Whether you work in a coffee shop or a restaurant, if you’re serving people something that they’re going to consume, you have to be extremely careful with it. This is also the case for delis and sandwich shops.
This is why deli and sandwich shops always opt to get insurance once they start seeing a steady stream of customers come through their doors. Similar to starting a restaurant, there are many risks involved. And so, never start a deli or sandwich business without proper coverage.
Our discussion today will talk about sandwich bar and delicatessen insurance. Stay, because we’ll make you understand how they can help, how much they cost, and how they work.
Sandwich is an all-time American favorite. And so, sandwich shops have a high volume of customers. Proving this point is the fact that 47% of all American adults eat one or two sandwiches on any given day.
The probability of accidents happening in a sandwich shop increases as the number of customers rises. With that said, no matter how much care the owner or the manager observes, a customer can get injured sooner or later.
Sandwich shop insurance offering general liability coverage or public liability coverage provides protection when customers file a claim for their injuries. It provides $1 million up to 2 million basic coverage. For policyholders who want to get more, carriers can extend the coverage up to more than $5 million depending on the sandwich shop’s financial standing
General liability insurance will take care of lawsuits against a sandwich shop as well as the settlement fee for the plaintiff.
The most common causes of general liability lawsuits customers sue sandwich stores for are slip and fall accidents, which result in bruises, contusions, lacerations, and property damage. In the foodservice industry, where sandwich shops belong, it’s estimated that 1 million customers suffer from slip and fall accidents every year. Here are some examples of sandwich shops that faced a lawsuit after customers slipped and fell:
A Delaware woman sued a sandwich store after she stepped on a leftover sandwich the employees failed to clean up.
The court ordered a sandwich store to pay a sum of $541,792 over the death of a customer who slipped and fell on its premises.
Customers can also file a lawsuit for food poisoning, and experts estimate that 128,000 people get sick and 3,000 people die because of it annually. In sandwich stores, the most common types of sandwiches customers order are peanut butter, cold cut, egg, hotdog, sausage, poultry, and fish sandwiches. Sandwiches using these ingredients can poison the customer provided that food preparation is poor. The table below outlines the injuries a customer might get from eating these:
| Type of Sandwich | Possible Injuries | Cost of Settlement for Personal Injury Claim |
|---|---|---|
| Peanut Butter | Skin reactions and digestive problems | $20,000 |
| Cold Cut | Listeria (convulsions, loss of balance, confusion, headaches, and stiff neck) | $80,000 |
| Egg | Salmonella (diarrhea, fever, stomach cramps) | $10,000 |
| Hotdog/sausage | Staphylococcus aureus infection (boils/abscess) | $50,000 |
| Poultry | Campylobacter infection (bloody diarrhea, fever, stomach cramps) | $36,000 |
Food poisoning is covered if the sandwich bar insurance offers products liability coverage. This policy takes effect when the sandwich store is held liable for mishandling food and selling expired or spoiled goods to customers.
Carriers offer sandwich and delicatessen insurance as a business owners policy. The coverages included in this business insurance for delis and sandwich shops vary from carrier to carrier. And so, we made a table showing the features of this deli and sandwich shop business insurance from different carriers:
| Company | Coverages in Business Owners Policy for Sandwich Shops and Delis |
|---|---|
| AXA | - Public liability insurance (includes product liability in its terms) - Contents Insurance Employers liability coverage |
| Aegis | - Commercial property insurance - General liability insurance - Workers comp insurance |
| World Insurance | - General liability with product liability coverage - Equipment breakdown coverage - Commercial auto |
It’s best to get a sandwich shop or deli insured using a business owners policy. As compared to getting stand-alone insurance policies one after another to get comprehensive coverage, getting business owners policy is more practical as this allows for faster insurance application and claims processing.
Deli and sandwich shop insurance offering contents coverage is a plus. Contents coverage will kick in the moment an accident or natural disaster destroys the goods a delicatessen or sandwich shop is selling. Moreover, it provides coverage for specialty equipment not covered under equipment breakdown policies such as vegetable cutters, tomato slicers, cheese melters, and speed ovens.
