Shops, services and offices

Restaurant insurance

For full-service restaurants, cafes, pizzerias and quick-service kitchens, with or without a bar: the coverage you need, typical costs, liquor and employer rules and what underwriters ask.

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What similar businesses pay

Business owner’s policy: About $337 a month
General liability: About $192 a month
Workers’ compensation: About $118 a month

Published benchmarks, not quotes. Your price depends on underwriting.

Cost

What restaurant insurance costs

About $337 a month

Business owner’s policy

Insureon average for restaurant customers, updated September 2026

About $192 a month

General liability

Insureon average for restaurant customers, updated September 2026

About $118 a month

Workers’ compensation

Insureon average for restaurant customers, updated September 2026

About $45 a month

Liquor liability

Insureon average for restaurant customers, updated September 2026

Insureon’s figures are averages for restaurant owners who bought policies through it, most with fewer than five employees, revenue from about $50,000 to more than $200,000 and five years or less in business. It also reports about $222 a month for commercial auto and $129 a month for cyber. Liquor liability spreads widest: Insureon gives a range of $150 to over $4,000 a year, which is why a quiet cafe with a beer and wine list pays far less than a late-night bar and grill. Larger, older or bar-heavy restaurants should expect higher premiums than these figures.

What moves your price

Type of restaurant and your cooking methods, from a cafe to a charbroil or wok kitchen
Alcohol sales as a share of total sales, and late-night hours, live music or dancing
Value of the building, kitchen equipment and furniture
Location, staff count and revenue
Limits, deductibles and claims history

Risks

The risks insurers price for

A grease fire that reaches the hood and duct

The U.S. Fire Administration estimates about 5,600 restaurant fires a year from 2011 to 2013, causing $116 million in property damage a year, with cooking behind 64% of them. Fires peaked between 10 and 11 a.m., during lunch preparation. A fire in the hood and duct can close a dining room for months.

Burns, cuts and slips in the kitchen

The BLS reports 2.4 recordable injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers in food services and drinking places in 2024, and 144 fatal injuries that year. Fryer burns, knife cuts, slips on wet floors and strains from lifting cases of product are the familiar claims.

A guest who drives away intoxicated

If you serve alcohol, a guest who leaves intoxicated and causes a crash can lead to a claim against you under your state’s dram shop law. General liability usually excludes this, according to Insureon.

Guest injuries and foodborne illness

A customer slips on a spilled drink, chips a tooth on a bone or blames your kitchen for food poisoning. A health authority can also suspend operations after contamination is found.

A walk-in cooler that fails over a weekend

When refrigeration breaks down or the power fails, the loss is your own inventory, which ordinary liability coverage does not touch.

Coverage

Coverage to consider

Business owner’s policy

Combines property cover for your building or tenant improvements, kitchen equipment and furniture with general liability for guest injuries and business income if a covered loss forces you to close.

How general liability works →

Liquor liability

The Hartford says it helps cover legal costs, court fees and damages resulting from your alcohol sales. Restaurants that serve beer, wine or spirits should treat it as essential.

Spoilage

Pays for food lost when refrigeration breaks down, the power fails or refrigerant contaminates stock, according to The Hartford.

How commercial property works →

Business income for food contamination

Covers lost income if a public health authority suspends your operations after contamination is discovered, a closure ordinary business income coverage may not reach without physical damage.

Workers’ compensation

Pays medical bills and lost wages for cooks, servers and dishwashers hurt at work.

How workers’ compensation works →

Hired and non-owned auto

Covers your liability when staff deliver orders in their own cars. Insureon uses a pizza delivery driver who rear-ends another motorist as its example.

How commercial auto works →

Cyber

Card payments and online ordering create data exposure that a property or liability policy does not address.

How cyber insurance works →

Umbrella

Adds limits above general liability, liquor liability and auto when a landlord, franchise agreement or event contract asks for more.

How umbrella / excess works →

Rules

Requirements and filings

Alcohol and employer rules differ by state, and your lease or franchise agreement can add its own insurance terms. These examples were checked in October 2026; check your state alcohol regulator and workers’ comp agency before you apply.

