Restaurant insurance, built around how your kitchen runs

Running a restaurant means carrying risks most businesses never think about: open flames and fryers, a walk-in full of perishable stock, staff on their feet with knives and hot oil, customers with allergies, and, if you hold an AGCO liquor licence, responsibility for what happens after a guest leaves. A general small business policy rarely fits all of that, and many insurers would rather not write restaurants at all. We specialize in this work and have access to insurers that want food and hospitality business. Start by finding coverage for your type of food business, or call us at (416) 346-6886 to talk to one of our hospitality brokers.

What a restaurant insurance package usually includes

There is no single “restaurant policy.” Most owners buy a commercial package that combines several coverages, and the mix depends on how you operate.

• Liability. Pays for claims that your business injured someone or damaged their property, including a guest who slips on a wet floor or says your food made them sick. Here is how liability cover works for food businesses.
• Property and contents. Repairs or replaces your building or leasehold improvements, kitchen equipment, furniture and stock after a fire, flood or break-in.
• Business interruption. Replaces lost profit and keeps paying rent and payroll while you rebuild after a covered loss. It is often the coverage that decides whether a restaurant reopens. Read how lost income is replaced after a closure.
• Equipment breakdown. Covers the sudden failure of compressors, ovens, hoods and electrical systems, which a property policy usually excludes. See what happens when a walk-in or oven fails.
• Liquor liability. Responds to claims that a patron you served caused harm after drinking. If you serve alcohol, this is not optional in practice. Here is why licensed restaurants carry liquor cover.

Why the type of business matters

A food truck and a hotel dining room both serve food, but they share almost nothing else. A food truck needs commercial auto that works alongside its liability cover. A bar’s premium is driven by liquor sales and late hours. A wholesale bakery worries about product recalls. A winery has inventory sitting in barrels for years. That is why we organize everything on this site by business type, and why we match each client with the insurer whose appetite fits how they actually operate.

Example: A 60-seat Italian restaurant on College Street with a full bar and a summer patio needs liability limits that satisfy its landlord, liquor liability sized to its alcohol sales, and business interruption that reflects busy patio months. A takeout pizzeria two doors down needs strong equipment breakdown cover for its ovens and protection for delivery drivers using their own cars. Same street, very different policies, and often different insurers.

Hotels, B&Bs and venues

If your business hosts guests overnight or for events, our hospitality section covers hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts and event venues, including properties with their own restaurant or bar.

How much does restaurant insurance cost?

It depends on your sales, the share that comes from alcohol, how you cook, your location and your claims history. Our cost guide for restaurants shows estimated ranges by type of business and the steps that bring premiums down.

How it works

1. Tell us about your business. The short form takes about two minutes, or you can call.
2. Our broker reviews your operation. We get in touch within one business day and ask the questions underwriters care about.
3. We shop your coverage. We take one application to insurers suited to hospitality and explain the options in plain language.
4. We set it up and stay with you. Once you choose, we bind the policy, issue your documents and handle certificates, changes, renewals and claims. The quote is free and there is no obligation.

Read more about what happens after you submit a request, or browse our plain-language guides for owners.

Start here

• What restaurants pay for insurance, with estimated ranges
• What happens after you request a quote
• How a restaurant insurance package fits together
• Where we work across Ontario