While cost is always a factor when selecting your mobile food vendor insurance, getting the right coverage is what’s key. The cheapest concession stand insurance may not have the coverages to properly protect your livelihood. Make sure you’re getting everything you need. Concession stand and food vendor insurance protects concessionaires from lawsuits with rates as low as $27/mo.
Get the coverage you need today.
Call For A Free Quote @ 855-718-1061
Food vendor insurance refers to the types of coverage food vendors need to protect their businesses against financial loss from liability claims. The most common policies for food vendors are general liability and commercial property.
Food vendor insurance costs start around $300 to $1,300 annually and can start as low as at $60 for single-day events. Costs will increase with more coverage and larger operations with more employees and equipment.
Business Insurance Professionals works closely with many top rated insurance companies. We designed insurance programs specifically for food trucks, food trailers, mobile food vendors, concession trailers, food carts, pop-up vendors, hot dog carts, street vendors, food stands, catering trailers, personal or private chefs, caterers, and wholesale manufacturers.
Whether it’s a sporting event, a fair, a concert, or a festival, a concession stand is one of the most welcoming sites. Visitors rush your stand to fill up on sweet treats, savory morsels, and refreshing beverages, which helps to make the events that they are attending even more enjoyable.
It doesn’t matter if you serve nachos, hamburgers and hot dogs with all the fixings, soft pretzels, sodas, or frozen treats, like ice cream and frozen yogurt, you’ve put a lot of hard work into establishing your concession stand business.
It’s a horror to think of what could happen to your concessionaire business in the event that something unexpected happened, which is exactly why it’s so important that you protect yourself with the right type of concession stand and food vendor insurance coverage.
Get the coverage you need today.
Call For A Free Quote @ 855-718-1061
Food vendor insurance refers to the coverage mobile food vendors, single event vendors, and concessionaires need. These businesses work in a variety of locations, and each can have different risks. The weekly farmers’ market presents different risks than the concession stand at a large concert venue, and vendors need to know what risks they face so that they can select policies that cover them.
For example, food vendor liability insurance must cover normal business risks, such as slip-and-fall general liabilities as well as risks unique to food vendors. Unique risks include the potential for foodborne illnesses and spoilage due to equipment breakdown.
Any business that sells food products to the public in nontraditional locations needs food vendor liability insurance. These locations may include concession stands, public sidewalks, and street fairs. Some of the typical small businesses that buy food vendor liability insurance include:
Food vendor insurance usually is required for any event, even a one-day event. Restaurants that occasionally work community events or set up tents at food festivals also need a special endorsement or policy to cover the risks of events and mobile operations properly. Some restaurant insurance policies don’t allow for event coverage unless specifically noted and added as an endorsement because of the increased risk for foodborne illnesses.
As a food vendor or a concession stand owner, your business involves serving hot and cold food and working with the public; two things that are commonly associated with multiple risks.
Despite your best efforts to make sure that the food you are offering is properly prepared and safe, and even though you are committed to delivering exemplary service, it’s almost impossible to avoid certain risks.
For example, hot surfaces like a grill could burn an employee while he’s cooking your food, a customer could have an allergic reaction to an ingredient in the food you serve, or your refrigeration equipment could break down, causing all of your food to spoil.
Having the proper concession stand and food vendor insurance in place is vital. It protects concessionaires from multiple risks; and it protects you from the costs that are associated with these risks.
With the right coverage, you can avoid paying medical bills, property damage, legal fees, and other exorbitant costs should a serious incident arise.
The average price of a standard $1,000,000/$2,000,000 General Liability Insurance policy for small concessionaires and food vendors ranges from $28 to $59 per month based on location, number of employees, sales and experience.
For example, if you’re a one-person food cart operation, you probably only need basic coverage to cover your risks like a BOP, for general liability and commercial property protection. Your coverage will cost less than a food truck owner with a large vehicle that needs commercial auto insurance and has additional employees that need to be insured with workers’ comp.
Policy | Premium Cost (Annually) | Coverage Amount | Deductible |
|---|---|---|---|
General Liability | $500 to $1,200 | $1 million | $0 |
Business Owner’s Policy | $600 to $1,500 | $1 million | $500 |
Commercial Auto | $1,300 to $2,000 | $1 million | $500 |
Inland Marine | $300 to $1,000 | Depends on value of business property | N/A |
Equipment Breakdown Endorsement | $200 to $800 | $50,000 | $250 to $2,000 |
Workers’ Compensation | $800 to $2,700 | $1 million | $0 |
If food vendors only need coverage for a single event, such as a food festival, general liability insurance is about $100 for five to 10 days of coverage. Premiums are estimates and vary by provider, state, business size, and selected coverages. Some of the factors for determining your food vendor insurance costs are based on your coverage choices like the limits and deductibles.
Factors insurance companies use to determine food vendor insurance costs include:
Whether you are a mobile food trailer or own a food truck, you’ll need at least some form of business insurance. The most common food vendor insurance policy is general liability. Some vendors also need commercial property and commercial auto insurance to protect the assets and vehicles used for the business.
Commercial general liability is a primary insurance coverage for food vendors, which is why it is sometimes called food vendor liability insurance. This protection is important when you work with the public because it covers costs, including legal fees if you’re accused of causing harm to someone who isn’t an employee.
For example, general liability insurance typically covers:
Without your cart, equipment, or food station, you wouldn’t have your business, which is why commercial property insurance is important coverage for many food vendors. With this policy, you can repair or replace any business-owned property damaged by covered perils, such as:
Many small businesses can benefit from purchasing a BOP, which combines the protection of a general liability and commercial property into one affordable package. It also comes with business interruption coverage if your business experiences a covered loss that keeps you from operating.
Commercial auto insurance covers third-party liability claims for bodily injury or property damage if you are held liable in a car accident. It can also include first-party protections like coverage for damage caused to your business-owned vehicles caused by uninsured or underinsured motorists. It’s important to note that personal auto insurance does not cover a vehicle that is used primarily for business.
Commercial auto is an essential coverage for food trucks. When your greatest asset and your greatest risk exposure is associated with a commercial vehicle, you need to protect your investment with auto insurance.
Mobile food vendors usually don’t have a fixed, brick-and-mortar location where they work, so they need inland marine insurance to cover their valuable assets, such as equipment, tools, supplies, and inventory while moving from one location to another. This is because commercial property insurance only covers items at the location listed on the policy.
Equipment breakdown insurance pays for the repair and replacement of equipment and machinery vital to daily operations if damaged by an internal malfunction. While inland marine covers the generator during transit, equipment breakdown replaces the generator if it overheats on a hot summer day at a music festival, resulting in the inability to make or serve food because there is no power.
Workers’ compensation insurance provides benefits to your employees in the event of work-related injuries or illnesses. Most states require this coverage if you have employees. Small food vendor businesses that are owner-operated and have no employees aren’t usually required to have this coverage. Some insurance providers offer workers’ compensation for single events of between one and 10 days.
Regulating Agency and References
Insurance Information Institute (III)
This organization’s mission is to improve public understanding of insurance – what it is and how it works. Visit III at https://www.iii.org.
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