This is a dictionary definition of insurance:
1.a. the act, system, or business of providing financial protection for property, life, health, etc., against specified contingencies, such as death, loss, or damage, and involving payment of regular premiums in return for a policy guaranteeing such protection
b. the state of having such protection
c. also called insurance policy the policy providing such protection
d. the pecuniary amount of such protection
e. the premium payable in return for such protection
f. see also insurance agent, insurance broker, insurance company
2. a means of protecting or safeguarding against risk or injury
A public house is not like any other business, it has its own special problems to cope with like loss of licence, damage by customers and injuries to staff. Hopefully these types of incident are infrequent, but if they do occur, your insurance needs to reflect the type of business you are undertaking.
This guide is for tenants and lessees who are not responsible for insuring the building, if you are a freeholder or head leaseholder of a pub and need to insure the premises then you’ll also need to procure Buildings Insurance.
Pub insurance is a special form of business insurance that is specifically created for the risks that pubs face. Pub insurance is a critical part of your business when you have to deal with the public and serve alcoholic beverages. Standard building and contents insurance and standard business insurance is not enough, they will not cover injury caused to customers and employees for example.
Pubs are busy places so getting the right pub insurance package is crucial to ensure that, when things go wrong, your business is protected and can continue. These are the things covered by pub insurance should include:
- Employer and public liability
- Business contents including inventory, equipment and stock
- Loss of licence
- Damage to fixed glass and sanitary fittings
- Loss of money from theft
- Personal accident and assault
- Business Interruption
- Non-standard construction
- Claims from your employees
As an employer you are required by law to take out employers’ liability insurance. Ask your provider if this is included in your pub insurance policy, or whether it can be purchased as an optional extra. Such policies cover claims an employee might make for work-related accidents or injuries. Like third party claims, these can be very high and may cost you and your business dearly if you don’t have proper cover in place.
Claims From The Public
As a business it is imperative that you protect your business from claims by the public. Public liability insurance offers you protection for claims from members of the public that you come across in the course of your business for which you are legally liable.
For example, this could include a customer who falls down a broken step and claims for personal injury, or a supplier’s delivery driver who slips on your wet kitchen floor. Such claims can run to many thousands of pounds, without the cover your business could be at risk as you would have to find the money to pay successful claims yourself.
When buying pub insurance, there is more to consider than just you and your staff. A comprehensive pub insurance policy will take account of the different services you provide for your customers, for instance: hot cooked food, function room hire, letting of bedrooms, your children’s play area, beer garden, etc. All these change your risk and will affect your policy.
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