Owning your own restaurant is a dream come true. You decorate the dining room, you design the menu; you hire the best chef; you perfect the cuisine. You regularly advertise in the local papers and on the local radio station. Your “weekly specials” are the talk of the town. It’s a labor of love and it’s all yours…

But what if you lose it all to a kitchen fire?

You’ve put your heart and soul into your restaurant so let us help you to make sure it’s safe!

In this article you will learn about:

• How to get your building and ALL of your supplies replaced, if damaged in a fire.
• How to make sure that your business is safe for your customers and employees.
• How you can keep earning income even if your restaurant is shut down by a fire or other catastrophe.
• Saving money on your Restaurant Insurance

PROTECTING YOUR RESTAURANT BUILDING

The biggest concern when it comes to insuring a restaurant is usually the property coverage. Because a fire is almost always going somewhere in the kitchen, the chance of that fire getting out of control and damaging the building is larger than for other types of businesses. Fortunately, there are several things that you can do to avoid kitchen fires and get a better price on your insurance (more about that in just a bit!).

Most importantly, if you own the building where your restaurant is located, you will need to buy property insurance for the building. Unfortunately, the restaurant insurance policy you have may or may not cover all of the insurance risks that you face. That’s why it’s very important that you purchase “all risk” coverage for the building and contents. Such a policy offers the broadest possible coverage against loss from almost all causes.

If you don’t purchase the right insurance on your building, you may lose out in two ways:

1. If a fire totally destroys your restaurant, your policy may not provide enough coverage to put it back the way it was.
2. If your restaurant suffers only a partial loss, certain policy provisions may prevent adequate repair if you didn’t purchase enough coverage.

In addition to purchasing “all risk” coverage, we recommend that you purchase a dollar amount of coverage that will pay to replace the entire building in case it is a total loss.

TIP: When you buy property insurance, we will help you to determine the amount of coverage you need to replace your building. By purchasing a proper amount of protection, you will have true peace of mind and can also be certain that you are getting the best price.

PROTECTING THE CONTENTS OF YOUR RESTAURANT

Of course, the building isn't the only thing you need to protect. Your restaurant also contains a wide variety of tools and appliances that are absolutely critical to your success. From grills to mixing bowls to serving trays to knives and forks, losing even a portion of these important items could devastate your ability to store, prepare and serve the foods that are the lifeblood of your business.

That's why it's also very important to make sure you have the right protection for the contents inside your building. Speaking with an experienced restaurant insurance specialist about this coverage is a vital part of making the right decision, as the right insurance may mean the difference between losing your business, and getting back on your feet quickly after a major accident.

Here at Putnam Record Insurance, we will help you to make sure that your contents are properly protected.

TIP: Be sure to do an inventory of your contents – you may be surprised at how much you have to lose. We will help you to complete the inventory of your restaurant’s contents.

GET INSURANCE REWARDS FOR TAKING SAFETY MEASURES!

As we discussed earlier, the chance of a fire in a restaurant is high. And this is why insurers often are wary of insuring a restaurant. However, if you can show the insurance company that you have taken the necessary steps to reduce the risk of fire in your restaurant, you will be able to get a better price on your insurance.

TIP: Restaurant fires often happen because of dirty equipment, defective or worn wiring, and old appliances. You need to make sure – and to show the insurance company – that you keep your cooking equipment clean and grease-free. Demonstrating to the insurer that your equipment is clean, safe, and grease-free will make it easier for you to get the best price for your insurance. Another thing you can do to protect your building and to save money on your insurance premium is to equip the kitchen with an automatic fire suppression system (the most common being an “Ansul System”). That way, if a fire does start in the kitchen, the Ansul System will put it out quickly. And don’t forget the rest of the building – make sure that you have working smoke detectors. You should probably have smoke detectors that are “hard wired” into the electrical system of the building – such smoke detectors are more reliable than those operated merely by batteries and use of them may result in a bigger discount on your insurance premium. If you do use smoke detectors that require batteries, remember to change the batteries twice a year – we recommend the easy-to-remember dates of July 4^th and Christmas.

