What Kind of Insurance Does a Bar Need?
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What Kind of Insurance Does a Bar Need?
You have picked the best location, worked tirelessly to create a fun and inviting atmosphere patrons will love. The perfect bar stools selected, added cozy vintage seating arrangements, and thoughtfully choosing the perfect craft beers and one of a kind liquors to offer. What else could you possibly need?
While you may be thinking the answer is a clever marketing strategy, and you may be right. However, before you send out a blast for your soft opening, you need to make sure you have the right bar insurance policy in place. Because serving alcohol you will most definitely need it.
Insurance for Illinois Bars
You may have the best intentions as a bar owner to avoid, drunken accidents or other incidents that come with the territory. The unfortunate truth is you can’t control everything or everyone that comes into your establishment. As a savvy business owner, it’s crucial you do all you can ahead of time to protect yourself and your fledgling bar. The right insurance policy is a great start.
You may be wondering, well okay, what does that entail? Well, first off, if you are leasing your space most likely, your landlord has asked that you secure a general liability policy. A general liability policy will protect you if a customer slips and falls on a slick spot in the bar. If one of your employees accidentally burns the place down. Or if your one of a kind beer bacon knots makes a patron sick; the product liability portion of your policy will cover the medical bills. But general liability may not cover all your exposures.
A general liability policy will not cover any claims stemming from the serving of alcoholic beverages. In fact, there is a liquor liability exclusion for it. If a customer drinks too much, leaves your bar, causes an accident on the way home and the victim sues them and you. There would be no coverage under a typical GL policy. Meaning you would be paying for any cost out of pocket. There is an easy solution, and that is in the form of a liquor liability policy.
If you own the building, then you will want a commercial property policy. Even if you don’t own the building, a property policy can provide coverage for any build out or improvements you have made to the building. You will also want to add coverage for all the property inside your building like barware, those hard to find barstools and everything in your kitchen if you have one.
Of course, other coverages you will want to look into include workers compensation (required if you have employees), commercial auto insurance, loss of income and crime and vandalism coverage.
Things to Think About
While we can’t solve all the problems you may face as an Illinois bar owner. However, we can alleviate some of your stress by putting together a stellar protection plan for you. Our bar insurance experts understand the risks you face every day and work diligently to design the right protection package for you. Give us a call today at (800) 641-7488 or go over to quotes page to start your quote.