Concession Insurance for Stands & Trailers

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Your concession business, whether that’s an ice cream, juice, sandwich, or coffee stand, needs coverage to avoid the resulting losses from lawsuits, damage to business property, employee injury, and other perils. 

Concession insurance is a specialized policy consisting of different insurance products. This offers general liability, commercial property, and other policies you’ll find in concession trailer insurance, hot dog cart insurance, and other types of tailored insurance programs for food businesses. 

Know that similar to food truck operators, your concession business must get some coverage to secure a space. In this guide, know how tailored insurance for concessions works, how much it costs, and which company to work with. 

Concession Liability Insurance

Concession liability insurance pertains to a plethora of different coverages that function to provide protection against claims. Liability coverages commonly included in food concession insurance are general liability, product liability, and liquor liability insurance

General Liability Insurance for Concessions

Your concession’s operations can injure or damage the properties of customers, vendors, and other third parties. General liability insurance provides protection from this peril. By having this coverage, you can easily cover the following:

• Medical expenses-When your food concession inflicted cuts, burns, fractures, or any other injury, general liability insurance will cover medical expenses if customers, vendors, or other third parties decide to file a claim

• Reimbursements-General liability insurance covers reimbursements if customers, vendors, or other third parties had their property damaged due to your food concession’s operations

• Legal expenses-When vendors, customers, and other third parties decide to take legal recourse upon sustaining personal injuries or property damage due to your business, general liability insurance will help cover attorney fees, administrative costs, compensatory payments, and other related expenses for you

Many small businesses find general liability insurance useful. It’s because this concession stand insurance coverage can be added with optional policies for an added protection against other common business exposures. Such optional policies are:

• Advertising injury coverage-Advertising injury coverage will cover administrative costs, attorney fees, settlements, and other legal expenses if a third party sues your food concession for slander, libel, copyright infringement, and other forms of advertising or reputational harm

• Rented premises liability coverage-Your food concession is renting or leasing a space in a stadium, mall, or any other public place and rented premises liability coverage will be very useful. This will reimburse the property owner if a fire damages the space you’re leasing or renting

You must realize that general liability insurance only caters to personal injury, property damage, reputational harm, or advertising injury claims third parties file. Its coverage doesn’t apply to claims filed by employees and other related business entities.

Liquor Liability Insurance for Food Concessions

Does your food concession sell alcoholic drinks? If this is the case, you also need liquor liability insurance. Liquor liability insurance will cover medical expenses for personal injuries or reimbursements for damaged properties if your food concession over-served customers or sold alcoholic drinks to minors. If aggrieved third parties decide to sue, liquor liability insurance will cover attorney fees, compensatory payments, administrative costs, and other legal expenses.

Liquor liability insurance is sold as a stand-alone policy. But note that you will also find carriers selling it as an optional inclusion in general liability insurance for bartenders, liquor stores, wineries, wine retailers, distilleries, and breweries.

Concession Product Liability Insurance

Food ingredients can go bad without anyone noticing. And so, it’s possible for your food concession to inflict customers with foodborne diseases. Employee negligence and improper food handling and preparation are factors too. Last but not the least, even if food is served well, customers might display allergic reactions.

Product liability insurance protects you from the above perils. When a customer files a claim against your business after suffering from improper food preparation, food poisoning, or allergic reaction, this will cover medical expenses for personal injuries or reimbursements for property damage. Coverage also extends to compensatory payments, administrative costs, and other legal expenses.

Insurance companies sell product liability insurance as stand-alone coverage. Nonetheless, this is also available as optional coverage in the general liability insurance for food deliveries,restaurants, vendors, grocery stores, and bars.

Commercial Property Insurance for Concessions

Commercial property insurance is useful if you’re running a thriving food concession business having its own office, warehouse, and other tangible business assets. The primary function of this insurance is to cover the following:

• Building damage-When your food concession business’s office, warehouse, or any other owned or leased building has its roofing, siding, doors, flooring, or signage damaged by fire, theft, vandalism, extreme weather, and other covered perils, commercial property insurance will cover repair costs

• Building destruction-Commercial property insurance covers reconstruction costs if your food concession’s office, warehouse, or any other leased or rented commercial building is destroyed by fire or extreme weather

You can’t use commercial property insurance to cover expenses if earthquakes, floods, or mudslides damaged or destroyed your food concession’s building. To get protection from these perils, you need to get mudslide insurance, flood insurance, and earthquake insurance, as endorsements.

