Insurance for Pizzerias

What kind of insurance does a pizzeria need, and what risks should pizzeria owners consider when selecting coverage for their business?

In this blog, Merchants Insurance Group answers your questions about insurance for pizzerias: why it’s important, what coverage options are available, and how you can get the best insurance for the unique needs of your pizzeria!

Why Pizzerias Need Insurance

First, let’s talk about why insurance is important. All small business owners – whether they own a pizzeria or other restaurant, a retail store, an office, or a contractor business – know that operating a business is no small feat. It requires investments of time, energy, and money, and these investments are important to protect.

That’s where insurance comes in: to provide financial protection and peace of mind.

Consider these risks a pizzeria could face:

• Your refrigerator malfunctions, and as a result, a customer is unintentionally served spoiled food.
• A customer slips and falls on a wet floor in your pizzeria.

With proper insurance coverage, the pizzeria owner has financial protection in the event of unexpected costs such as legal fees or medical bills for these third-party claims of damage. Insurance is a crucial component of any business plan, including pizzerias.

Types of Coverages to Consider & What Merchants Offers

In the sections that follow, we’ll break down some of the common risks pizzeria owners may face and what insurance options Merchants Insurance Group offers to address and protect your business from these losses.

There are two main categories of insurance that all pizzeria owners should have: General Liability and Commercial Property. Merchants provides a number of automatic property and liability coverages to protect your pizzeria!

General Liability (GL) Insurance

General liability insurance provides financial protection from third-party claims of damages. It helps protect your pizzeria in the event that an employee, product, or service causes damage to another person or their property.

Some examples of general liability protections available:

• If a customer slips and falls at your pizzeria, general liability can provide protection from medical expenses. This insurance can cover the cost of medical treatments the customer may need as a result of an injury at your restaurant.
• Employment Practices Liability can protect you, the pizzeria owner, against claims of discrimination, sexual harassment, and wrongful termination.
• Employee Benefits Liability can provide coverage for damages resulting from negligent acts, errors or omissions relating to administration of your employee benefit program.
• Optional Cyber Liability Coverage provides comprehensive data security and privacy coverage to address both first party losses and third party liability claims, expert claims handling and breach response services in the event of a suspected breach, and risk management resources to help mitigate risk before a breach occurs.

Commercial Property Insurance

Building and Business Personal Property Coverage protects your pizzeria from loss to physical assets such as your building, its contents, and equipment.

Here are some coverage options associated with commercial property insurance to protect your pizzeria:

• Equipment Breakdown coverage addresses the cost of repairing or replacing mechanical, electrical, or pressure systems in the event that this equipment breaks down. This coverage includes property such as pizza ovens, refrigerators, fryers, dough presses, and mixers in your pizzeria’s kitchen.
• If your business loses income as a result of property damage (for example, if your pizzeria is required to close during repairs), Business Income and Extra Expense can provide reimbursement of net loss business income and continuing normal operating expenses due to the suspension of your business operations from a covered loss.
• If your business experiences a power outage, Spoilage coverage provides financial reimbursement for spoiled perishable stock.
• Food Contamination coverage addresses the loss of contaminated food, equipment cleaning expenses, and advertising expenses if your business is ordered to close due to the discovery or suspicion of food contamination.
• Outdoor Signs coverage covers the cost of damaged outdoor signs in the event of a covered loss (signs within 1,000 feet of the described premises).
• Employee Dishonesty covers loss due to theft committed by your employees.
• Water Backup and Sump Overflow provides coverage for damage to your property in the event that water backs up or overflows from a sewer, drain, or sump.

Finding the Right Coverage for Your Pizzeria

Now that you know about the potential losses a pizzeria could encounter and coverages available to address these losses, consider which insurance options are right for your business.

An independent insurance agent can work with you to determine the best coverage for your business and its unique needs.

Ready to chat about your pizzeria’s insurance needs? Use our Find an Agent tool to find an independent insurance agent near you!