Retail Food And Beverage Insurance FAQ Information

Retail Food And Beverage Insurance FAQ. Owners and operators of retail food and beverage establishments usually have large investments in merchandise and stock. This property may be concentrated in a relatively small area or be spread out in a large and undivided space. In either case, both appropriate and adequate physical damage insurance coverage for stock, fixtures, other business personal property, and the building itself is needed.
Because of the constant foot traffic of members of the public passing in and out of the facility, the potential liability exposure is significant. The physical location of the store coupled with frequent cash sales transactions exposes the business to loss of money and securities requiring adequate crime insurance protection. This issue becomes even more important if the business is open 24 hours per day.
Employee theft is another important crime exposure to consider.
We wanted to provide a deeper dive into small business insurance to help our readers get a better understand of the commercial insurance policies they want and need with the Retail Food And Beverage Insurance FAQ.
Read the Retail Food And Beverage Insurance FAQ to learn what type of commercial insurance coverages are right for your business - including liability, property, workers compensation and other specialty policies.
What Is A Retail Food And Beverage Business?
According to Chron, "Retail food is all food, other than restaurant food, that is purchased by consumers and consumed off-premise.."
Retail Food And Beverage places include - but are not limited to - the following types of businesses:
- Butchers
- Candy Stores
- Confectioners
- Convenience Stores
- Dairy Stores
- Delicatessens
- Fish Markets
- Fruit and Vegetable Stores
- Groceries or Grocery Stores
- Liquor Retailers
- Meat Markets
- Milk Dealers
- Package Liquor Stores
- Poultry Dealers
- Retail Food and Beverage Stores
- Supermarkets
You can reference the Insurance Definitions, Dictionary And Glossary to better understand the commercial insurance policy terms and language used in our Small Business Insurance FAQs.
What Kinds Of Insurance Do Retail Food And Beverage Businesses Need?
- At the minimum, retail food and beverage businesses need general liability insurance.
- If they have employees they will need workers compensation in most states.
- If they have vehicles registered to the business, or use vehicles for the business purposes, they will also need commercial auto.
- There are also other specialty coverages and endorsements that might be needed based on their operations.
Following are some suggested commercial policies and coverages applicable for retail food service:
You can skip to the following types of retail food and beverage businesses small business insurance policy coverage types using these links:
Retail Food And Beverage Businesses Commercial Insurance Policies:
- What kinds of commercial package policies do retail food and beverage businesses need?
- What kinds of commercial property insurance do retail food and beverage businesses need?
- What kinds of inland marine insurance do retail food and beverage businesses need?
- What kinds of crime insurance do retail food and beverage businesses need?
- What kinds of surety bonds do retail food and beverage businesses need?
- What kinds of commercial liability insurance do retail food and beverage businesses need?
- What kinds of commercial auto insurance do retail food and beverage businesses need?
- What kinds of workers compensation insurance do retail food and beverage businesses need?
- What kinds of excess and umbrella insurance do retail food and beverage businesses need?
- What kinds of specialty insurance do retail food and beverage businesses need?
What Kinds Of Commercial Package Policies Do Retail Food And Beverage Businesses Need?
The package policy of choice in this category is most often the businessowners policy, because of the automatic coverages included and the cost savings when compared to standard package policies. However, some of these businesses are not eligible for that program and must use the commercial package policy (CPP) as a more flexible alternative.
Types Of Retail Food And Beverage Package Policies:
- Businessowners Policy (BOP)
- Commercial Package Policy (CPP)
What Kinds Of Commercial Property Insurance Do Retail Food And Beverage Businesses Need?
Business personal property and business income coverages are vital to the continuance of a retail food and beverage operation following a loss. Spoilage coverage is an important option to consider, along with extra expense. Specialty food operations should consider business income from dependent and secondary dependent properties coverage.
Types Of Property Coverages:
- Building
- Business Personal Property
- Personal Property of Others
- Improvements and Betterments
What Kinds Of Inland Marine Insurance Do Retail Food And Beverage Businesses Need?
Computer equipment, including cash registers and equipment that regulates temperature, is vital to the continuing and successful operation of most retail food and beverage establishments. The appropriate inland marine coverage forms should be used to insure these and other eligible types of property.
Remember to remove items covered under inland marine forms from business personal property coverage in order to prevent duplicate premium charges.
Types Of Inland Marine Coverages:
- Accounts Receivable Coverage
- Difference in Conditions (DIC) Coverage
- Electronic Data Processing Equipment Coverage
- Fine Arts Coverage
- Goods In Transit
- Scheduled Property Coverage
- Signs Coverage
- Transportation Coverage
- Valuable Papers and Records Coverage
What Kinds Of Crime Insurance Do Retail Food And Beverage Businesses Need?
