Insuring your food business
Running a food business, whether you’re a takeaway retailer, a restaurant, or a manufacturer can be rewarding as well as demanding. Despite your best efforts, things can go wrong, such as a claim for food poisoning, a fire that damages your premises, or a defamatory social media post. Business insurance covers you for those unexpected times with a tailored policy covering public liability, professional indemnity and business interruption. It gives you the peace of mind of knowing you’re protected.
Why you need insurance for food businesses
Food poisoning
Fast-food is all about the here and now, but if the meat on a pizza isn’t quite cooked it could be more than food you’re delivering to a customer who becomes ill. If someone makes a claim for food poisoning, you’ll be covered by public liability insurance. Even if you don’t feel it’s your fault, you’ll still have to defend yourself, so we’ll cover you for the cost of defending a legal case and any settlement.
Plastic found in a ready meal
If you’re selling a range of prepared meals to high street retailers and a customer finds a sharp plastic object in one, it’s a problem. Even if they’re not injured, it’s not acceptable and they may well take legal action against your business and the retailer. Product liability insurance means you’re covered for the legal costs of defending the case and any settlement, whatever your involvement is with a product line.
Oven breaks down
Your ovens are key to baking bread for customers and retailers. If they’re damaged by a power surge you can’t produce anything, meaning your income and livelihood are under threat. Business interruption insurance covers you against the loss of income as a result of the damage, so you can keep any losses to a minimum and take away some of the stress while your ovens are repaired.
If you’re not sure what you need, tell us a little more about your food business. We’ll help you to build your quote and explore any other insurance needs.
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Key types of insurance for food businesses
Public liability insurance
Public liability cover within your business insurance protects you if a member of the public claims they’ve been injured or their property was damaged because of your products or actions carried out by an employee. Even if you don’t feel there’s a mistake on the part of the business, you could still have to defend yourself. Public liability cover will help you with the costs of compensation and the legal expenses of the claims process.
Product liability insurance
Product liability cover can be part of your tailored business insurance package to give you an extra layer of protection if someone complains about a specific product. Food manufacturing or preparation can involve several stages with a wide range of potential risks. Product liability insurance covers you and your business against any legal claims of injury or damage, whether you’re involved in the production, sale or delivery of a food product.
Business interruption insurance
Business interruption insurance is there to help if you find yourself being unable to trade because of an unexpected interruption, such as damage to a property. It could be due to a fire, flood or major theft at your food manufacturing or retail facility. Being out of action means lost earnings as well as the risk of reputational damage, so it’s in your interest to deal with it quickly. Business insurance will help you to get back up and running, keeping disruptions to a minimum.
These are just some of the types of business insurance for food firms that we can offer. We can provide other specific types of cover and build them into a policy that’s tailored to the exact needs of your business.
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