The short answer
Restaurant insurance combines property cover for the kitchen, fixtures and food with liability for guests, liquor liability where alcohol is served, and income protection for the weeks a covered fire or breakdown keeps the doors shut. Equipment breakdown, spoilage and delivery driving are often separate pieces that need asking about. A licensed broker builds the package from your menu, cooking methods, liquor licence, hours and lease, so those details shape every answer.
- Restaurants and cafes opening a first location or signing a new lease
- Bars, pubs and taprooms where liquor sales are a large part of the night
- Food trucks and market stalls that move between events and lots
- Owners adding delivery, catering or late-night hours to an existing room
3 licensed brokers in the network handle this. In Alberta, Canada, a request for restaurant insurance can be offered to up to three of them, chosen because they are licensed for this line and place. They are test brokers while we are in demo.
See the brokers → Outside Alberta, Canada you can prepare and save a request today; sending opens place by place. Brokers answer with their own quotes. Broker.insure does not quote, advise or take commission.
01 / What it covers
The parts worth understanding
Building, improvements and contents
Ovens, hoods, coolers, furniture, the bar and the money you spent fitting out a leased space. Leasehold improvements are easy to forget and can be the largest number on the list.
Liquor liability
Claims that a guest was over-served and then hurt themselves or someone else. Usually tied to the liquor licence and the way staff are trained and supervised, so expect detailed questions.
Kitchen fire and suppression
Fire is the loss insurers watch most closely in a commercial kitchen. They commonly ask about the hood suppression system, its service records and how often grease ducts are cleaned.
Spoilage and food contamination
Food lost when a cooler fails or the power goes out, and costs after a health authority closes the room over contamination. Often limited, so ask what triggers it and how much it pays.
Equipment breakdown
Sudden mechanical or electrical failure of compressors, dishwashers, ovens and rooftop units, which a standard property form often excludes. Ask whether the lost food and closed days follow too.
Business interruption
Lost income and ongoing costs such as rent and key wages while a covered loss keeps you closed. The waiting period before it starts and the length of cover both matter.
Delivery and vehicles
Staff using their own cars to deliver, or a catering van owned by the business. Personal auto policies may not cover delivery, so ask how non-owned auto liability fits.
02 / Get ready
Bring this, and expect these questions
Gather
- The menu, cooking methods and whether there are deep fryers, woks, open flame or wood-fired ovens
- Seating capacity, hours of operation and whether there is a dance floor, live music or late-night service
- Liquor licence class and expected share of sales from alcohol, described in words rather than figures if easier
- Service records for the hood suppression system and the last grease-duct cleaning invoice
- The lease, especially the insurance, repair and improvement clauses
- A list of kitchen equipment with ages and rough replacement values, and the value of food kept on hand
- Monthly revenue and the costs that continue during a closure, like rent, loan payments and key staff
- How delivery works: your own drivers, third-party apps or both
- Claims, health inspection orders or liquor incidents in the past several years
A broker will ask
- What does the kitchen cook with, and is there a certified suppression system over every appliance that makes grease?
- How often are the hood and ducts cleaned, and by whom?
- What kind of liquor licence do you hold, and how are staff trained to refuse service?
- Do you run security, cover charges, a dance floor or entertainment?
- What happens to the food in the coolers if the power is out overnight?
- Who owns the improvements to the space, you or the landlord?
- Do you deliver, cater off site or set up at events?
- How long could you survive a closure, and which costs would keep coming?
Not sure of an answer? Leave it. "Not known yet" is a fine answer, and a broker will help you fill it in.
03 / Build your request
Answer a few questions. Get your own list.
Pick what fits. Your answers shape the list beside them, and they are saved to your request as plain facts a broker can read. "Not sure yet" is always a fine answer.
04 / Three situations
See which one sounds like yours
A neighbourhood bistro after a kitchen fire scare
A grease flare-up in a forty-seat bistro set off the suppression system and closed the kitchen for three days. Nobody was hurt, but the owner realised she had no idea whether the lost food, the cleanup or the closed days were covered.
First steps. Gather the suppression service report, the cleaning invoice and a record of the closed days and lost sales. Ask the broker how the current policy treats the event, then use what you learn to review spoilage, interruption and equipment breakdown limits before something larger happens.
