Best Food Liability Insurance of June 2023

If your food services business sells alcohol, Next is a great option for liquor liability insurance. 

Liquor liability insurance protects your business from the legal risks of serving alcohol, including bodily injury and property damage claims, and your legal fees. Currently, Next sells liquor liability coverage in 38 states.

Next offers a very broad selection of commercial insurance policies for food service businesses, most of which are occurrence-based policies (except for professional liability insurance). You can get a quote for any policy online in just a few minutes.

Next also has very affordable general liability coverage, starting at $11 per month.

One of the downsides of Next is that most policies are not sold in every state. When entering your location to get a quote, you will be shown your options.

You can purchase a policy by the hour, day, week, or year. For yearly traditional plans you will have some flexibility between monthly or yearly payments. Thimble’s general liability coverage starts at $17 per month, but the average is more around $42 per month and $504 for those who pay yearly.

Most of Thimble’s food vendor insurance policies are sold in all 50 states and you can choose coverage limits of $1 million or $2 million, depending on your needs.

We also like that all of Thimble’s business insurance policies are occurrence-based, which means you’re covered against all claims that take place while the policy is in effect, even if the claim isn’t brought until after you cancel your coverage.

Note that Thimble doesn’t sell commercial auto insurance, so it may not be a good option if you need to insure a work vehicle.

Using CoverWallet's free advice tool, you can get matched with recommended policies and coverage limits based on your industry, location, number of employees, and annual revenue. You can find helpful articles about policy types, FAQs, tips for growing your business, and more. 

CoverWallet’s commercial insurance policies are underwritten by some of the most reputable brands in the insurance industry, like Hiscox, Progressive, Chubb, Travelers, and Liberty Mutual.

The company offers many different insurance policies that can be beneficial for food service businesses, like commercial auto, liquor liability, commercial property, workers’ compensation, and business interruption insurance.

CoverWallet is one of the only “best” food liability insurance companies we reviewed that doesn’t sell policies online. You can apply online through the website, but you must speak with an agent to purchase. 

The Berkshire Hathaway-owned company has an A++ (Superior) financial stability rating from AM Best, which indicates that BiBerk has a superior ability to meet policyholder obligations.

We also like that BiBerk has no revenue limits in place for BOPs. For comparison, the Insurance Information Institute reports that $5 million is a typical limit, but it of course varies with each company.

BiBerk makes it easy to purchase a food liability insurance policy online, or you can speak to a licensed agent. However, not all policies are available nationwide.

The annual revenue limit for Chubb’s BOP is $30 million. So if your food service business is scaling quickly, Chubb might be a good choice for food liability insurance plus your other commercial insurance coverage needs. 

In addition to a business owner’s policy, general liability, and commercial auto insurance, Chubb also sells equipment breakdown coverage, all-risk spoilage/change in temperature insurance, business income insurance, product recall insurance, umbrella insurance, and more.

Chubb also provides risk protection services, like a workplace safety analysis, cyber risk assessments, and infrared thermography to identify hotspots in a restaurant or kitchen. 

In terms of third-party ratings, Chubb has an A++ (Superior) grade from AM Best, and it had fewer complaints than expected over the last three years, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). However, Chubb doesn’t allow you to purchase a policy online, so you’ll need to contact an agent when you’re ready to buy. Quotes for some policy are available online though.

You can purchase a FLIP food liability package in all 50 states, and it’s easy to get a quote and apply for coverage online. Coverage includes general liability, product liability, damage to premises rented by you, and business personal property coverage. Rates for these coverages start at $299 per year, which is among the lowest prices we saw.

In addition to its food liability package, FLIP also sells a trailer endorsement for food truck businesses with a trailer, professional liability insurance, and cyber liability insurance.

FLIP’s commercial insurance policies are claims-made policies, which means you are only covered for incidents that occur and are reported while your coverage is in effect. 

While FLIP is an excellent option for some food business owners looking for a BOP, you can only get coverage if your business brings in $500,000 in gross revenue or less. If your business is larger than that or growing quickly, FLIP may not be the best insurer for you.