Texas has long been home to some of the most dynamic restaurants and top dining experiences in the nation, offering customers bold flavors, inventive techniques, and stunning plates. Because of our state's stable economy, growing population, and business-friendly environment, restaurateurs continue to flock to Texas to begin their own dining establishments. While owning a restaurant can be exciting and highly rewarding, it can also come with a host of issues and liability risks for owners. In the first part of our two-part series, we look at the top liability issues for restaurants that should be seriously considered when securing commercial insurance coverage.
Food Poisoning and Contamination
According to the Center for Disease Control, food poisoning is the most commonly reported injury within restaurants. This issue can stem from improperly handled food, food stored at the wrong temperature, spoiled inventory, incorrectly prepared food, or cross-contamination during preparation. Any one of these issues can lead to substantial liability issues for restaurants, especially if multiple customers fall ill due to food poisoning or contamination. In order to protect against damages and losses that result from food spoilage or contamination, restaurants can be protected with Food Spoilage or Food Contamination commercial coverage.
Employee Injuries
Restaurants can be an extremely dangerous place to work because of the wide variety of injury risks throughout the dining establishment. Employee accidents such as slips, falls, burns, and cuts can lead to devastating personal injuries, costing restaurants both time and money as they scramble to replace the injured worker and cover their medical expenses. Restaurant owners can protect their business by ensuring they have Workers Compensation Insurance in place to help cover medical expenses for injured workers.
Customer Injuries
Employees are not the only individuals at risk of personal injury or accidents inside a restaurant. Slips and falls inside or outside the restaurant can cause customers to suffer serious injuries, leading to substantial damage claims against the restaurant. In addition, customers can suffer burns from spilled food, cuts from broken glassware, or other injuries inside the establishment. For these reasons, restaurants need quality General Liability and Excess Liability coverage to protect against major damages and judgments against the business due to customer injuries.
Aegis Insurance & Financial Services is pleased to be a leading provider of top quality commercial insurance for the restaurant industry. Aegis offers Restaurant Insurance coverage that is specifically tailored to the unique needs of restaurants, especially those in the Gulf Coast region. The friendly and knowledgeable Aegis team can create a custom commercial insurance solution that incorporates the most needed types of restaurant policies, including Business Owners Policy, General Liability, Excess Liability, Workers Compensation, Commercial Property Insurance, and Commercial Auto coverage. Contact Aegis today for more information at 713-850-7622, or go online to request a free quote!