As with any insurance policy, you pay for your policy on a monthly basis on the hopes that you will never have to use it. If you own a business there are a lot more insurance policy requirements that you would need then considering it simply for your home or your vehicle. If you are considering shopping around to restaurant insurance companies, consider asking about a BOP, or Business Owners Policy.
A BOP is a type of policy that some small business owners can buy for their business that lumps general liability and property insurance under one umbrella policy. It really depends on how big your small business is, how big you are planning for it to be and the location of the restaurant. These factors will help your insurance agent decide if this is the best policy or if individual types of insurance need to be bought for a premium.
The biggest bulk of any insurance premium for a business owner is in the general liability area. This can be anywhere from a few hundreds of dollars a year to thousands of dollars. If someone were to get a food borne sickness, a patron or employee gets hurt or if an employer car was in an accident doing a delivery, all would be covered under the general liability policy. Basically, if anyone is affected because of the restaurant, they can be defended and help pay the bill if held in judgment.
If your restaurant business is not categorized as small, then there are other insurance areas to be concerned about besides a blanket liability policy. There is the previously mentioned property and automobile insurance which protects the business in an event of an accident or natural disaster. Liquor liability is a big one because of the amount of problems that arise from a bar such as underage drinking or driving after a few drinks.
Some states require higher insurance policies depending on the location of the restaurant so that may be the first determinant as to whether a BOP is available. If you are not able to get BOP then consider other riders such as life insurance, workers compensation which may be mandatory, food contamination insurance, loss of income and specific peril insurance.
