Restaurant Insurance in Florida: Liquor Liability and Beyond

Restaurants operate on thin margins and face huge risks. Between customer injuries, food safety claims, employee accidents, and liquor liability, one lawsuit can shut down an otherwise successful business.

If you own or operate a restaurant in Florida—whether it's a fine dining spot, a sports bar, or a food truck—you need specialized insurance. Here's what to know.

Why Restaurants Can't Rely on Basic Business Insurance

A standard Business Owners Policy (BOP) covers general risks like fire, theft, and customer slip-and-fall claims. But restaurants face unique exposures that require additional coverage:

• Liquor liability: Serving alcohol creates legal liability
• Food contamination: Spoilage, foodborne illness, and recalls
• Employee injuries: Burns, cuts, slips in kitchens, back injuries from lifting
• Equipment breakdown: Walk-in coolers, ovens, POS systems
• Assault and battery: Bar fights and aggressive patrons

Let's break down the most important coverages for Florida restaurants.

Liquor Liability: Florida's Dram Shop Laws

Florida has strict dram shop laws that hold bars and restaurants liable if they serve alcohol to someone who then causes harm.

You can be held liable if:

• You serve a visibly intoxicated person who then injures someone (drunk driving, assault, etc.)
• You serve alcohol to a minor who causes harm or injury

Even if you think your staff is careful, one bad decision—serving that "one more drink" to a customer who's clearly drunk—can result in a lawsuit for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Liquor liability insurance covers:

• Legal defense costs
• Settlements and judgments
• Medical bills for injured third parties

Cost: Expect to pay $1,500-$5,000+ annually depending on your alcohol sales, seating capacity, and hours of operation. Late-night bars with heavy alcohol sales pay more than family restaurants serving wine with dinner.

Important: Your general liability policy typically excludes liquor-related claims. You need a separate liquor liability endorsement or standalone policy.

Food Contamination and Spoilage Coverage

Imagine this: A power outage during a summer storm knocks out your walk-in coolers. You lose $10,000 in meat, seafood, and produce. Or worse—your supplier recalls contaminated lettuce, and customers get sick.

Food contamination coverage protects you from:

• Product recalls
• Customer illnesses from contaminated food
• Defense costs if you're sued over foodborne illness

Spoilage coverage reimburses you for lost inventory due to:

• Power outages
• Equipment breakdown (cooler failure, freezer malfunction)
• Contamination from fire suppression systems or chemicals

For a few hundred dollars a year, this coverage prevents a total loss situation. Given Florida's summer storms and frequent power outages, spoilage insurance is a no-brainer.

General Liability: Slip-and-Fall and Customer Injuries

Restaurants have slippery floors, hot surfaces, sharp objects, and crowds of people. General liability insurance covers:

• Slip-and-fall claims: Customer slips on a wet floor and breaks a wrist
• Food allergies: Customer has an allergic reaction despite informing the server
• Foreign objects in food: Customer bites down on something they shouldn't (glass, metal, etc.)
• Burns: Hot coffee spills, causing injury

Florida juries are unpredictable. Even frivolous claims can cost tens of thousands in legal defense. Minimum coverage for restaurants should be $1 million per occurrence / $2 million aggregate.

Workers Compensation: Protecting Your Staff

Workers compensation is required in Florida if you have four or more employees (including part-time staff). For restaurants, this is almost always the case.

Common restaurant employee injuries:

• Burns from grills, fryers, and ovens
• Cuts from knives and slicers
• Back injuries from lifting kegs, supplies, and equipment
• Slips and falls in kitchens and walk-in coolers

Workers comp rates for restaurants vary by job classification:

• Cooks and kitchen staff: $3-6 per $100 of payroll
• Servers and front-of-house: $0.50-2 per $100 of payroll
• Bartenders: $1-3 per $100 of payroll

Pro tip: Classify your employees accurately. Don't pay kitchen rates for hostesses and servers. It adds up fast.

Safety training—knife handling, burn prevention, proper lifting—reduces claims and keeps your premiums lower.

Commercial Property: Protecting Your Building and Equipment

Your restaurant is filled with expensive equipment: ovens, grills, fryers, refrigerators, POS systems, furniture, and inventory.

Commercial property insurance covers:

• Fire and smoke damage
• Theft and vandalism
• Wind and hail damage (not flood—that's separate)
• Equipment breakdown

Equipment breakdown coverage is especially important for restaurants. When your walk-in cooler dies on a Friday night, you need repairs now—not next week. This coverage pays for emergency repairs and lost income while equipment is down.

Replacement cost vs. actual cash value: Choose replacement cost. It pays to replace your equipment without depreciation. Actual cash value policies will only pay a fraction of what you need.

Assault and Battery Coverage

If you operate a bar or late-night restaurant, fights can happen. A drunk patron throws a punch, injures another customer, and suddenly you're facing a lawsuit.

Most general liability policies exclude assault and battery claims. You need a specific endorsement to cover:

• Legal defense costs
• Medical bills for injured parties
• Settlements and judgments

How to reduce your risk:

• Train staff to de-escalate conflicts
• Cut off visibly intoxicated customers
• Hire security for busy nights
• Install cameras (evidence helps your defense)

Carriers will ask about your security measures when quoting. Good risk management = lower premiums.

What Your Restaurant Insurance Should Include

Here's the complete package for a Florida restaurant:

1. General Liability: $1M per occurrence minimum
2. Liquor Liability: If you serve alcohol (required by most commercial leases)
3. Workers Compensation: If you have 4+ employees
4. Commercial Property: Building, equipment, inventory
5. Business Interruption: Covers lost income if you're forced to close temporarily
6. Food Spoilage and Contamination: Protects against power outages and recalls
7. Commercial Auto: If you deliver or use company vehicles
8. Cyber Liability: For POS systems and customer payment data (yes, even small restaurants need this)

How Much Does Restaurant Insurance Cost in Florida?

Every restaurant is different, but here's a rough breakdown:

• General Liability: $1,200-$3,000/year
• Liquor Liability: $1,500-$5,000/year (higher for bars)
• Workers Comp: Varies by payroll; budget 3-6% of total payroll
• Property Insurance: $1,500-$5,000/year depending on building value and equipment
• Total annual cost: $8,000-$20,000 for a typical restaurant

Bundling policies with one carrier often saves 10-15%. We'll shop multiple carriers to find the best deal.

Get a Custom Quote for Your Restaurant

Every restaurant has different risks. A food truck isn't the same as a steakhouse. A coffee shop isn't the same as a nightclub.

At Greene & Associates, we specialize in restaurant insurance for Florida businesses. We'll assess your unique risks, compare quotes from over 24 carriers, and build a policy that protects you without overpaying.

Ready to get covered? Request a quote or call 1-800-252-6885 today.

Don't wait until something goes wrong. Protect your business now.