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From risk assessment to claims management, Independent Food & Beverage Insurance Brokers is your one-stop shop for all your insurance needs.

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We specialize in providing coverage for businesses in the food and beverage industry, including restaurants, bars, and nightclubs. Select a coverage below to read more about it.

General Liability

Injuries to customers, on the premises and away from it.

Each year, roughly 1 in 6 Americans (or 48 million people) get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die of foodborne diseases.

Bodily Injury
Slips and Falls
Property Damages
Product Liability
Cuts and Bruises
Burns and Broken Teeth

The Commercial General Liability Policy provides the insurance protection needed to pay for injuries to customers.

The policy also covers accidents occurring on the premises or away from the premises. In addition to the limits, the policy provides supplemental payments for attorney fees, court costs, and other expenses associated with a claim or the defense of a liability suit.

Liquor Liability

Claims for harm caused after a drink was served, also called dram shop.

Why buy liquor liability insurance? Coverage up to $1,000,000!

A patron who drank elsewhere is served one drink, then causes a head-on collision driving home, and the other driver sues your establishment.
A patron served alcohol at your bar is struck and killed walking home, and the estate alleges negligent service contributed to the accident.
Two patrons fight, one is injured, and they sue alleging the negligent service of alcohol caused it.

Each of these is a real dram shop scenario, and each one lands on the establishment that poured the drink. We review your exposure and place the account with carriers who write this class of risk every day.

Assault and Battery

Fights, ejections, and force used by your security staff.

Around 60% of claims placed against bars and nightclubs are a result of assault and battery.

Do you know about fight coverage?
Employee vs. Customer: Who Will Pay?
Does your bartender drink while working with customers?

The claims can range from customers' or employees' fights to customers claiming that the security personnel in the bar or nightclub used unreasonable force dealing with them.

Workers' Compensation

Kitchen, delivery, and front-of-house injuries.

The most common injuries for restaurant workers are sprains and strains, which account for one-third of all injuries reported by restaurants.

Slips and Falls
Cuts from Knives or Kitchen Equipment
Auto Accidents During Delivery or Catering
Employees Breaking Up Fights in a Bar
Burns from Hot Liquids, Chemicals, Plates, Stoves, Ovens, or Fryers

This coverage agreement obligates the insurer to pay all compensation and other benefits required by the Workers' Compensation Law or Occupational Disease Law of any state listed in the policy.

Commercial Property Coverage

Building and personal property: fire, wind, and water.

The leading cause of fire ignition for restaurants is deep fryers, ranges, and other cooking equipment. Electrical malfunction is one of the most common causes of restaurant fires.

Fire Damage
Windstorm Damage
Lightning
Water Damage from Pipes

Property is considered to be any item that has value. Property can be classified as real property (buildings) or personal property.

The insuring agreement in the Building and Personal Property Coverage Form promises to pay for direct physical loss or damage to covered property.

Commercial Crime Coverage

Theft, burglary, robbery, and forgery by third parties.

Even the most prepared businesses can find themselves victims of a crime.

Do you have a warranty on your policy?
Your alarms must be functioning properly in order to qualify to submit a claim.

Commercial Crime Coverage protects against robberies by third parties. This includes theft, burglary, robbery, and forgery, and it can protect your business from the financial risk that follows.

Employment Practices Liability

Wrongful termination, harassment and the complaints that follow.

Should you be worried about a bad employee who files a complaint? Employees can be fired at any time for any reason, but not for the wrong reasons.

Acting Inconsistently
Retaliating
Poor Communication
Not Seeking Advice
Lack of Records
Not Having Clear Termination Policies

Criminal harassment generally entails intentionally targeting someone else with behavior that is meant to alarm, annoy, torment or terrorize them. Most state laws require that the behavior cause a credible threat to the person's safety or their family's safety.

That includes stalking, menacing, inappropriate touching, and using inappropriate or sexual language.

Insurance Policy Audits

A second read of your audit before you pay it.

An audit makes sure you are paying the correct amount for general liability insurance, and that you are getting the right amount of coverage for your business.

A general liability insurance audit examines your business' payroll and risk exposure.

A workers' comp audit is an end-of-year review of records, conducted to ensure that your business has paid the correct premium for workers' comp insurance. It may be done by mail, phone, or in person, depending on the auditor and the business type.

Call us at the office if you have any questions about your audit!

Frequently asked questions

The questions restaurant and bar owners ask us most often.

Can you review my policy if I'm mid-term with another broker?

Yes. We review your current policy at no charge and tell you what we'd change, even if the answer is to stay where you are. If moving makes sense, we'll time it to your renewal so you aren't paying a short-rate cancellation penalty.

Isn't liquor liability already part of my general liability policy?

Usually not. Most general liability policies carry a liquor liability exclusion for businesses that sell or serve alcohol, so dram shop claims fall outside the policy entirely. Liquor liability is written separately, and we place it with coverage up to $1,000,000.

Does my policy cover a fight at my bar?

Only if assault and battery coverage is specifically included, and many policies either exclude it or sublimit it well below the policy limit. Around 60% of claims placed against bars and nightclubs come from assault and battery, so this is one of the first things we check on a policy review.

How long does a quote take?

It depends on the account and how many carriers we go to. We market your business to several of them after reviewing your exposure and risk, so you are comparing real options rather than one number. We will tell you what to expect when you send it over.

Which states are you licensed in?

New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas, Nevada, and Montana.

What kinds of businesses do you insure?

Restaurants, bars, taverns, nightclubs, and social clubs, including white tablecloth restaurants and lounges. Over 80% of our clients are in the restaurant and tavern industry, so this is the class of business we write every day rather than one line among many.

How much does restaurant or bar insurance cost?

It depends on your receipts, your payroll, whether you serve alcohol, whether you have entertainment, and your claims history. Two bars on the same street can price very differently. We market your account to several carriers and show you what each one returns, so the quote is based on your actual exposure instead of a rate table.

What is dram shop insurance?

Dram shop is another name for liquor liability. It covers claims that your establishment contributed to someone's intoxication and that the intoxication caused harm, whether that is a car accident after the patron leaves or a fight inside the bar. We write it with coverage up to $1,000,000.

I got an audit bill I don't understand. Can you help?

Call the office. A general liability or workers' comp audit reviews your payroll and risk exposure to confirm you paid the right premium, and errors in classification or payroll reporting are common. We'll read the audit with you before you pay it.

Manage your risks.

Send us your current policy and we'll tell you where the gaps are.

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