurance needs of food businesses with premises?

Catering insurance for a pub, café or restaurant also needs to consider the protection of your premises – the building itself. You know how vital the ambience within your business is. It makes just as much of an impression on customers as your food and drink, so making sure you can restore your building to its former glory should anything happen is extremely important.

Commercial property insurance is used to financially protect you against damage to your pub, café or restaurant caused by events such as floods, storm damage, fire or malicious damage. Typically, you will need to take out enough commercial property insurance to cover the cost of rebuilding the entire premises.

Business interruption cover is something else you might like to consider. This can be used to counter lost earnings should your business be unable to operate due to unforeseen circumstances.

If your business uses a sophisticated online booking system, adding cyber and data cover will offer you great peace of mind should your system be hacked or should a staff member make an expensive mistake with an online booking.

Finally, if you serve alcohol, consider adding loss of license cover to your catering business insurance policy, as this change to your business can have a major impact on your profits.

What insurance do event caterers, street vendors, and food stalls need?

If you cater for events, or you’re a street vendor or food stallholder, you know that your fast-paced business doesn’t quite fit into the same box as a pub or café when it comes to catering insurance. You’ll want to keep the following points in mind to make sure your catering insurance matches your needs:

• You won’t need employers’ liability insurance if it’s just you or you and direct family members running the business.
• If you store your equipment and stock at home, you’ll be covered by the business contents insurance part of a catering insurance policy, and you won’t need commercial property coverage.
• If you attend lots of events, taking out event coverage will protect you against the lost earnings associated with unexpected cancellations. Taking out professional indemnity insurance will protect you if the client is unhappy with your service at their event.
• You can bring the insurance of the vehicles (including catering vans) used within your business into your food catering insurance policy – and there are sometimes financial savings to be made by doing this. Breakdown and recovery coverage are highly recommended when your catering business involves lots of travelling.

Here at Park Insurance, we’ve been helping caterers protect their businesses for over two decades. This means we understand that catering insurance needs to be tailored to fit your specific needs. Our friendly, experienced staff will always take the time to understand your business first because this is the best way to find the perfect policy for you. So, if you’d like an insurance service that really listens to its customers, get in touch today.