Business View Magazine | December 2020

15 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2020 7 WAYS A BUSINESS OWNERS POLICY IS DIFFERENT FOR RESTAURANTS OPENING L INES E very restaurant should have a property and liability insurance policy—what’s often referred to as a business owners policy or BOP. This type of policy can provide coverage for incidents like damage to the building that a restaurant owns or leases and the contents of that building, customer injuries such as slip-and-fall accidents, and even business income and expenses for restarting operations if there is a business disruption related to a covered event. “Most restaurant owners are familiar with this type of insurance,” says Blake Fuchtman, Product Manager at biBERK (part of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Insurance Group). “They understand that it covers incidents that are common in the restaurant industry like fire, burglary, food poisoning incidents, and more. What some don’t know, however, is that there are multiple ‘add-ons’ that can and should be added to a business owners policy to provide protection for other critical risks that restaurants face.” An add-on to a base insurance policy changes the terms of that policy. It may also be called an “endorsement” or a “rider.” Restaurants that don’t have the necessary BOP add-ons leave themselves open to serious financial ramifications from loss and legal liability. On the other hand, a restaurant owner who has worked with its insurer to select the add-ons needed for comprehensive coverage can operate their business with confidence that they won’t be hit with a devastating financial burden from an unexpected incident. BOP Add-Ons You Should Consider If you have a business owners policy for your restaurant, you should consider adding these seven add-ons if they aren’t on the policy already: 1. Liquor liability. We live in a litigious society