Insurance designed for restaurants

Whether fueled by natural gas, propane, electricity, or wood, many of the appliances in restaurant’s kitchens utilize heat. This means they can lead to dangerous (and costly) fire outbreaks. Federated Insurance’s internal claims data found that fires are the sixth most prevalent risk for restaurants across Canada and they tend to be the most severe claim restaurants can have. The data found that the average severity of a restaurant fire claim is around $90,000.*

Liability is the most prevalent risk in restaurants with slips and falls ranking number one in reported cases of liability, especially on Tuesdays. According to our internal claims data, most slip and fall accidents in restaurants happen on Tuesdays. The average cost of this type of claim is $6,500.* In order to combat this, it’s important to employ certain safety practices both inside and outside of the building, including cleaning food and beverage spills immediately and marking all elevation changes with yellow paint.

Breaking and entering is the third most common claim for restaurants in Canada, according to our internal claims data, with the average loss at about $8,000.* But it’s not the only type of crime restaurant owners should be aware of. Restaurateurs should also work to prevent employee theft. It’s important to implement measures to prevent any type of crime including a pre-employment screening process, surveillance cameras, and physical barriers.

There are always risks when alcohol is involved, which is why liquor service is highly regulated. Regulations are in place to ensure underage patrons are not served, to ensure intoxicated customers are not served, and to protect the serving establishment from situations that could arise from either of these situations. Most provinces have mandatory responsible service programs for employees who handle liquor. It’s important for owners to ensure that each employee has completed the mandatory responsible service programs before they start working at their establishment.

There’s more risk surrounding food than one might think. While food poisoning immediately jumps to mind, people don’t tend to think about the risk of food items leading to customers breaking or chipping their teeth. In fact, broken teeth as a result of food consumed in a restaurant was the number one food-related claim Federated recieved.*