Restaurants are not like every other small business. Most restaurant owners want to create a unique and pleasant experience for all of their customers. And if you own a restaurant in South Carolina, you may face more risk than other small businesses.

That’s why it’s important to invest in a comprehensive restaurant insurance program that carefully addresses all of your unique risks. A one-size-fits-all approach simply won’t offer the tailored coverage you need. 

A local South Carolina independent insurance agent can help you understand all of your exposures, and find the insurance companies that specialize in protecting restaurants like yours. 

What is Restaurant Insurance?

Restaurants can experience a wide variety of incidents and unexpected events that lead to a financial loss. Many of the problems you encounter can be covered with restaurant insurance, allowing you to stay in business even after a devastating loss. 

Restaurant insurance is not a single insurance policy for restaurants owners. It is a package of policies that cover your property risks, your liability risks, and any other unique risks that you are exposed to. 

Most restaurants in South Carolina need a customized package of property, liability, automobile, crime, and other business insurance policies that protect them from financial losses. It’s a good idea to work with an agent and an insurance company who specialize in restaurant insurance. 

What Does Restaurant Insurance Cover in South Carolina?

Commercial property insurance and commercial liability insurance are the basic building blocks of any restaurant insurance program in South Carolina. 

Commercial Property Insurance for South Carolina Restaurants

Your commercial property insurance offers protection for your building (if you own it), as well as everything inside of it. If you sustain a property loss after a fire, a tornado, lightning, theft, vandalism, or some other covered event, this policy helps you pay to rebuild, make repairs, and replace destroyed or damaged furniture, kitchen equipment, inventory, dinnerware and cutlery, fixtures, office equipment, menus, computer systems, and even outdoor tables, umbrellas, and lighting. 

Your commercial property protection should also include the following: 

• Business Interruption Insurance: When you have a property loss, it’s likely that you might also have to close down for a while in order to make repairs, rebuild, and restock lost inventory and supplies. In these cases, your business interruption insurance helps replace lost income during the shutdown period. That way you can continue to pay some of your ongoing expenses like rent, employee salaries, utility bills, and more. 
• Equipment Breakdown Coverage: Even when you don’t have a major property loss, the breakdown of a single important piece of equipment could force you to close or significantly limit your operations until it’s repaired. Equipment breakdowns can lead to a serious loss of revenue, and can even cause downstream losses if you lose food inventory due to spoilage or some other type of contamination. Equipment breakdown coverage (sometimes called boiler and machinery coverage) protects against costs associated with the sudden and accidental breakdown of machinery and equipment. It pays to repair or replace the equipment as well as any business interruption costs that accompany it. 
• Contamination and Spoilage Coverage: Contamination and spoilage coverage is part of your commercial property protection. It pays for certain losses if perishable foods or ingredients are spoiled or contaminated due to refrigeration breakdown, utility interruption, or some other type of foreign substance contamination on your premises. If your local board of health or other agency forced you to close because of food contamination, your contamination and spoilage insurance may cover you for lost income during the shutdown period, as well as costs related to cleaning contaminated equipment, and disposing of and replacing spoiled food. 

Commercial Liability Insurance for South Carolina Restaurants

Liability insurance protects your business when you are considered to be negligent or blamed for causing harm to an individual or another business. This can be in the form of property damage, an injury, an illness, or some kind of reputational harm. 

Commercial general liability (CGL) insurance provides broad protection for third-party bodily injury and property damage claims. It can help you cover the medical bills of injured individuals, repair or replace damaged property, pay for your legal defense if you are sued, and even cover penalties and judgments if you are responsible for a third party’s damages.

If, for example, a server drops a bowl of hot soup onto a customer, causing burns to her hand and ruining her clothes, you could expect to pay for the guest’s related medical bills as well as cleaning or replacing her soiled clothing. If the guest decides to sue you for additional damages due to the trauma caused by the event as well as ongoing pain and suffering, you’d need coverage to help you pay for your legal defense and any financial payouts. 