Holdups and robberies are the crime losses that usually come to mind and they are big concerns at most food and beverage operations. However, employee theft of both money and stock may actually represent greater loss exposures in some, if not all, of these businesses.
Types Of Crime Coverages:
- Computer and Funds Transfer Fraud Coverage
- Employee Theft Coverage
- Forgery or Alteration Coverage
- Inside The Premises-Theft of Money and Securities Coverage
- Inside The Premises-Robbery or Safe Burglary of Other Property Coverage
- Money Orders and Counterfeit Money Coverage
- Outside The Premises Coverage
What Kinds Of Surety Bonds Do Retail Food And Beverage Businesses Need?
Every food and beverage operation must obtain the appropriate licenses and permits in order to operate. Most municipalities require a surety bond be posted prior to issuing the needed licenses and permits as a guarantee that the business will conduct operations in the prescribed manner.
Types Of Surety Coverages:
- License and Permit Bonds
- Miscellaneous Surety Bonds
What Kinds Of Commercial Liability Insurance Do Retail Food And Beverage Businesses Need?
Premises liability exposures are high because of heavy foot traffic by the public in both the store and the parking lot. In many states, liquor sales and service in these establishments creates additional liability exposures and concerns.
Types Of Liability Coverages:
- Commercial General Liability (CGL) Coverage
- Employee Benefits Liability Coverage
- Employment-Related Practices Coverage
- Liquor Liability Coverage
- Special Events Liability Coverage
What Kinds Of Commercial Auto Insurance Do Retail Food And Beverage Businesses Need?
Commercial automobile exposures for these businesses are often limited to hired and non-owned liability. However, the exposure can be greater and more complicated if a business offers delivery service or picks up products using owned vehicles.
Types Of Business Auto Coverages:
- Auto Medical Payments
- Business Auto Coverage
- Collision Coverage
- Comprehensive Coverage
- Hired & Non-owned Auto Coverage (HNOA)
- Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists Coverage
What Kinds Of Workers Compensation Insurance Do Retail Food And Beverage Businesses Need?
Injuries to employees as a result of attempted or actual holdups are a concern, but other day-to-day activities like lifting, slips and falls can cause serious injuries as well. Workers compensation coverage pays for the injuries and disability from employee accidents and is mandatory in almost every state.
Types Of Workers Comp Coverages:
- Stop-Gap or Employers Liability Coverage
- Workers Compensation and Employers Liability Coverage
What Kinds Of Excess And Umberlla Insurance Do Retail Food And Beverage Businesses Need?
Excess or umbrella limits purchased should include and apply to any underlying liquor liability coverage. This is because of the potential for significant losses from the sales or serving of alcoholic beverages.
All underlying exposures, hazards and operations must be evaluated thoroughly and carefully to determine the liability limits needed to adequately protect the financial assets of the insured.
Types Of Excess Liability Coverages:
- Excess Liability Coverage
- Umbrella Coverage
What Kinds Of Specialty Insurance Do Retail Food And Beverage Businesses Need?
The relative size of a retail food and beverage operation usually determines its exposures but other factors may be involved. Depending on the particular circumstances or issues of a specific risk, one or more of the following coverages may also be needed:
Types Of Specialty Coverages:
- Business Legal Expense Coverage
- Cyber Liability Coverage
- Directors and Officers Liability Coverage
- Environmental Impairment Liability Coverage
- Fiduciary Liability (Pension, Welfare and Employee Benefit Funds) Coverage
- Identity Theft Insurance Coverage
- Risk Retention Group Liability Coverage
- Solar Energy System Coverage
Retail Food And Beverage Insurance FAQ - The Bottom Line
There are many commercial insurance policies available for Retail Food And Beverage. To find out what types of coverage your business needs, speak to a professional insurance broker with experience in insuring retail food and drink businesses.
Frequently Asked Questions By Industry
Learn about the insurance coverages and surety bonds available for specific industires with the Insurance FAQs below:
- Agribusiness
- Artisan Contractors
- Associations
- Automotive Sales and Service
- Aviation Risks
- Boats and Yachts
- Construction Contractors
- Eating and Drinking Establishments
- Educational Institutions
- Farm and Ranch
- Financial Institutions
- Food Processing Plants
- General Liability
- Government, Institutions and Utilities
- Health Care Providers
- Lodging Places
- Logging, Mining and Quarries
- Manufacturing
- Media
- Printing Services
- Processing
- Real Estate and Rental Property
- Recreation and Sports
- Retail Food and Beverage
- Retail Stores
- Services Businesses
- Trucking and Transit
- Warehouses and Storage
- Wholesalers and Distributors