Florida catering businesses serve a wide variety of customers and events, including weddings, anniversary parties, graduations, corporate events, and many more. Your job is to create, deliver, and set up meals. If you want to stay in business for the long-term, you need to make sure that every event is a success. 

But sometimes, unexpected events can cause serious problems for your business. If someone is injured as a result of your business, or if one of your employees damages someone else’s property, you’d be responsible for compensating the injured party. And you’d be highly susceptible to a lawsuit.

For that and many other reasons, you need Florida catering insurance to provide a financial backup when things go wrong. With the right insurance, you can pay for damages and get on with running your business. 

What is Catering Insurance?

Catering insurance in Florida is a specific type of Florida business insurance that is designed to meet the unique needs of catering businesses. It is typically a package of several policies that cover property damage and lawsuits, allowing you to focus on running your business and serving your customers.

Most caterers in Florida need commercial property insurance and commercial liability insurance at a minimum. But not every risk you face is covered by these basic policies. You’ll likely need to purchase a variety of additional Florida business insurance policies to make sure that your catering business is protected from the numerous property losses and claims of negligence that can arise as a result of your operations. 

What Does Catering Insurance Cover in Florida?

Catering insurance in Florida should cover the unique risks you face as a caterer. This includes physical damage to your property, as well as your responsibility to financially compensate any customers or members of the public who get injured on your property or as a result of buying something from you.

With a few commercial insurance policies, you can begin to build a comprehensive Florida catering insurance program.  

Liability Insurance for Florida Caterers

You need several liability insurance policies to protect your catering business from lawsuits. 

Commercial general liability insurance: This offers broad coverage for all kinds of lawsuits that could arise if you or one of your employees causes an injury or damages someone else’s property. It pays for medical expenses, property repairs, and any legal costs you incur if you are sued. 

In addition to general liability insurance, most Florida caterers will likely need the following types of liability coverage:

• Product liability insurance: This covers any negligence claims related to products you sell. It covers you if your food causes food poisoning or another illness or injury.
• Liquor liability insurance: This is essential coverage if you sell, manufacture, serve, or distribute alcohol in any way. It covers claims resulting from serving alcohol at one of your events. 

Florida Property Insurance for Caterers

You need several property insurance policies to cover your lost, damaged, or destroyed commercial property, whether it’s part of your commercial kitchen space or it’s equipment or materials that travel to and from events that you cater. 

Commercial property insurance: This covers your permanent kitchen and office space as well as their contents, including all of your furniture, computers, office furniture and supplies, kitchen equipment, warming trays, serving equipment, ingredients, paper products, and more. It responds when there is a fire, storm, theft, or vandalism in your space and your commercial property is damaged or destroyed.

In addition to a commercial property insurance policy, most Florida caterers will likely need the following types of additional property coverage:

• Business interruption coverage: This pays for loss of income and certain fixed expenses (e.g., rent, salaries, temporary relocation expenses, etc.) if your business must close due to a covered loss.
• Equipment breakdown coverage: This protects against costs associated with the sudden and accidental breakdown of machinery and equipment (e.g., ovens, refrigerators, etc.). It pays to repair or replace the equipment as well as any business interruption costs that accompany it.
• Inland marine coverage: This is a form of property insurance that protects your business property from theft, loss, or damage while it is in transit to and from an event or while at an event. This coverage would help you repair or replace anything that you bring to or from a catering job. 
• Contamination and spoilage coverage: This pays for certain losses if food or ingredients are spoiled or contaminated due to a refrigeration breakdown, a utility interruption, or some other type of foreign substance contamination. If your local board of health or other agency forced you to close because of food contamination, your contamination and spoilage insurance may cover you for lost income during the shutdown period, as well as costs related to cleaning contaminated equipment and disposing of and replacing spoiled food. 

What Does Catering Insurance Not Cover in Florida?

Your basic commercial property and commercial liability policies offer very broad coverage that protects you in a wide range of circumstances. But they don’t cover everything, and in fact, both exclude coverage in certain areas where you may have serious exposures. 

Most catering companies, for example, have business-owned autos. Your general liability policy will not cover any injuries or damage caused by an auto accident involving one of your vehicles. You’ll also need to purchase coverage for worker injuries and employment-related lawsuits. 

Fortunately, you can purchase a wide range of additional stand-alone policies or policy endorsements (coverage add-ons) to make sure you get coverage for situations that are excluded from coverage or not sufficiently covered under your basic property and liability policies. 

• Commercial auto insurance: This protects any vehicles owned by your Florida catering business. In addition, if you or any of your employees drive personal vehicles for business use — like picking up supplies or making occasional deliveries — you need hired and non-owned auto liability insurance.
• Florida Workers’ Compensation Insurance: This is required for any Florida business that has four or more employees. It protects your workers from the costs of work-related injuries and illnesses. This coverage pays for medical bills and lost wages for employees who sustain cuts, burns, slip and fall injuries, repetitive motion injuries, or any other injuries or illnesses related to their work. 
• Employment practices liability coverage protects you if a current or former employee sues you for discriminatory employment practices. Employment-related claims are typically excluded from general liability policies. 

Be aware that flood damage is not covered under any of your Florida catering insurance policies, but if you are located in an area that is prone to floods, purchasing flood insurance is highly recommended.

You can purchase business flood insurance from the National Flood Insurance Program that covers property damage caused by flooding, including flooding caused by hurricanes.

What Are the Benefits of Insurance a Catering Business in Florida?

Caterers in Florida spend a great deal of time and money in order to get the business up and running. After you’ve hired employees, rented or bought equipment, procured your ingredients and supplies and perfected your menu, it’s finally time to start catering events.

The nature of your business makes you highly susceptible to lawsuits. Any number of things can go wrong. 

Not only do you have to worry about protecting your business from bodily injury and property damage claims from customers or other members of the general public, but also employee injuries can happen at any time. What’s more, having a fleet of vehicles on the road making deliveries makes car accidents and other mishaps with your business-owned vehicles highly likely.

What about your risk for being the source of a foodborne illness? And imagine the costs if you had to dispose of spoiled or contaminated food? If you serve alcohol, your risk for being sued goes up significantly. 

That’s why your Florida catering insurance offers numerous benefits, the most important of which is simply protecting your investment in your business when the unexpected happens.

Can I Afford Catering Insurance in Florida?

The cost of catering insurance in Florida depends on the policies you choose, the unique risks you face, the value of your inventory and equipment, and other factors like your location, number of employees, and the size of your establishment. 

Serving alcohol, owning several vehicles, and any other unique exposures that you have and must address will likely add to your insurance costs. 

Do I Need an Agent to Purchase Catering Insurance in Florida?

A Florida independent insurance agent can work with you one-on-one to determine the types and amounts of coverage you need for your Florida catering business. Your insurance agent can get quotes from multiple insurance companies so you can evaluate the cost and coverage options and make the best choice. 

Isn’t that better than going it alone or shopping online? Our agents simplify the search process for finding the right coverage for your Florida catering business. They’ll walk you through the handpicked policy options and explain the details and options.

Most importantly, they’ll be there for you when claim time comes. They know the ins and outs of the process and will make sure your claim is handled appropriately.