Hospitality Insurance

• Commercial General Liability (CGL) Insurance: CGL covers third-party claims or lawsuits alleging bodily injury or property damage. For example, if a guest trips, falls, and is injured while on your premises, CGL is designed to pay for their medical expenses.

CGL may include product liability insurance to cover any product you manufacture, distribute, or sell, including food. If your establishment serves alcohol, you will also need liquor liability insurance. You can be held liable for damages and injuries caused by one of your customers if it’s determined the amount of alcohol they consumed at your venue was a contributing factor.

• Commercial Property Insurance: Commercial property provides financial support to pay for losses or damages to your property because of extreme weather, fire, flood, theft, or vandalism. It also pays to repair or replace your inventory, furnishings, and electronics. Commercial property insurance may also include business interruption coverage to replace lost net income and cover your overhead expenses following a property-related loss.

• Equipment Breakdown Insurance: If you own expensive electrical or mechanical equipment, this type of coverage pays to repair or replace it if damaged by power surges, electrical shorts, or mechanical malfunctions. It applies to a broad range of office equipment like computers and photocopiers as well as your building’s HVAC system, and any freezers, fridges, and kitchen appliances you have. You must have commercial property insurance to add this protection to your policy.

• Cyber Liability Insurance: No doubt your business has a website, a point-of-sale terminal, or accepts debit and credit card payments from your guests. Cyber liability covers you for costs associated with cybercrime, such as a data breach that exposes your customers’ private and financial data or if your business falls victim to a cyber-attack, such as a ransomware or phishing attack.

• Commercial Crime Insurance: Unfortunately, internal theft happens and more than you might think. Commercial crime insurance protects you against internal theft, fraud, and acts of employee dishonesty. It also covers the theft of money in transit outside of your business if stolen while making a bank deposit, for example. You must have commercial property insurance to include this coverage in your policy.

• Commercial Auto Insurance: If your company has one or more vehicles, or if you use your vehicle for business purposes, you need commercial auto coverage in your policy. Most personal car insurance policies do not cover damages or collisions that occur to you if you use your vehicle for work, including part-time side jobs like food delivery.

• Legal Expense Insurance: Legal expense insurance is significantly cheaper than the cost to hire and retain a lawyer. It includes coverage to get legal advice or hire an experienced lawyer for help with various issues such as employment or contract disputes, debt recovery, and taxation audits. Adding this coverage to your overall policy is wise if you do not have a legal team or occasionally require legal support.

• Event Liability Insurance: Hospitality businesses may host, organize, or participate in various public events, like a small business expo or community festival. If your business does, adding temporary special event liability insurance to your policy is recommended to cover third-party bodily injury and third-party property damage exposures you face at events held off your premises. For instance, if an attendee of a corporate event where you’re exhibiting trips over an exposed cable at your booth and is injured, you may be liable for the injuries they suffer. Event liability insurance is designed to cover an injured person’s medical expenses and potential legal claims arising from your participation at that event.