There are coverages you can add to commercial property insurance to cover other business properties. These are:

• Stocks and contents coverage-Stocks and contents coverage will reimburse losses if fire, theft, vandalism, or extreme weather caused the loss or damage of furniture, installations, computers, business documents, food ingredients, and other valuables inside the warehouse, office, or any other building under the custody of your food concession

• Business equipment and tools coverage-Business equipment and tools coverage will cover replacements or repair of machines, equipment, or tools used for food preparation that become lost or damaged due to fire, theft, vandalism, extreme weather, and other covered perils

Note that commercial property insurance doesn’t provide automatic coverage for all business property. What you want commercial property insurance to cover should be named on its terms. Premiums are then calculated based on the value of the business properties insured.

Food Concession Workers Compensation Insurance

Your food concession business won’t run well without employees. You need people to prepare food and cater to customers. Except if you're in Texas, authorities will require you to get workers' compensation insurance as soon as one or more individuals are working for you. Workers' compensation insurance is a strict requirement to operate a business legally because it covers the following:

• Medical treatment/procedure-An employee will sustain cuts, lacerations, burns, and other injuries while preparing food. It’s also possible for him or her to contract a foodborne illness. When your employee sustains a work-related injury or disease, workers' compensation insurance will provide the money you can use to cover surgeries, therapies, and other expenses

• Hospitalization-Commercial property insurance will cover bills if your food business’s employee needs to remain in the hospital after receiving a medical treatment/procedure for a work-related injury or disease

• Medication-Your employee needs to take medicines to fully heal from a work-related injury disease. Workers' compensation insurance also covers this. It will provide the money that will cover expenses for medication

• Rehabilitation-Workers compensation insurance will cover rehabilitation if your employee experiences impairment of bodily functions upon experiencing a work-related injury or disease. Particularly, costs covered are therapist fees, expenses for rehabilitation equipment, and more.

• Lost income compensation-Workers compensation insurance will help if your employee can’t work due to a work-related injury or disease. Your employee will receive a weekly allowance from workers' compensation insurance as compensation for lost wages that’s equal to two-thirds or 67% of the average weekly wage

• Death benefits-If your food concession business’s employee dies due to a work-related injury or disease, workers' compensation insurance will cover funeral expenses. It will also give a financial aid to dependents

Workers' compensation insurance covers full-time employees, part-time employees, and contractors. Coverage doesn’t apply to volunteers. Family members helping with your food concession business are either covered or not covered depending on where you conduct business operations.

Is Workers Compensation Insurance Enforceable?

Workers' compensation insurance is a state-required coverage except in Texas. This means that failure to get it when your food business employs people is subject to stiff fines and penalties. Fines and penalties depend on where you’re conducting business. Here are some examples:

• Failure to get workers' compensation insurance in Washington will result in a $500 fine or twice the amount you would’ve paid for premiums

• Failure to get workers' compensation insurance in Wisconsin will result in a $750 fine or twice the amount you would’ve paid for premiums

• Failure to get workers' compensation insurance in Kansas will result in a $25,000 fine or twice the amount you would’ve paid for premiums, whichever is greater

• Failure to get workers' compensation in Oregon as a first offense will be fined $1,000 or twice the amount you would’ve paid for premiums. Continued violation will then result in a $250 fine multiplied by the days your food concession business didn’t have workers' compensation insurance

Concession Car Insurance

Insurance companies underwrite concession car insurance as a commercial auto insurance policy. Commercial auto insurance provides the following protections:

• Auto liability coverage-Your food concession’s commercial vehicle will cause an accident, resulting in third parties incurring personal injuries or property damage. Auto liability coverage will aid you in this situation. It will cover the medical expenses of third parties who got injured and reimburse the owners of damaged properties. If aggrieved parties decide to take legal action, auto liability coverage will cover attorney fees, administrative costs, settlements, and other expenses

