The services that bars and taverns provide expose these establishments to a range of potential liability risks, and bar insurance policies are specifically formulated to help protect against many of these risks. The exact protections that a policy offers depend on the coverages, terms and conditions of that policy, but they frequently include some of the most common liability risks that these establishments face. With the right policy in place, here are some ways your establishment might be protected.
DUI accident lawsuits are some of the most common liability risks that bars and taverns face, for victims often file lawsuits against any possibly responsible party when these accidents occur. For establishments that serve patrons who then get behind the wheel intoxicated, liability sometimes extends to the establishment itself.
Moreover, liability isn’t limited to automobile DUI accidents. Although less common, boat, snowmobile and ATV DUI accidents can also result in lawsuits.
Many bar insurance policies have liquor liability coverage that includes protection against DUI accidents. In order to make sure your bar or tavern is properly protected, review the limits of any liquor liability coverage in your establishment’s policy with a knowledgeable insurance agent.
Accidents caused by the everyday activities of a bar or tavern are less dramatic, but they still can be costly. Burns from a bartender’s flaming drink trick, head injuries from a mechanical bull and similar injuries can require medical care and result in lawsuits.
In some cases, certain activities may be covered under the general liability or liquor liability coverage of a tavern insurance policy. In other cases, however, activities like these may be excluded. When activities are excluded from the standard protections of a tavern policy, protection might be attainable through endorsements.
Make sure you disclose all of your establishment’s activities to your insurance agent. They can find coverage options for most common bar and tavern activities through endorsements and coverage options. They’ll only be able to get your establishment coverage for all of its activities if they know about the activities, though.
Should an establishment ever catch fire, the resulting damage and injuries can be devastating. Property damage usually falls under the domain of property coverage, but injuries are more likely to come under a liability protection.
When reviewing the liability coverages in your establishment’s tavern insurance policy, don’t merely confirm that fires are covered. Ask about the per-occurrence and aggregate liability limits of the policy, and adjust them if they’re too low. A single fire can result in multiple people being injured and lots of liability claims. Seven-figure limits aren’t unreasonable when all the people in your establishment could be injured at once.
No matter how vigilantly bars and taverns check identification, there’s always the potential for an underage drinker with a convincing ID to sneak in. This isn’t an excuse to stop checking patron’s IDs, but it’s a reminder that someone who’s younger than the legal drinking age could get a beverage -- and then get hurt.
Many tavern insurance policies’ standard coverages exclude claims involving underage drinking. To protect your establishment from this possible risk, work with an experienced agent who will compare different policies’ coverages until they find one that offers at least some protection for incidents involving underage patrons. The coverage may be hard to find or cost a little extra, but being protected will pay off if your establishment ever faces one of these claims.
Properly protection your establishment involves much more than simply comparing prices and quickly selecting a tavern insurance policy. Instead, the policy that’s chosen should be selected in light of your establishment’s specific liability risk exposure. To get a policy that’ll properly protect your establishment, talk with an independent insurance agent who specializes in bar insurance.