Business owners policy for delis and sandwich shops offer commercial auto coverage most of the time. But still, carriers give the policyholder the liberty to exclude this if they don’t really need it. Getting commercial auto insurance is only feasible when:
The deli shop has its own van or mini-truck to deliver goods to clients
The deli shop runs a food truck business to increase sales
The deli shop uses its own van or mini truck to source stocks from suppliers
With that said, if a deli or sandwich shop doesn’t do any of these, then there’s no need to get commercial auto insurance coverage in the meantime, and it's better to have a business owners policy offering general liability, products liability, and contents coverage.
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The price of deli insurance depends on a variety of things that an insurance company looks at before providing a quote. While we’re certainly capable of giving you an estimate of how much this insurance will cost, we can’t give you one that’s 100% accurate.
The size of your deli will dramatically influence how much you’ll end up spending for your coverage. Smaller delis will pay far less for their insurance than larger ones because they simply see fewer customers over the course of a year, reducing the chance of one of them having an accident.
Larger delis, however, typically have more stock that they have to keep track of as well as a larger number of customers. Their property size is usually bigger, as well, meaning that they’ll end up paying more for their commercial property insurance because of the higher cost of repairs.
Another thing to consider is that your business’s history will be closely inspected by the insurance company that you’re getting a quote from. They will look and see if you have a history of making claims and they will also look into your store’s reputation. If you’re known for serving people food that has made them sick or if you’ve failed health inspections, they may outright reject you.
To gather the following info about deli insurance cost, we used a medium-sized sandwich shop that had no history of prior claims to drive the price up. We did this to ensure that these costs are as close to reference values as possible so that you can have a better idea of what to expect.
| Company | Cost per month | Cost per year |
|---|---|---|
| AXA | $51 | $612 |
| Aegis | $48 | $576 |
| World Insurance | $57 | $684 |
| Average Cost | $52 | $624 |
As you can see, the average cost of deli and sandwich bar insurance tends to be a little more expensive than insurance for similarly-sized businesses. The average cost per month comes out to 52 dollars and the average cost per year comes out to 624 dollars for a $1 million general liability coverage.
Sandwich shop insurance cost is $43 a month for a $1 million general liability coverage. If paid annually, the cost is $516 a year. Just like insurance for delis, the price of sandwich shop insurance heavily depends on the business size, stocks, and business history. Also, note that the cost we provided here assumes that the customer only wants to get basic general liability coverage.
If you’re searching for the best insurance policy for your deli or sandwich shop, you may be wondering which company you should go to for coverage. While there’s no quick answer to that question, we can make your search easier by reviewing some of the most qualified insurance companies out there. Read to know their pros, cons, and pricing for a $1 million general liability coverage.
AXA is an insurance firm that is technically based in France, though the company has subsidiaries in the Middle East, America, and Africa. The company originally started as a fire insurance firm in Paris, but they have since expanded their operations to be a little more all encompassing.
AXA offers a flexible insurance policy for delis and sandwich shops, offering public and product liability coverage as a basic part of this package. However, the company also offers a few different add-ons that you can use to further refine your coverage, including content cover, employers’ liability, and quite a bit more.
Experienced in working with delis
Good online presence
Specialized coverage for sandwich shops
Claims response time is slow
Average cost : $51
Best for : Premade coverage options
Our rating : 5/5
Aegis is an insurance company based in Texas, and they operate in both the life and property insurance market. Aegis has offices in both Houston as well as DFW, ensuring that they’re never too far away from their clients in the Lone Star State.
Aegis’ trained agents work closely with clients in the deli and sandwich shop industries to ensure that they have all of the coverage that they need, ranging from liability to commercial property insurance. This company also prides themselves on offering some of the most affordable coverage in the industry.
Affordable
Specialized policies
Several discounted bundles
Only does business in Texas
Average cost : $48
Best for : Texas-based delis
Our rating : 4/5
World Insurance has only been around since 2011 but it has been one of the fastest growing insurance brokers in the United States during that time. The company is expanding at breakneck pace, with nearly 140 offices located all around the country, and that number is growing fast.