A pub adding live music on weekends
A pub that has served lunches and quiet evenings for years plans to host bands on Friday and Saturday nights with a cover charge. The owner expects bigger crowds, later closing and more alcohol sales.
First steps. Tell the broker about the change before the first show, with the planned capacity, hours and security arrangements. Ask how the liquor liability and general liability terms change, and whether any policy limits or excludes claims arising from fights or assaults.
A food truck working festivals
A couple runs a food truck with a propane griddle and a generator, parking at a brewery on weekdays and at summer festivals on weekends. Several festivals now ask for proof of liability with the organiser named.
First steps. Bring the truck's registration, the kitchen equipment list and the propane system inspection certificate. Ask the broker how the vehicle and the kitchen on board are insured together, and how quickly certificates can be issued for each new event.
05 / Words you will hear
The jargon, in plain words
- Liquor liability
- Cover for claims that your business served alcohol to someone who then caused harm. It is usually tied to your licence, your server training and how you supervise the room.
- Leasehold improvements
- Work you paid for in a leased space, like a cook line, washrooms or a bar. The lease decides whether you or the landlord insures them.
- Spoilage
- Food that goes bad after a cooler failure or power outage. It often needs to be added separately and usually carries its own limit.
- Equipment breakdown
- Cover for sudden mechanical or electrical failure of machinery like compressors and ovens, which a standard property policy commonly leaves out.
- Hood suppression system
- A fixed system above cooking equipment that releases a fire-suppressing agent when it detects heat. Insurers look for regular service records.
06 / Common mistakes
What trips people up
- Insuring the equipment but forgetting the leasehold improvements paid for during the fit-out.
- Skipping hood and duct cleanings, then finding the service gap raised at claim time.
- Adding a patio, live music or late hours without telling the insurer the room has changed.
- Assuming a cooler failure is covered when equipment breakdown and spoilage were never added.
- Letting staff deliver in their own cars without asking how the business is protected if one crashes.
Ready when you are
Turn this into one clear request.
Save it, add what you know, and choose when to send it. A licensed broker who handles restaurant insurance takes it from there.
07 / Questions people ask
Straight answers
What insurance does a restaurant need?
Most restaurants combine property cover for equipment, improvements and food with general liability for guests and, where alcohol is served, liquor liability. Business interruption, equipment breakdown and spoilage are common additions. The lease, the liquor licence and any lender may each require particular parts. A licensed broker reads those documents and your kitchen setup to decide which pieces apply.
What is liquor liability insurance?
It responds when a business that served alcohol is blamed for harm caused by an intoxicated guest, such as a collision after leaving. In Alberta, staff serving liquor generally must complete a provincially required server course, and insurers ask about training, refusal logs and supervision. Ask the broker how liquor liability is written for your licence and whether the limit fits your room.
Does restaurant insurance cover a walk-in cooler breaking down?
Not always. A standard property form usually covers sudden external events like fire, while a compressor failing on its own falls under equipment breakdown, which may be a separate addition. The food inside is often a further item called spoilage. Ask the broker to walk through a cooler failure on a Saturday night and say which parts of the loss would be paid.
Is a food truck insured like a restaurant?
A food truck needs two kinds of cover working together: auto cover for the vehicle on the road, and business cover for the kitchen equipment, propane system, stock and the liability of serving customers. Event organisers often want to be named on the liability policy. Tell the broker where the truck parks, how it is powered and which events it attends.
What happens if a health inspector closes my restaurant?
Some policies include limited cover for closures ordered by a public health authority over contamination or illness, including cleanup and lost food. Others exclude it or set a small limit. Ask the broker to show you the wording on food contamination and civil authority closures, and how long the payments last. Keep inspection reports on file either way.
Do third-party delivery apps change my insurance?
When an app's own drivers deliver, the app and the driver's arrangements usually carry the driving risk, though the food you prepared is still yours. When your staff deliver in their own cars, the business may face a claim after a crash. Ask the broker how non-owned auto liability works and what the app's agreement says about insurance.
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General information, not insurance advice. Broker.insure is a directory and request service: it is not an insurer and does not quote, bind or advise. Policy terms, availability and what is required where you live depend on your situation and on licensed professionals. Updated 2026-10-31.