PROTECTING YOUR RESTAURANT PATRONS

But damage to your property is not the only thing that might put you out of business. In addition to protecting the building against fire and other losses, you need to make sure that you operate a business that is safe for your customers. Not only do you want your customers to keep coming back to your restaurant, you don’t want them to suffer an injury and possibly sue you for damages. You should make certain that the parking lot and sidewalks are clean and free from snow or other debris – so that your customers don’t slip and fall. You should be sure that the seating area is safe and well lit.

But what if you do all of these things and someone still gets hurt at your restaurant? Unfortunately, those things do happen. Perhaps a customer will become ill after eating in your restaurant, or someone may trip on a loose carpet and break an ankle… that’s why you need good liability protection.

Just as your auto insurance policy protects you in case you hurt someone else while driving, the liability insurance for your restaurant protects you from lawsuits in case someone gets hurt at your restaurant. The better history you have of running a safe establishment, the better price we can get you for the best liability protection available.

TIP: Make sure when anything spills on the floor – especially in the public areas of the restaurant – that the floor is cleaned right away. And after you’ve mopped the floor be sure to put up a warning sign such as “Wet Floor.”

PROTECTING YOUR INCOME

Now that we’ve talked about the proper insurance for your restaurant property and your potential liability to others, we need to talk about protecting yourself and your income. What happens to your income if your restaurant has to close due to a fire? If you don’t have the right protection, you could face a long period of time with no cash flow.

To protect against this risk, we will discuss “business income” insurance with you. This protection helps you to replace any income you may lose because of the shut-down of your restaurant. It can also help you assure that your “key employees” will be paid during the shut-down so that they will be ready to come back to work for you and your customers when you re-open. We will explain the protection to you and help you determine how much coverage you need to purchase. Calculating that amount can often be a tricky proposition so we have experts on our staff who can help you in this area.

OTHER IMPORTANT PROTECTIONS

You also need to consider protecting yourself in two final areas: workers compensation insurance to take care of any employees who may be hurt on the job; and auto insurance to protect your assets if you deliver food.

PUTNAM RECORD INSURANCE CAN HELP!

We know that we can put together the proper protection plan for you and make sure that you have the right protection for all of your needs. We also know that we can save you money on your restaurant’s insurance. That’s why, when you contact us, we will be sure to discuss all of the following important topics with you:

1. Increasing the property insurance deductible. If you agree to take on a little more of the risk, you can save substantial dollars on the property insurance.
2. Placing a small deductible on the liability insurance to take care of “nuisance claims” – such as visitors who may slip on your steps and turn an ankle, requiring an X-ray to assure that nothing more serious has occurred. Again, if you are willing to take on a small part of the risk, you can save money.
3. Installing an automatic fire suppression system (such as an Ansul System), smoke alarms, and a central station burglar alarm to guard against fires and break-ins after hours. Making a fire less likely – or reducing the damage a fire might cause – can result in savings to you.
4. Covering out of your own funds (self-insuring) smaller workers compensation claims, with insurance only for those over a certain amount. Similar to the deductible on your property insurance, such a plan can save you money on your workers compensation insurance and may even earn you a dividend payment from the insurer.
5. Just like higher deductibles on the property insurance save you premium dollars, higher deductibles on your auto insurance can also save you money. Let us show you how much you can save by agreeing to just a small increase in the deductibles on your auto policy.
6. If you deliver food, we suggest that you transfer the auto liability exposure (the responsibility for any accidents) to the employee who is actually making the deliveries (and thus to his/her insurance company).

Owning and operating a restaurant involves a number of different risks – risks that we can help you identify and manage. Please call us at (716) 366-2744 for a free, no obligation consultation about protecting your restaurant. We will sit down with you and discuss the risks your restaurant faces and how you can best protect yourself against those risks.