Coverage built for kitchens, not cubicles.

One kitchen fire, slip-and-fall, foodborne illness claim, equipment breakdown, or liquor-related lawsuit can disrupt years of hard work.

Restaurant insurance typically combines several types of coverage to protect your business, property, employees, equipment, income, and customers. The right combination depends on your restaurant’s size, location, operations, alcohol sales, employees, vehicles, and lease or franchise requirements.

At Smith & Thomas Insurance, we help Florida and Georgia restaurants evaluate those exposures and build coverage around how their business actually operates — from neighborhood cafés and quick-service restaurants to full-service dining and wine bars.

We Understand Restaurant Risk.

A homeowners policy does more than cover your house. It provides financial Restaurants aren’t “just another small business.”

You deal with:

• Hot surfaces and open flames
• Fast-paced staff and high turnover
• Customers on wet floors
• Foodborne illness exposures
• Equipment breakdown that stops revenue instantly
• Liquor liability risks

You need coverage designed specifically for how restaurants actually operate.

What Insurance Does a Restaurant Need?

There is no single “restaurant insurance policy” that covers every risk a food-service business faces. Depending on your operation, a restaurant insurance program may include general liability, commercial property, business interruption, equipment breakdown, workers’ compensation, liquor liability, commercial auto, hired and non-owned auto, food spoilage, cyber liability, and other specialized coverage.

The right combination depends on what you own, what you lease, how many employees you have, whether you serve alcohol, whether you deliver food, and what your contracts require.

Coverage	What it helps protect
General Liability	Customer injuries, property damage and certain third-party claims
Commercial Property	Building, equipment, furniture, fixtures and inventory
Business Income	Lost income after a covered loss shuts down operations
Equipment Breakdown	Mechanical/electrical failure of covered equipment
Liquor Liability	Certain claims arising from alcohol service
Workers’ Compensation	Covered employee injuries and illnesses
Commercial Auto	Business-owned vehicles used for restaurant operations
Hired & Non-Owned Auto	Certain liability exposures involving vehicles the business doesn’t own
Food Spoilage	Covered loss of food and inventory after qualifying equipment/power failures
Cyber Liability	Certain costs associated with data breaches and cyber incidents

What’s Included in a Typical Policy?

We build policies tailored to your operation. Coverage can include:

General Liability – General liability insurance helps protect a restaurant when a third party alleges bodily injury, property damage, or certain other covered losses arising from your business operations. For restaurants, common examples include customer slip-and-fall claims, accidental property damage, and certain allegations involving food-related injuries or illness.

Your actual coverage, exclusions, and limits depend on the policy. Restaurant owners should also consider how their lease, franchise agreement, landlord, or other contracts affect required liability limits and additional insured requirements.

Property Coverage – Commercial property coverage can protect the physical assets your restaurant depends on, including eligible kitchen equipment, furniture, fixtures, inventory, tenant improvements, and — when applicable — the building itself.

Restaurant property risks can be different from those of a typical office. Refrigeration systems, cooking equipment, ventilation systems, plumbing, electrical systems, and specialized kitchen equipment can represent a substantial portion of a restaurant’s investment.

Equipment Breakdown – A restaurant can lose revenue quickly when a walk-in cooler, freezer, oven, HVAC system, refrigeration compressor, or other critical piece of equipment fails. Equipment breakdown coverage can help address certain direct losses and, depending on the policy, may coordinate with other coverage such as business income and food spoilage.

For a restaurant, a $10,000 equipment failure isn’t necessarily a $10,000 problem — the interruption to operations can be just as significant.

Business Interruption – Replaces lost income if you must temporarily close after a covered loss.

Workers’ Compensation – Required for Florida restaurants with employees.

Food Spoilage Coverage – Helps recover losses after power outages or equipment failure.

Florida’s Dram Shop Act also creates specific circumstances in which a person or business furnishing alcoholic beverages can face liability. Your insurance needs depend on your operation, alcohol sales, policy terms, and applicable law.

We work with carriers that can insure restaurants with liquor sales up to 60% of total revenue, including:

• Full-service restaurants
• Upscale dining concepts
• Wine bars
• Restaurants with full bars
• Farm-to-table and craft concepts

If alcohol is part of your business model, we can help you do it safely and properly.

Not sure whether your restaurant’s alcohol sales fit our market appetite? Contact us and we’ll review the operation with you.

Restaurant Delivery & Commercial Auto Insurance

Does your restaurant deliver food, cater events, pick up supplies, or otherwise use vehicles for business purposes? Your auto exposure may need to be addressed separately from your restaurant’s general liability policy.

Business-owned vehicles generally require commercial auto coverage, while employee-owned vehicles used for business purposes can create a hired and non-owned auto exposure.

If employees use their personal vehicles to make deliveries, don’t assume their personal auto policy automatically protects the restaurant. The business may need its own coverage for its liability exposure.

Cyber Liability for Restaurants

Modern restaurants rely on more than a cash register. Point-of-sale systems, online ordering, reservation platforms, employee records, customer information and payment processing all create potential cyber exposures.

Cyber liability coverage can address certain expenses associated with covered cyber incidents, such as breach response, notification, forensic investigation, and other covered costs. Coverage varies significantly by policy, so restaurants should evaluate it based on how they actually collect, store and transmit information.

Who We Typically Insure

We generally aren’t able to help nightclubs or late-night entertainment venues — but most restaurants fall comfortably within our carrier’s guidelines.

We can occasionally place beer, wine, and liquor stores. Call for more information.

Florida-Specific Risks for Restaurants

Hurricanes, wind and flooding

Florida restaurants face property risks from hurricanes, wind, heavy rainfall and flooding. Importantly, these are not interchangeable exposures: standard commercial property insurance generally does not cover flood, while wind coverage can depend on the policy, location and applicable deductibles or exclusions.

Business interruption

A restaurant’s largest financial loss after a covered property claim may not be the damaged equipment itself. It may be the income lost while the kitchen is closed, repairs are completed, equipment is replaced, permits are obtained, and the business returns to normal operations.

Adequate Coverage

Restaurant owners sometimes assume that if the state allows them to operate, they automatically have all of the insurance required to run their business. That’s not necessarily the case. Your landlord, lender, franchisor, vendors, catering contracts, or other agreements may require specific limits or additional insured status beyond any statutory requirements.

How Much Does Restaurant Insurance Cost in Florida?

There is no single price for restaurant insurance in Florida. Premium can vary significantly based on the type of restaurant, annual sales, payroll, location, building characteristics, property values, claims history, alcohol sales, hours of operation, delivery exposure, and the coverage limits selected.

A small café with no alcohol and limited cooking exposure can have a very different insurance program from a full-service restaurant with a bar, delivery drivers, extensive kitchen equipment, and a large payroll.

The fastest way to determine what your restaurant’s coverage may cost is to have an agent review the actual operation rather than relying on an online average.

Why Choose Smith & Thomas Insurance?

Local expertise – Serving families in Lakeland, Polk County, and across Florida for over 65 years.

We also now have options in Georgia!

Independent agents – We compare policies from multiple carriers, so you get more options and the best value. We work for you!

Personal service – We answer your questions and explain coverage in plain language.

Trusted guidance – Our clients rely on us to protect their restaurants.

Get a Free Insurance Quote Today!

Protect your restaurant with coverage you can count on. Contact Smith & Thomas Insurance today for a free, no-obligation restaurant insurance quote.

Call us at 863-688-1141.