Sponsored by our partners at Society Insurance
Running a business is hard enough; then add in the potential for fires, slips and falls, and cyber attacks, and you can quickly see that you need the best possible insurance and people in your corner. Thankfully, there are many policy coverages that exist to protect your livelihood.
Society Insurance has detailed four critical types of insurance protection that your restaurant in Colorado needs.
1. General Liability Insurance (hint, hint: slips, trips, and falls are an issue!)
The largest claim type for Society Insurance are those related to slips, trips, and falls – making up an outstanding 44% of all claims. In fact, slip-and-fall accidents on a level surface are Society’s number one source of loss for businesses. Business owners have a duty to take reasonable steps to protect customers from known hazards and to inspect their property regularly to find and remediate hazards that could cause injuries. General liability insurance provides coverage for general business claims involving injuries and property damage.
2. Liquor Liability Insurance
Alcohol service creates unique risks and exposures. Failure to follow the appropriate laws and regulations for your business could result in fines, jail, license revocation, and/or bad publicity. The DRAM Shop Act allows third parties or others to recover damages caused by alleged over-service of alcohol. Even if your business is not liable in these complicated situations, your legal defense costs can add up quickly. Liquor liability insurance is critical for costly claims and litigation that arise because of alcohol service and damage or injury caused by an intoxicated person.
3. Fire Insurance
Every year between 2012 and 2016, fire departments responded to an average of 8,240 structure fires at eating and drinking establishments. These fires resulted in two civilian deaths each year on average, along with 115 injuries and $246 million in property damage.
While fire coverage is included in most business owners’ policies, of particular concern is when a fire strikes at a leased property. When landlords and tenants don’t pay attention to the details of a lease regarding who is responsible for what, there may be coverage gaps. These are not the kind of surprises you want to find out about after a fire happens.
4. Cyber Liability Insurance
The risks associated with data security (both malicious and accidental) continue to grow in number and sophistication. Cyber liability insurance provides data security and privacy coverage that addresses direct losses for your business and third-party liability claims. Look for a comprehensive plan with breach response solutions from the moment a breach is suspected through restoration of your business operations backed by an expert team of claims, legal, forensic, and crisis management personnel.
Regretting that you didn’t get the right insurance should never be a reality for a business owner. A business can avoid major financial loss and costly litigation by selecting an insurance company that customizes coverage options based on unique business needs.
Contact your local Society agent to discuss the details that make the biggest difference for your business.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Claire Waller is a regional sales manager for Society Insurance and oversees the Colorado market. She has 25 years of experience in the insurance industry as an independent agent, commercial lines underwriter, and in marketing.