• Physical damage coverage-There are two types of physical damage coverage available for your food concession business’s commercial vehicle-collision and comprehensive. Collision physical damage coverage will cover expenses if your commercial vehicle got damaged after colliding with an object or vehicle. Comprehensive physical damage coverage, on the other hand, will cover expenses if lightning, fire, vandalism, windstorm, and other covered perils damaged the commercial vehicle

• Medical payments/personal injury protection-Medical payments and personal injury protection protect your commercial vehicle’s driver and passengers during vehicular accidents. Medical payments coverage will take care of medical and funeral expenses. Personal injury protection does the same but additionally takes care of lost wages, after-hospital visits, and more

Note that both types of physical damage coverage don’t take care of the damage to your commercial vehicle’s aftermarket parts. As for auto liability coverage, it won’t help if your commercial vehicle caused an accident due to its involvement in criminal activity.

Other Concession Business Insurance Policies You Should Consider Buying

Business Interruption Insurance

Unforeseen events might force you to suspend business operations and lose a significant amount of income you would’ve used to cover operational costs. Business interruption insurance protects you from this exposure. While your food concession isn’t generating income, business interruption insurance will provide the money you can use to cover payroll, taxes, loans, etc.

Employer’s Liability Insurance

Employer’s liability insurance becomes useful if your employee sues for negligence upon sustaining a work-related injury or disease. Particularly, this will cover attorney fees, compensatory payments, administrative costs, and other legal expenses on your behalf.

Employment Practices Liability Insurance

Employment practices liability insurance will help you in a situation where an employee sues for sexual harassment, wrongful termination, missed employment benefits, exploitation, and other acts considered as violations of employee rights. This insurance will cover attorney fees, settlements, administrative costs, and other legal expenses for you.

Equipment Breakdown Insurance

Equipment breakdown insurance is useful if the food preparation equipment of your food concession business becomes damaged while being used. This will cover expenses for repairs. If covered items are less than three years old, then equipment breakdown insurance might provide immediate replacements.

Cyber Liability Insurance

Cyber liability insurance is useful if your business processes payments through credit cards or mobile wallets. If personal data becomes leaked and your business is responsible, cyber liability insurance will cover legal expenses, reimburse affected parties, and pay for public relations expenses.

Concession Trailer Insurance

A concession trailer insurance comes as a packaged insurance policy consisting of general liability and commercial auto insurance. Concession trailer liability insurance applies to accidents caused by the trailer by reason of wrongful parking, poor maintenance, and improper installation of accompanying equipment.

There's one case that's a perfect example of how concession trailers can cause injuries. The plaintiff filed a lawsuit against the manufacturer and vendor accusing their concession trailer’s wiring was faulty which resulted in electricity to short on the ground and then surge through the claimant’s body. As ridiculous as the claim might be, there are sufficient grounds for the complaint as the court found out the concession trailer's wiring was worn and that any electric surge should’ve been grounded using a metal rod. Though the plaintiff canceled the lawsuit, those operating the concession trailer, indeed, have liability as they failed to employ appropriate measures in preventing electrical hazards from happening, not only to the plaintiff but also to others who might approach their trailer.

Commercial auto insurance for mobile food trailers, on the other hand, will account for accidents that happen while your food trailer is on the road and will cover bodily injuries and property damage. Additional policies can be added such as:

• Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage-Provides coverage the moment the other driver, who caused the accident, can’t fully cover you with his auto liability insurance policy.

• Non-owned/hired auto liability coverage-This one covers the cost of accidents a vehicle your food concession hired caused. Coverage applies for an employee vehicle used for business purposes

Concession trailers causing accidents while running on the road is fairly common. Here are the most recent ones according to reports:

• In September 2021, a concession trailer and a car collided. The concession trailer ignited in flames afterward which resulted in the person inside being hospitalized for minor wounds.

• In October 2021, two concession trailers crashed on the road. One got overturned while the other got stuck in a ditch. The drivers didn't suffer from serious injuries. However, their vehicles were damaged beyond recognition

Concession trailer accidents happen now and then because of two reasons: First, drivers are more skilled at cooking and running a business than driving. Second, there's a greater blindspot when driving concession trailers and so, it's difficult to see other cars on the highway, especially when changing lanes.

Concession Insurance Cost

The concession insurance cost for a $1 million general liability coverage is $30 per month. Those who pay yearly spend $360. Here's a table showing the pricing of the best concession insurance companies: