How much does food and beverage business insurance cost?

Food and beverage businesses pay an average of $44 per month, or $525 per year, for general liability insurance.

General liability insurance helps cover legal fees related to common third-party lawsuits from clients, including those related to customer bodily injury, damage to a client's property, and advertising injury.

General liability coverage often includes product liability insurance, which can help protect your food service business in the event that a customer becomes ill from food poisoning due to food contamination or spoilage.

This is the average policy for food and beverage businesses who buy from Insureon:

Insurance premium: $44 per month
Policy limits: $1 million per occurrence; $2 million aggregate
Deductible: $1,000

The cost of general liability insurance depends on several factors, such as the coverage limits you choose, the size of your business, the amount of foot traffic you have, and your number of employees.

Among food and beverage businesses that purchase general liability with Insureon, 57% pay less than $50 per month for this coverage.

Businesses like bars and busy restaurants tend to pay more for general liability, as they face an increased risk of customer injury and property damage.

Businesses that interact with many customers and have a higher risk of accidents typically pay more for general liability insurance.

For example, bars can expect to pay more for general liability insurance than bakeries due to the increased risks resulting from serving customers alcohol. The average monthly cost for a bar is $218, while the monthly average for a bakery is $37.

Other factors that affect your premium include business revenue, building maintenance, years in operation, and location.

As you can see, the cost varies significantly across the food and beverage industry:

Policy limits are the maximum amounts your insurance company will pay for covered claims.

The per-occurrence limit is the maximum your insurer will pay for a single incident, while the aggregate limit is the maximum your insurer will pay on any claims during your policy period, typically one year. Higher limits cost more – and provide better coverage.

Most food and beverage businesses (94%) choose general liability policies with a $1 million per-occurrence limit and a $2 million aggregate limit. As your small business grows, you may need to expand your policy limits.

Learn more about how your food and beverage business can save money on a general liability policy.

Food and beverage businesses pay an average of about $148 per month, or $1,770 per year, for a business owner’s policy. A business owner's policy, or BOP, bundles general liability coverage with commercial property insurance to protect your kitchen equipment, and typically costs less than purchasing each policy separately.

A BOP protects against customer injuries and property damage, along with damage to your own business property. Because of its increased coverage and affordability, it’s the policy most often recommended by Insureon’s agents.

Small, low-risk food and beverage businesses are often eligible for a business owner's policy.

Restaurant owners and other food service businesses may see higher costs if they choose to add endorsements to their policy. Insurance endorsements, such as business interruption insurance or equipment breakdown coverage, are often recommended to help avoid financial losses if a fire or power outage forces your business operations to cease for an extended period of time.

The cost of a business owner's policy is based on a number of factors, including the value of your property, where you are located, the number of employees you have, and your profession.

Among food and beverage businesses that purchase a business owner’s policy with Insureon, 35% pay less than $100 per month and 63% pay less than $200 per month.

The cost varies depending on how much property coverage your business requires. For example, restaurant businesses with high-end kitchens will pay more for property insurance than coffee shops with a small sandwich preparation area.

For food and beverage businesses, workers’ compensation insurance costs an average of $106 per month, or $1,272 per year.

This insurance policy covers medical expenses when an employee is injured on the job, and it also provides disability benefits while they're recovering and unable to work.

To comply with your state’s requirements and avoid penalties, food service businesses typically must purchase this coverage for their employees. It's also recommended for sole proprietors, as health insurance plans can deny claims for medical bills when an injury or illness is related to your job.

Most policies include employer's liability insurance, which covers the cost of lawsuits related to workplace injuries. There's usually no limit to how much a workers' comp policy can pay for employee benefits, though it depends on state laws.

The cost of workers' compensation insurance depends on several factors, including the number of workers you have and the level of risk involved with their jobs.

Get more information on how to find affordable workers' compensation coverage.

Among food and beverage businesses that purchase workers’ compensation insurance with Insureon, 48% pay less than $100 per month and 77% pay less than $200 per month.

Workers' comp costs depend on the number of workers you have in your small business. A larger workforce brings a higher risk of worker injuries, which is why bigger businesses tend to pay more for this type of insurance.

The average cost of liquor liability insurance is $58 per month, or $700 annually, for food and beverage businesses.

Liquor liability insurance offers crucial coverage for small businesses that serve alcohol. It protects against injuries or property damage caused by an individual who became intoxicated at your place of business.

If you sell or serve alcohol at your business, this policy is often required by state law in order to receive a liquor license.

In addition, many states have dram shop laws that hold a business liable for any damages caused by an intoxicated customer that they served, which can make this coverage all the more important to protect businesses against the expensive fallout from an incident.

The average liquor liability policy for food and beverage businesses who buy from Insureon is as follows:

Insurance premium: $58 per month
Policy limits: $1 million per occurrence; $2 million aggregate

A number of factors will influence the cost of liquor liability coverage, including the type of business you have, where your business is located, your claims history, and revenue from alcohol sales by your business.

In general, food and beverage businesses pay an average premium of about $170 per month, or $2,041 annually, for commercial auto insurance. Commercial auto insurance is a requirement for food and beverage businesses that own vehicles, such as catering vans and food trucks.

Most states require this type of coverage for vehicles owned by a business. For personal, rented, and leased vehicles used for work purposes, look to hired and non-owned auto insurance (HNOA) instead.

The cost of commercial auto insurance depends on several factors, including the policy limits you choose, coverage options, the value of your vehicle, and the driving records of anyone permitted to drive.

Small businesses pay an average of $145 per month, or $1,740 annually, for cyber insurance. You might also see this policy called cyber liability insurance or cybersecurity insurance.

Cyber insurance helps food and beverage businesses recover financially after a data breach or cyberattack. It can help pay for customer notification costs, fraud monitoring services, and other costs necessitated by state data breach laws.

The cost of cyber insurance depends on the amount of personal information handled by your business, such as customer credit card numbers, along with the number of employees who can access that information.

Small businesses pay an average of about $61 per month, or $735 per year, for professional liability insurance.

This policy, also known as errors and omissions insurance (E&O), covers legal costs for professional mistakes and oversights. For example, it protects you if a client sues you for failing to fulfill a catering order for their event.

Several factors will influence the cost of your professional liability policy, including the type of business you have, your claims history, and the policy limits you choose.