CATERING INSURANCE: THINK LOCATION….LOCATION…LOCATION

Location is one of the first decisions every caterer must face. Specifically, where will the prep work be done? Where will the cooking take place? Where will the preparations and cooking be finished, if they aren’t completed at the original location? Where will the food be served?

The answers to each of those questions will dictate further considerations. For example, how will finished food, condiments and garnishments prepared at one location be kept properly hot or cold while being transported to the serving location, and while being served? And what health regulations and requirements must be met at each step?

Clearly each location used in the catering process has its own specific needs for equipment, procedures and staff. Each also creates risks of loss if the procedures, equipment or staff fail to meet required standards for health, food safety and successful contract fulfillment. Turn to a Trusted Choice Independent Insurance Agency such as Snotherly Insurance when it comes to risks of loss for your catering business.

Snotherly Insurance Agency is trained and experienced to help you uncover, estimate, analyze, and minimize or eliminate your exposure to loss. And while proud to provide those services for any client, we know that your catering business has unique needs for protection that go beyond those of other businesses and will recommend and obtain protection for those unique risks. A few examples:
1. TRANSPORTATION:
Catering Insurance Snotherly InsuranceSpecial equipment and proper vehicles are required to protect your food while in route to widely varying locations—destination weddings, backyard receptions, beachside cookouts. Depending upon the type of vehicle and planned usage, the auto insurance requirements can vary. And coverage for the food itself and equipment carried in the vehicle typically requires a separate policy from that covering.

2. FOOD SAFETY:
Snotherly Insurance Food Safety
Your catering business needs contamination and spoilage insurance. The specific risks of contamination or spoilage can vary greatly between a caterer who largely prepares and serves food onsite, as opposed to one who prepares the majority or all food in a commercial kitchen, then transports and serves at off-site client locations.

3. LIABILITY:
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While any business needs liability protection, the nature of catering can create additional exposures. These would include protection against liability arising at the prep and cooking location, created end route by your method of transportation, and arising from the characteristics of the final serving location. Serving alcoholic beverages creates a potentially major additional set of risks.

4. LOSS OF BUSINESS INCOME:
Catering Insurance Loss of Income Snotherly Insurance
This is another risk faced by any business, but you need to be sure your coverage properly addresses the unique cash flow of your catering business. For example, consider the effects of event cancellations due to weather, a key supplier’s failure to deliver, losses due to a traffic accident or fire loss at the supplier location: Under what circumstances, if any, may your coverage apply to your financial loss?
While that may seem a weighty list, the great news is protection and risk management is exactly where your we stand ready to help. Schedule a complete review of your catering protection needs today, so you can focus completely on building your successful business tomorrow.