Coverage explained
Is a fight at your bar covered?
The endorsement that decides whether a fight is a covered claim or a six-figure problem, and how to find it in your own policy.
The short answer
Most bar and nightclub policies either exclude assault and battery outright or cover it up to a sublimit well below the policy limit. Some carriers will write it at your full liability limit. The difference is enormous and the premium often is not.
Sublimits we see run from $25,000 to $1,000,000, subject to insurance company approval.
If your assault or battery endorsement has a blank location schedule, the exclusion typically applies to every location you own, not just one.
How a policy handles a fight
| How it is written | What you get | What it costs you in a claim |
|---|---|---|
| Full exclusion | No coverage for injury or property damage related to an assault or battery. | You pay defense counsel and any judgment out of pocket. |
| Limited (sublimited) | Coverage up to a sublimit. Some carriers offer sublimits from $25,000 to $1,000,000, subject to insurance company approval. | Defense costs are usually paid inside that sublimit, so the money left to settle is far less than the number suggests. |
A third option exists and it is the one we look for: assault and battery carried at your full liability limit. What a carrier will offer depends on the venue, the hours and the loss history, so we ask rather than assume.
Claims expense within coverage limits
Limited assault and battery endorsements are often titled “claims expense within coverage limits”. That means legal defense erodes the sublimit, and the carrier's duty to defend ends once the sublimit is exhausted by judgments, settlements and defense costs combined. By contrast, under the standard ISO liquor liability form (CG 00 33 04 13), Supplementary Payments such as court costs and bonds expressly do not reduce your limits.
What the endorsement counts as assault or battery
Endorsement definitions sweep in far more than a bar fight. In the forms we review, “assault” commonly includes any intentional act, attempted act or threat to inflict injury, plus conduct that would reasonably place someone in apprehension of injury, extending to intimidation, verbal abuse, harassment and sexual abuse. “Battery” commonly includes reckless as well as intentional use of force, offensive touching, and use of a weapon, whether or not the injury inflicted was intended.
The exclusion usually reaches your security decisions too
This is the part that surprises owners. A broad exclusion does not just deny the fight itself. It commonly also excludes claims arising from:
- Failure to provide a safe environment, including failure to provide adequate security or to warn of a danger
- Negligent hiring, training, supervision, investigation or retention of any person, including a bouncer or security contractor
- Negligent, reckless or wanton conduct by you, your employees, your patrons, or any other person
- Use of force to protect people or property, whether or not the force was excessive
- Failure to get medical treatment for someone after an incident
- Instigation or direction of the incident by an employee or a patron
That combination is why a “we were only breaking up a fight” claim and a “they should have had more security” claim can both land outside coverage under the same endorsement.
How to check your own policy in five minutes
- Search your policy PDF for the words assault and battery.
- If you find an exclusion endorsement, look for a location schedule. A blank schedule usually means it applies to every location you own.
- If you find a limited or sublimited endorsement, find the two numbers: each incident, and annual aggregate.
- Check whether it says claims expense, defense costs, or claims expense within coverage limits. If it does, defense erodes the sublimit.
- Check whether coverage is limited to incidents on the insured premises. Parking lots, sidewalks and adjacent property are a common gap.
Send us the policy and we will do this for you, and tell you plainly whether assault and battery is excluded, sublimited or covered.
1993
Writing restaurant and tavern risks since
80%+
Of clients in restaurants and taverns
16
States licensed
How Florida comparative fault applies to a bar fight claim
Florida changed its negligence math in 2023. Under Fla. Stat. 768.81(6), any party found to be more than 50 percent at fault for their own harm may not recover any damages at all. For a venue, that is a real defense when the person suing threw the first punch.
But there is a wrinkle that decides which part of your policy responds. Fla. Stat. 768.81(4) provides that the comparative fault apportionment does not apply to causes of action based on intentional torts, and assault and battery is an intentional tort. So the same incident can be pleaded two ways: as an intentional tort against the person who swung, which usually lands on that individual rather than the venue, or as negligent security against the venue, where your comparative fault defense is live but your assault and battery endorsement is what pays for the defense.
Source: Fla. Stat. 768.81(4) and 768.81(6), Florida Senate statutes, retrieved 2026-09-24. This is a description of a statute, not legal advice about your situation.
Related coverage
Liquor liability in Florida
What dram shop means, how the two limits work, and the exclusions that matter.
How we shop your policy
We re-market the account instead of renewing it, and compare structure, not just price.
Who we insure
The venues we write, the states we are licensed in, and where our offices sit.
Non-renewed or declined
What changes after a non-renewal, and how the account gets placed again.
Nothing to lose.
Send us your policy and we will tell you plainly whether assault and battery is excluded, sublimited or covered. It costs nothing and takes one conversation.
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Michael Sabino, President, Independent Food & Beverage Insurance Brokers, Inc.
In the insurance business since 1984, rating policies and handling claims before he ever sold one, and writing restaurants, taverns, nightclubs and social clubs since he founded IFB in 1993.
About this page. General information for restaurant, bar and nightclub owners, not legal advice or a statement of coverage. Policy language varies by carrier and state, and only your own policy forms and endorsements control what is covered. IFB is a licensed insurance brokerage. Coverage cannot be considered bound or altered until you receive written confirmation from our office.