Find any person who has moved out of town and ask them what they miss the most about Buffalo. Alright, maybe they’ll say their family, but I bet most people say the food here. Buffalo has incredible food and restaurants. There is something for everyone when it comes to our restaurants. If you’re thinking about opening a restaurant, or currently own a restaurant, here are some things you need to know about insurance. We represent dozens of carriers that insure restaurants and we have the products to make sure you’re adequately protected at the best price. To make it simple, I’ll break it up into a few categories:
- Your Stuff
- Building: Do you own your building? If so do you know how its protected? Policies are written at either Actual Cash Value (ACV) or Replacement Cost. ACV is typically defined as either “Fair Market Value” or Replacement Cost minus depreciation. Replacement Cost is an estimated figure that predicts how much it would cost to replace the building. It factors in labor and debris removal as well.
- Business Personal Property: Another part of the policy which can be covered at ACV or Replacement Cost. This covers all of your business personal property. Please note, most policies contain underlying limits for things such as computers and money.
- Signs: Signs not attached to your building are typically covered only by endorsement. For some restaurants, these signs can be pretty expensive investments. Making sure you have the right coverage is important.
- Other People’s Stuff
- Property Rented to You: If you lease the space your in, having this endorsement in important. This covers you for any damage to items that are rented to you in the lease. Some landlords even request this coverage in their lease.
- Glass: Most commercial leases I see leave the glass as a responsibility of the tenant. Again, this is typically an endorsement that must be added onto the policy. Rates are typically determined by linear feet of glass.
- Your Employees
- Workers Compensation: In New York State it is mandatory to carry Workers Compensation Insurance if you have an employee. This coverage protects employees if they are hurt on the job.
- New York State Disability: It is also mandatory to carry New York State Disability Insurance if you have employees. This protects employees if they are hurt outside of work and unable to work for a period of time.
- Commercial Auto
- Physical Damage: If you own a company car. You’re going to want to protect it against damage. Similar to a personal auto policy, physical damage is usually separated between comprehensive and collision coverage.
- Auto Liability: If you or one of your employees causes an accident or causes bodily injury, you want to make sure you’re sufficiently protect. See below regarding other forms of liability protection.
- Hired and Non-owned Auto- Whether you are using someone else’s car or having a person delivering something in their own car, you need to make sure that the business is adequately protected.
- Liability
- General Liability: This protects the restaurant for things such as slips and falls, customers getting sick, and any other items that the restaurant would be liable for. Check your policies for what is/is not covered.
- Liquor Liability: Any business which sells alcohol can potentially be held liable for damages or injuries caused by intoxicated patrons. Liquor Liability protects businesses from these types of losses
- Liquor Bond- In order to get a liquor license, a restaurant has to get a liquor bond. The bond protects the restaurant’s municipality in case a restaurant does not pay taxes or is involved in illegal activities.
- Commercial Umbrella: A commercial umbrella provides additional liability on top of all other lines of liability coverage. It provides owners with an additional sense of security and protects them against catastrophic events.
- Special Features
- Business Expense: If you were forced out of business as a result of a loss, how would you survive? How would you pay your bills? Could you afford to pay your head chef? Your insurance policy isn’t doing its job if it’s not fully protecting you.
- Business Interruption: In Buffalo, a loss of power can severely affect businesses. In the “October Storm” in 2006, some businesses were without power for up to 10 days.
- Food Spoilage: In the event the power went out and you were forced to throw out everything in a walk out cooler, how expensive would that be? Most restaurant policies let you add food spoilage coverage.
- Employee Dishonesty: Whether an employee steals money or equipment from you, having sufficient employee dishonesty is that little bit of extra peace of mind a business owner needs when buying insurance.
We insure several restaurants in Buffalo and Western New York. We have helped restaurant owners through their toughest times, and would be happy to help you. Best of all, we have the expertise and markets to make sure you’re paying the most affordable rate.
Thanks!
BuffaloQuotes.com