Your general liability insurance would also respond in the event of a foodborne illness that originates in your restaurant. 

General liability insurance also provides coverage for product liability, advertising liability, slander, and libel claims against your restaurant. 

What Does Restaurant Insurance Not Cover in South Carolina?

Basic restaurant insurance policies cover a wide variety of problems that can occur in your South Carolina restaurant. But they certainly don’t cover everything. You general liability policy, for example, probably excludes coverage for liquor liability claims, employment liability claims, commercial auto accidents, worker injuries, and much more. 

If you own a restaurant in South Carolina, you’ll probably need to purchase several additional policies or policy endorsements in order to fill any gaps in your coverage. Here are a few policies that can cover a variety of things that are not covered in basic restaurant property and liability coverage. 

• Liquor liability insurance covers your responsibilities associated with intoxicated guests who go on to harm others. It pays for bodily injury or property damage expenses caused by an intoxicated person who was served liquor by the policyholder. It also pays for your legal costs as well as any financial settlements for the injured parties.
• Commercial auto insurance provides liability insurance if a business-owned vehicle causes an accident. 
• Crime coverage protects your business if an employee or a group of employees engage in theft, forgery, or fraud that damages your business. 
• Workers’ compensation insurance is required for any business that has employees. It protects your restaurant workers from the costs of work-related injuries and illnesses. If the waiter involved in the collision with the patron sustained a back injury, workers' compensation insurance would pay his related medical bills, and it would also offer income replacement if he had to take time off of work to recover.
• Employment practices liability coverage protects you if a current or former employee sues you for discriminatory employment practices.
• Flood insurance and earthquake insurance may be necessary if your restaurant is in an area that is prone to these natural disasters. Talk to your independent insurance agent about your need for this type of coverage. 

There may be other policies that you need to cover problems that are not covered by your other restaurant insurance policies. It’s important to work with an agent who understands the restaurant business and can get quotes from multiple carriers who have highly rated restaurant insurance programs.

What Are the Benefits of Insuring My South Carolina Restaurant?

The very nature of operating a restaurant relies upon the constant stream of customers, suppliers, and other visitors eating and spending time on your premises. Trip and fall incidents are common. And there’s so much more that could go wrong. 

In addition to broken plates and trip and fall incidents, you face daily risk from fire, theft, vandalism, severe weather, and all kinds of workplace injures. And you’re also at risk for a variety of more insidious threats such as:

• Food contamination or spoilage
• Breakdown of ovens, refrigerators, or other kitchen equipment
• Utility interruptions that force you to close
• Responsibilities related to serving alcohol

Restaurant insurance in South Carolina benefits you by helping you protect against all of these costly problems, and more. Without restaurant insurance, you’d have no financial backup and your profits and your dreams could easily go up in smoke. 

Can I Afford Restaurant Insurance in South Carolina?

The cost of restaurant insurance in South Carolina depends on the policies you choose, the unique risks your restaurant faces, the value of your inventory and equipment, and other factors like your location, number of employees, and the size of your establishment. 

Serving alcohol, offering valet services, and any other unique exposures that you have and must address will likely add to your insurance costs. 

An independent agent can work with you one-on-one to determine the types and amounts of coverage you need. Your agent can get quotes from multiple insurance companies so you can evaluate the cost and coverage options and make the best choice. 

Do I Need an Agent to Purchase Restaurant Insurance in South Carolina? 

Restaurants in South Carolina need trusted advice from a local insurance expert. That’s why it makes sense to work with an independent insurance agent right in your city. 

Independent insurance agents will get to know you and your business. Then they’ll shop around for insurance companies who specialize in restaurant insurance, and who can provide policies and premiums that fit your coverage needs and your budget. 

Local independent agents know all the rules for local businesses, and will help you make sure nothing is left to chance. And they’ll be there for you when you have to file a claim, too, helping you through the process and getting you back on your feet quickly.