Requirement	Applies to	What it means
Utah dramshop insurance	Retail liquor licensees in Utah	At least $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate, plus public liability insurance, before a license is issued (Utah Code 32B-5-201)
Texas dram shop liability	Texas businesses that sell or serve alcohol	Liability when a guest was obviously intoxicated to the point of being a clear danger and the intoxication caused the damages (Tex. Alco. Bev. Code 2.02); the exclusive cause of action for guests 18 or older (2.03)
Texas seller-server safe harbor	Texas employers whose servers are trained	Employee acts are not attributed to the employer if training conditions are met (Tex. Alco. Bev. Code 106.14); TABC says all servers and their managers must be certified within 30 days of hire
Florida workers’ compensation	Non-construction employers in Florida with 4 or more employees, counting corporate officers and LLC members	Coverage required (Florida Division of Workers’ Compensation)
Texas workers’ compensation	Most private employers in Texas	Coverage is optional, but employers without it must report that status and certain injuries to the state (Texas Department of Insurance)

Compare restaurant insurance options.

One application, quotes from several insurers, reviewed by a licensed agent. Start with your email and finish later if you need to.

Pay less

How to lower the cost

Have the hood and duct inspected on the NFPA 96 schedule: monthly for solid fuel, quarterly for high-volume cooking such as charbroiling or wok cooking, semiannually for moderate volume.
Keep the cleaning certificate on the premises, as NFPA 96 requires, and send it with your application.
Train every server and bartender in responsible alcohol service with signed written policies; the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission says seller-server training can help lower liability insurance costs.
Fit temperature alarms to walk-ins and freezers so a failure is caught before stock spoils.
Clean up spills quickly, keep drainage clear and add mats at entrances and dish stations, as The Hartford recommends against slip-and-fall claims.

Before you start

What underwriters ask for

Annual food sales and alcohol sales reported separately
Hours, and whether you offer late-night service, live music or dancing
Cooking methods such as fryers, charbroilers, woks or wood-fired ovens
Hood suppression system with its latest inspection and cleaning dates
Seating capacity, square footage, building age, construction and sprinklers
Payroll split between kitchen, front-of-house and delivery staff
Whether staff deliver in their own cars and how many deliveries you make
Loss runs from current and prior insurers and any liquor violations on your license

Common questions

Restaurant insurance: questions

Does general liability cover a restaurant’s alcohol sales?

Usually not. Insureon says general liability usually excludes alcohol-related liability, so restaurants that serve alcohol add a liquor liability policy, which Insureon puts at about $45 a month.

Is food spoilage covered by a restaurant’s property insurance?

Usually only if you add spoilage coverage. The Hartford’s version pays for food lost to a breakdown of heating or cooling equipment, a power failure or refrigerant contamination.

What happens if the health department closes my restaurant?

Ordinary business income coverage needs physical damage to your premises. Business income for food contamination fills that gap by covering lost income when a public health authority suspends operations over contamination.

Do I need workers’ comp for part-time restaurant staff?

It depends on your state’s threshold and how it counts workers, so check with your state workers’ comp agency. Florida requires coverage once a non-construction business has 4 or more employees, while Texas lets most private employers opt out.

Do I need commercial auto insurance if my drivers use their own cars?

You need hired and non-owned auto coverage, which protects your business if an employee driving their own car for work causes an accident. It does not repair the employee’s car.

How much liquor liability do I need?

Start with your state’s licensing rule and your lease. Utah, for example, requires $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate for retail licensees, and an umbrella can add limits above that if a landlord or event contract asks for more.

How do I compare restaurant insurance quotes?

Florin is an independent broker that compares options from several insurers. Send food and alcohol sales separately and your hood cleaning records so each insurer prices the same kitchen.

Get covered.

Tell us about your business once. We compare options and a licensed agent follows up, usually the same day.

Sources (15)

Figures are published third-party estimates, not quotes. Coverage depends on policy terms and underwriting, and rules vary by state. Updated October 2026.