World Insurance’s brokers specialize in coming up with packages that cater to the exact needs of your deli or sandwich shop. They can figure out a policy for you that will cover you from property damage, injury, damage to your reputation, food sickness, and accidents in delivery.
Skilled brokers
Over 130 locations country-wide
Consultation alongside the quote process
Expensive
Average cost : $57
Best for : Larger delis and sandwich shops
Our rating : 4/5
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This depends on the carrier. For example, Progressive includes sandwich shops in its list of covered businesses under its restaurant insurance. On the other hand, The Hartford restaurant insurance only covers caterers, food carts, pizza shops, and other related businesses but never delis.
With that said, to know what business or not is covered by a particular carrier and its insurance, we suggest comparing quotes. To do so, click the “Get Quotes” button on this page and get accurate information about the insurance policies of numerous carriers.
1 / 5
Use anyone except Employers. Period. They are non-transparent and shameful. After I complained long enough to warrant a call from a supervisor, the supervisor called back from a PRIVATE NUMBER (no caller ID), left a message that they are not reversing their decision (without any communication with me), and failed to leave a phone number for me to call back. She was hiding! They also fact find via email and phone calls, which is terrific for speed and communication. However, after setting a precedence of email or phone calls, they send time sensitive information via email, without any heads up... they are hoping you miss it and forfeit via expiration. Evil policies. Go elsewhere.
1 / 5
This place is an absolute joke of a company and should be ashamed of the way they conduct business. I was hurt on the job at the end of July and it took them just shy of 7 weeks to issue out a paycheck to me. Yes the amount was back dated but still. Not many have the luxury of not receiving a paycheck for almost 2 months. To top it all off, the original adjuster marked me down for the wrong state which caused a problem from the get go, I've had 3 different adjusters now since each one can't seem to figure out the simplicity of my claim. All my paperwork which includes, my job, house, and drs visits all are from the same state and city but yet some how I have been filed under a completely different state 1500 miles away. They do not answer your phone calls or emails no matter how many you leave. I've had to escalate my frustrations to the supervisors of each of these individuals in order to even get some kind of response. I've had more communication and information given to me about my claim from the customer service representatives then the actual adjusters.......... please tell me how that works?! A serious overhaul needs to happen here in order to serve your clients the way they deserve to be taken care of. 10/10 do not recommend this company to a single soul on earth
1 / 5
I have never had the displeasure of working with a more incompetent and disrespectful person in my life. I’m an injured worker and the adjuster that was assigned to my case was named Carrie Furgeson. In the past 6 weeks that I’ve been injured and out of work I have only been able to get ahold of her twice, not for lack of trying. I have left countless voicemails, countless emails, and she ignores them all. When I am finally able to get ahold of her I’m greeted with terrible customer service. She is rude, she talks over me and I’m hardly able to get a word in edgewise. She spelled my name wrong on my documents even after I spelled it for her properly countless times, this caused a whole new issue with my bank. I have bill collectors from the hospital calling me demanding payment and Carrie Furgeson won’t do a single thing to help, or to get them paid. All of my documentation is in Colorado, my job is in Colorado, my address is in Colorado, all my Dr offices and appointments have been in Colorado and Carrie still managed to hold my claim because she wasn’t sure what state she needed to file it under. It’s been 6 weeks since my Injury and my company still hasn’t received the wage paperwork to fill out so they can get me my correct wages. When she’s not ignoring me she’s answering my questions with “I don’t know” well I don’t know how she got this job, because apparently she doesn’t know anything about it. She is a disgusting morose individual inside and out and I genuinely wish her the worst in all of her future endeavors. I highly recommend you don’t use this company. Please if you are a business owner and your looking into this company please don’t use them. I’m sure they have the cheapest payment and that’s why companies use them in the first place, but you will be doing your employees a grave disservice by forcing them to venture into this absolute dumpster fire of a company. I would rate 0/5 if possible but 1 was the lowest I was allowed.
5 / 5
Their general liability insurance purchase process is simply the best online experience I've ever had in my life!
5 / 5
As long as they cover your line of business, you're literally covered! best rates, best coverage, best online experience, best professionals, can't be happier that I chose them!
Not all those who wander are lost.
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