If you run a restaurant, bar, liquor store, brewery, or any other small business that serves alcohol, you might want to consider liquor liability insurance. With this type of policy, bodily injuries or even property damage caused by a drunk person will be covered. However, the question here is how to get this insurance. Well, it is very easy and simple to read through this article.
What is Liquor Liability Insurance?
Liquor liability insurance is a type of policy that offers protection and safeguards businesses in the liquor industry. As mentioned earlier, it also covers bodily injuries as well as damage caused by a person under the influence after being serviced in your bar or premises. Moreover, liquor liability insurance is considered business insurance.
Following that, in most states, bars and other liquor-serving businesses are required to have it. This is because it covers the repair costs, settlements and judgments, and legal costs if your business is responsible for the problem caused. Sometimes, liquor liability insurance is called dram shop insurance.
How Does it Work?
If a person comes to your bar and gets served alcohol and, at the end of the day, becomes intoxicated and causes a scene leading to damages and bodily harm, your liquor liability insurance can cover the cost for you. Imagine if you did not have this type of policy for your business. It will lead to high debts, and you will find it hard to cover all the costs of damages done all alone.
This is why we recommend that any business that serves any form of alcohol to the public should purchase this type of insurance. Besides, this insurance will help you and offer financial coverage for damaged properties and if any harm is caused to another or other parties. To get a quote, you can check online for different options available from different providers.
What Does it Cover?
What does liquor liability insurance cover? This is a good question, and you are about to find your answers in this section. Here are situations when your insurance will be handy and helpful:
- Legal costs.
- Third-party property damage.
- Assault and battery.
- Third-party bodily injuries.
- Lawsuit settlements.
- Medical expenses.
- Repair costs.
- Slips and falls.
- Sexual harassment or assault.
- Drunk driving.
So, if you find yourself in any of these situations or your business gets sued, do not worry. Turn to your policy, and it will help you cover the lawyer’s fees and settlements, legal costs, and court costs.
What Does It Not Cover?
Even though your insurance policy can cover common issues and claims about selling and distributing alcoholic beverages, not every risk is covered. For more understanding, here are some circumstances that your policy will not cover:
- Damages done to your business property.
- Libel and slander.
- Underage drinking events.
- Serving anyone under the influence again.
- Expired liquor license.
And illness and sickness from manufacturing. For instance, if your business is responsible for making and manufacturing alcohol and a customer gets sick due to a production error, you stand a better chance of receiving coverage from product liability insurance.
Other Types of Insurance for Small Businesses That Buy Liquor Liability Coverage
If you would like full protection for your business, there are some types of insurance that you can consider and purchase. They include:
- Workers’ compensation insurance.
- Cyber insurance.
- General liability insurance.
- Product liability insurance.
- Commercial auto insurance.
- Business owner’s policy.
- Professional liability insurance.
There are also insurance companies that offer such policies as an add-on or standalone quote.
How Much Does It Cost?
Different insurers offer liquor liability insurance to clients. On the other hand, these companies or insurers do not share the same price when it comes to their policy costs. Additionally, tons of factors are responsible for the price of getting one. Here they are:
- Claims history.
- State.
- Coverage limit.
- Industry.
- Liquor sales.
- Individual risk traits.
However, the average cost of buying a liquor liability insurance quote is $55 per month and around $659 per year.
How to Get Liquor Liability Insurance
Buying or getting this insurance is not too complicated because there are different options to choose from. This means that there are different companies ready to render their services to you. So, you just have to choose one and buy a quote to get the best coverage for your business. So, here is what you need to do:
- Check online for liquor liability insurance companies.
- Find out what areas you need coverage in.
- Collect all important information and documents.
- Compare different insurers’ quotes.
- You can include this insurance in general liability insurance as an endorsement.
- Ask for help from an agent.
After reading reviews and doing comparisons, you can now start the application process to finalize your decision and start receiving protection when needed.
Where to Find the Best Liquor Liability Insurance Companies
Thanks to the internet and technology, a lot of things are possible and easier, and shopping for liquor liability insurance is no exception. Moreover, you can access the official websites of all these providers from the comfort of your home without going anywhere. So, if you need to purchase good insurance, here are some of the best places to find it:
- Hiscox.
- Thimble.
- CoverWallet.
- The Hartford.
- FLIP.
- Next Insurance.
- Markel.
- BiBERK.
- Founders Insurance.
- Westchester Binding.
- Admiral.
And many more. If you are looking for more information about these liquor liability insurance providers, visit their official homepage.