Public and product liability insurance for food business

In case your business and products cause an injury or property damage.

What’s typically covered by food product liability insurance?

Claims against your business for:

• damage to someone’s property, because of your food/drinks business
• an injury or illness caused by your business activities or products
• accidental damage or injuries caused by your employees

For example:

• a customer sues you for serving spoiled food, causing severe food poisoning
• you accidentally spill a scalding hot drink on a customer’s hand
• a pedestrian trips over a box of goods you’ve left on the ground next to your delivery van, breaking their wrist

What you’ll need additional cover for

• road accidents, and claims related to a delivery van or vehicle – these are usually handled as part of your motor insurance policy
• if you do employ anyone, you’re usually required by law to have employers’ liability insurance too.

Read more about public liability insurance

Employers’ liability insurance

In case anyone gets ill or injured because of working for you.

What’s typically covered by employers’ liability insurance?

Claims against your business for:

• an injury or illness that happens as a result of working for you (including temps and casual workers)

**Employers’ liability insurance is required by law if you have people working for you. Without it, you could be fined up to £2,500 a day for each employee.**

For example:

• your employee trips over some steps while loading the company van, breaking their elbow
• your Christmas temp cuts their hand on a damaged countertop and sues you for operating an unsafe workspace

Contents insurance

In case something happens to your fixtures, fittings, or operational equipment.

What’s typically covered by business and office equipment insurance?

• accidental damage to your fixtures and fittings, or the equipment you use to run your food and drinks business
• theft, flood, and fire damage

For example:

• a customer stumbles into your food display, smashing the glass
• your new employee breaks the juicer you’ve had just installed – it needs to be completely replaced

Read more about contents insurance

Stock insurance

In case something happens to the items you keep in stock.

What’s typically covered by stock insurance?

• loss, damage, or theft of things like prepared food items, sellable products, ingredients, and other materials you use to stock your food and drinks business

For example:

• your fresh meat and vegetables go off due to a fault with your fridge, and need to be replaced
• a burst pipe in your kitchen destroys ingredients kept in the storage room
• a large food order gets damaged while in transit to your client’s wedding venue

Read more about stock insurance

Legal expenses insurance

In case you’re hit with legal expenses connected to your food business.

What’s typically covered by legal expenses insurance?

• legal costs attributed to your food and drinks business
• property damage, nuisance, or trespass – specifically, the associated legal claims and compensation payouts
• tax and compliance disputes and investigations you need help with
• includes a tax advice helpline, a 24/7 confidential legal helpline, and crisis PR support to help you protect your reputation as a popular food and drinks business

For example:

• HMRC selects your business for a randomised tax investigation, and you incur costs in the process which need to be recovered
• a client disputes their contract with you after you provide catering for their wedding, stating you haven’t fulfilled your obligations – you need to pay for legal representation

Read more about legal expenses insurance

Personal accident insurance

In case anyone you’ve covered is accidentally injured, at work or off-duty.

What’s typically covered by personal accident insurance?

• accidental injury or death at work or elsewhere, for anyone covered on the policy
• lost income, medical costs, and hospitalisation benefit

For example:

• you burn your hand on hot oil from the deep fat fryer, and can’t work for at least two weeks
• your employee, who you’ve covered on the personal accident policy, breaks their leg while playing football, and can’t carry out manual tasks for a few months

Read more about personal accident insurance

Building insurance

In case something happens to your business premises.

What’s typically covered by building insurance?

• the cost of repairing damage to the structure of your building (or rebuilding it from scratch)
• damage to fixtures and fittings
• damage to underground pipes and cables you’re responsible for

For example:

• your building needs to be completely rebuilt, following a fire caused by a deep fat fryer
• a flood on your ground floor and basement destroys your floorboards and internal doors

What you’ll need additional cover for

• tenants’ improvements – changes to the property’s structure which you’ve organised and paid for yourself, like partition walls or wooden flooring

Read more about buildings insurance

Is public liability enough for third party property damage?

In some situations you may need more than public liability to cover certain kinds of property damage.

Which type of workers do I need insurance for?

Employers’ liability insurance is a legal requirement if you employ people.

If you have people working for you, including bona fide subcontractors (BFSC), labour-only subcontractors (LOSC), part-timers, or full-time staff, employers’ liability insurance is required by law.

Read on for our simplified guide to the difference between labour-only subcontractors and bona fide subcontractors.

Does food business insurance cover my work correctly?

Make sure you’re picking the right cover to protect you properly. It’s important to know that if you have another trade or job, you’ll need additional cover. For example, do you need to consider fast food insurance or fish and chip shop insurance?

Do I need cover for other types of work?

If you provide other services, make sure you’re covered:

• Restaurant insurance
• Takeaway insurance
• Pub insurance
• Wine bar insurance
• Sandwich shop insurance
• Coffee shop insurance
• Private chef insurance

Other types of insurance

• Limited company insurance
• Self-employed insurance
• Freelance insurance
• Consultant insurance
• Contractors insurance
• Sole trader insurance

Which public liability cover limit should I choose?

Think about the maximum possible loss your business could face in the event of a claim, and make sure you take legal fees and damages into consideration. You can choose from three levels of coverage – £1 million, £2 million, or up to £5 million.