Having a bar in addition to a huge effort entails many responsibilities. Slips, poisoning, theft, fire… there are many risks that threaten the stability of the business and even its continuity.
In this article we explain what insurance a bar needs and which are the most appropriate to be well covered against possible accidents or claims.
What Insurance does a Bar Need?
Not all bars are the same: their location, their size, their capacity, the number of employees in charge, whether they have a kitchen or not, whether they have a terrace, whether the premises are rented.
All these are essential aspects to take into account for when it comes to protecting the business and which will be decisive when choosing the insurance and coverage to be contracted, and which, consequently, will determine the final price of the policy.
In any case, there are three basic insurances that any bar must have: Multi-risk, which protects the owner’s assets (premises, machinery, etc.); Civil Liability.
Which covers material and personal damages caused during its activity and that are attributable to the employer (supplier blows, customer poisoning, etc.); and Accident Agreement (covers serious accidents in the workplace of workers).
In fact, these last two are mandatory, so if you are going to open a bar you have to count on them inevitably.
It is important to assess all of the aforementioned when choosing the insurance and coverage that you want to contract, and that, consequently, will determine the final price of the policy, which, due to all these conditions, is highly variable.
To get an idea, the Multi-risk of a 150-square-meter owned bar with a couple of employees in charge can cost about 400 euros (around 200 if it is rented), to which we would have to add an insurance policy. Civil Liability, which would be around 160 euros.
Multi-Risk Insurance
As we have mentioned, Multi-Risk insurance protects the entrepreneur’s assets against damages that may be suffered due to the many unforeseen events that can jeopardize the continuity of the business, guaranteeing the payment of compensation, repair costs or the replacement of assets for part of the insurer.
This is a policy that protects both the container (the structure of the building: foundations, walls, beams, paint, heating, etc.) of the bar, as well as its content (the goods inside: furniture, merchandise, property third parties, machines…).
When you are the owner of the bar, you will have to cover both concepts; Only in case you are renting will you focus on the content, since the owner of the premises will have to take charge of insuring the container.
Coverages of the Multi-risk Insurance for Bars?
The most common coverage to protect a bar has to do, of course, with protection against the main risks to which it is exposed:
- Water damage. Covers broken pipes, leaks or water leaks, among others.
- Fires. It insures for material damage caused by fire, which can be more or less extensive (covering furniture or merchandise).
- Accidents. Protects employees against mishaps that occur while carrying out their activity.
- Explosion and lightning strike. Damages to property caused by these causes are covered.
- natural phenomena. Damages due to snow, wind, rain, hail, among others that are considered extraordinary phenomena.
- Electrical damage. Guarantee is given for damages with electrical installations or short circuits.
- Damage to frozen products. Due to problems in refrigerators that spoil food.
- thefts. Collect material damage and losses due to theft within the establishment.
- Spoliation. When an employee is transporting content for the restaurant or bar and is robbed.
- Employee infidelity. When losses are suffered due to theft, forgery or similar in which one of its employees has to do.
Liability Insurance
It is the insurance that covers the owner against claims for any action or omission that is carried out in the bar in the exercise of professional activity and that may lead to possible damages caused to third parties.
This is compulsory insurance, which is normally regulated at the local level, which is why the Town Halls are the ones that require it when granting the opening permits for the bars.
Civil Liability insurance coverage for Bars
There are different types of Civil Liability coverage. Among them the most important are:
Civil Liability of Exploitation. Responds for material or personal damage done to a third person (such as a delivery man slipping and suffering injuries because the ground is wet).
Employers liability. It compensates the claims of employees who are victims of work accidents in which the employer could have been at fault (burns from poorly regulated ovens or cuts from utensils in poor condition).
Product Civil Liability. Compensation for damages caused by food supplied in the bar (the most common is poisoning from spoiled food).
Legal defense. Professional advice is received on claims from third parties (customers, suppliers, employees…)
Final Words
Bar insurance is essential to give the businessman peace of mind in the face of unforeseen events that may arise.
Along with the obligation to have Civil Liability guarantees when opening the premises, the hospitality sector also requires Agreement Accident insurance when running a bar and having dependent employees, which covers accidents at work involving workers in the event of death or disability, indemnifying accordingly.
In case of not having contracted it, the employer must bear the compensation for the mishap, in addition to exposing himself to an administrative claim.
In addition, there are other guarantees that are essential to protect the business from the main risks that it may suffer. Water damage is the incident that most affects these establishments, followed by theft and glass breakage and the damage caused.
Losses also occur that are less frequent, but whose impact is tremendous, such as fires, which condition the continuity of the activity. Hence, a good policy recognizes and covers all these risks, regardless of other parameters.