What kind of insurance do you need for a restaurant?

You're a restaurant owner who's perfected your signature dishes. But unfortunately, you haven't yet mastered the head-spinning insurance policy lingo necessary to protect your investment. Put those worries on the back burner; we're here to help you navigate restaurant insurance options.

While you can certainly customize your insurance plan, here are five that deserve your attention:

· Property insurance

· Fire insurance

· Personal property insurance

· Business expense coverages

· Worker' comp insurance

As you probably anticipated, things get trickier from here. You can narrow down your options by answering the following questions.

What kind of restaurant do you own?

Every restaurant is unique. An alcohol-free diner faces fewer risks than a high-end restaurant that serves martinis and offers valet parking.

General liability insurance coverage varies from one restaurant to the next. The coverage you select may differ based on the type of restaurant you run and whether you own or lease the building.

Do you own the building? Or lease it?

If you own the building, there's an insurance policy for that. Leasing from a landlord? There's another policy for that, too.

Either way, you need insurance that protects your investment. Options include fire protection and personal property insurance that covers everything from appliances and tables to chairs and everything in between.

Do you want to add extra expense coverage?

Imagine there's a grease fire. The kitchen was destroyed, and half the restaurant was damaged by smoke. Now what? If you have business income and extra expense coverage, it'll kick in and help cover your loss.

Do I need to protect myself from employees?

Hopefully not, but if an employee steals money from the business, employee dishonesty coverage helps pay for the loss.

What about contaminated food protection?

You run a tidy back of the house. But what happens if the health department finds food contamination during a routine inspection? A food contamination policy helps you pay for equipment cleaning and the cost of replacing contaminated food.

What if I lose valuable records and bills in a fire?

While you can mitigate this risk by digitizing your records and bills and storing them on a cloud-based service, accounts receivable protection kicks in when you lose documents in a fire.

What if the power goes out, and I lose perishable items?

Remember the Great Blackout of 2003? If you owned a restaurant, you'd never forget it. On August 14, 2003, 21 power plants shut down in under three minutes. Chaos in the kitchen ensued. Major events like this are infrequent, but power outages still happen. If one occurs in the middle of the night when you're not there, you may lose thousands of dollars—but not if you have power outage coverage.

Helping you find the right insurance policy

Hoffman Hanono has offered affordable insurance solutions since 1959. Lean on our experience, and we'll help you find a comprehensive policy that fits your budget and needs, no matter what they are. Contact us today to get started!