Does Your Toronto Restaurant Have Enough Business Liability Insurance?
Does your Toronto restaurant have enough business liability to financially protect it against lawsuits? Does your restaurant have enough insurance to survive an extended shutdown from a fire?
Your restaurant could be underinsured or not have the right business liability insurance coverage to protect it from legal claims. Business liability insurance needs to be the anchor of your Toronto restaurant insurance coverage.
Western Financial Group, a 100% Canadian company, can help you navigate your business, car, home, and boat insurance during this period of economic uncertainty.
Wherever your small business is located in Toronto, the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), or elsewhere in Ontario, a Western Financial Group business insurance broker will get you commercial coverage that uniquely protects what you do.
Western is a trusted, national insurance brokerage that has partnered with Canada’s top insurance companies to provide commercial insurance. We work with our insurance partners to find the best business coverage at the best rate for you.
We make the process easy by getting insurance quotes for you to choose from and giving you policy coverage options that suit your Toronto business’s specific needs at the right value for you.
How does Toronto restaurant insurance protect you?
Restaurant insurance is a customized policy that protects your restaurant against liability risks associated with serving food and drinks, specifically third-party bodily injuries and property damages involving customers or suppliers that could lead to lawsuits. Toronto restaurant insurance also covers equipment breakdowns, fire, and vandalism.
Do you know about Western’s restaurant insurance program?
Western’s restaurant program Juno covers restaurant’s insurance needs. Your Toronto restaurant, big or small, will be protected against fire, flood, theft, property damage and third-party liability. With Juno, you’re covered for lost revenues while you’re closed, plus the time it takes to build your business back once you reopen – even if it takes 12 months, with additional options for 24 and 36 months.
How to minimize lawsuit risks at your Toronto restaurant with business liability insurance:
Commercial general liability (CGL) insurance
Commercial general liability insurance would cover the legal costs to defend your Toronto eatery in court against a legal suit and the costs to cover any court settlements awarded to third parties (guest, supplier, member of the public).
It’s the building block of your Toronto restaurant insurance package.
Here’s what commercial general liability insurance covers:
- Injury to another person who is not your employee
- Damage to someone’s property, damage to rented property.
- Medical bills if someone is injured
- Legal and settlement costs of liability lawsuits filed against you.
- Helps over the costs of liability lawsuits related to slander and libel
Liquor liability insurance
If your Toronto restaurant offers alcoholic beverages, you will need liquor liability coverage.
Liquor liability insurance helps cover the costs of lawsuits, settlements, and legal fees if a person is injured or causes property damage after becoming intoxicated while served alcohol at the insured establishment.
Cyber liability insurance
If your Toronto restaurant keeps financial information belonging to your customers and suppliers, your computer system could be hacked by cyberthieves. Cyber liability insurance will help financially protect your hotel in the event of a cyberattack.
Depending on the size of the data breach and the information that was taken, the guests or customers who are affected can hold you liable and sue you for damages.
What other types of insurance do Toronto restaurants need?
Commercial property insurance
Commercial property insurance provides financial support to replace or cover repairs to your Toronto restaurant if it’s damaged by a flood, fire, or severe weather. It also covers vandalism and theft.
Commercial property insurance also covers contents such as computers, furniture, tools, equipment, and inventory. Commercial property coverage also extends to protect others’ property that is under your care.
Business interruption insurance
This type of insurance helps support you financially when your Toronto restaurant can’t operate due to a covered loss.
There are a number of losses that could force your restaurant to shut down. Some examples are:
- Damage to your equipment from fire or vandalism
- A major reduction in revenue due to a supplier facing losses of their own
- A disruption in your supply chain
Business interruption insurance can help with these expenses:
- Payroll
- Rent
- Utilities
- Property taxes
- Alarm monitoring
- Relocation of your business
Equipment breakdown insurance
Your Toronto restaurant likely has expensive equipment to keep your products either frozen or refrigerated.
Equipment breakdown insurance provides coverage for property damage from the sudden and accidental breakdown of insured equipment not automatically covered by a standard commercial property policy.
Crime insurance
It should be part of your Toronto restaurant insurance package.
Crime insurance can protect you against theft, credit card fraud, forgery, counterfeit, and other types of fraud that employees sometimes commit.
Commercial auto insurance
If you have a business car, van, or truck that you use for your Toronto restaurant business, it won’t be covered by your personal car insurance policy. You will need commercial coverage as part of your insurance package.
Sewer backup insurance and overland flood insurance
Heavy rainfall, melting snow, and storms can overwhelm drainage systems, leading to sewer backups and overland flooding. Toronto restaurants located in flood-prone areas or areas with aging infrastructure are at risk, and the risk is likely to increase over time.
Consider sewer backup insurance and overland flood insurance for your restaurant.
What do I do if I have a claim against my Toronto restaurant?
Contact your broker immediately after any business-related mishap. Waiting to file a claim can confuse insurers about the severity of the damages to your business.
- Know your policy so that when you contact your broker you are familiar with what will be covered or not.
- Document the damage. Take photos right away and write down what happened.
- Do not throw away damaged goods after taking photos. Keep the physical evidence so that your adjustor can see it.
- Do not invite lawsuits. Don’t say anything that could be used against you, especially if you aren’t sure what happened.
- Be honest about what your damaged property is worth. Damaged commercial property is generally valued according to its actual cash value or replacement value.
Here’s an insurance checklist:
- Do you have the best Toronto business insurance rate that suits your work?
- Do you have the right amount for your deductible and regularly review it to make sure it’s the right amount for you?
- Are you or your employees using personal vehicles for work?
Western Financial Group has licensed BUSINESS INSURANCE EXPERTS to get you the right insurance coverage as a Toronto restaurant owner. Our experts are available now to help you navigate the business insurance journey to protect your Toronto business.
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