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Work out for yourself what it would cost.
Enter your details; you will receive a proposal within one working day.
We compare the offerings of several insurers
An adviser checks whether the cover suits your activities
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
The business contents of a hospitality business consist of heavily used equipment that comes up to temperature every day. Ovens, griddles, fryers, dishwasher, chill and freezer rooms, extraction hood with ducting and the dispense system usually represent more value together than the furniture in the room. Insure that equipment at replacement value as new and update the amount after every replacement or refit.
The fire risk is higher than in almost any other trade, and that translates into clauses. Insurers include requirements about cleaning the extraction duct, inspection of the gas installation and the presence of firefighting equipment. If those are not met when a fire occurs, it affects the payment.
Two items are systematically forgotten: the stock that spoils if the refrigeration fails, and the terrace. Outdoor furniture, parasols, patio heaters and screens stand outside the building and belong on the policy as a separate item, with their own requirements about securing them or bringing them in.
What does business contents insurance cover for hospitality businesses?
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
Your business assets
Business contents
Machinery, equipment, furniture and installations.
At replacement value as new
Fire, water and burglary
Fixed fittings
Stock
Goods
Trading stock, raw materials and finished products.
Purchase value or cost price
Declare seasonal peaks
Spoilage separately
Optional
Extensions
What is excluded as standard.
Money and securities
Third-party property
Business interruption
What is covered
Situation
Business contents
Goods
Fire and smoke damage
Yes
Yes
Burglary with signs of forced entry
Yes
Yes
Water damage from a burst pipe
Yes
Yes
Customers' property being worked on
No
No
Spoilage due to refrigeration failure
Sometimes
Sometimes
Wear and deferred maintenance
No
No
This overview is general in nature and is not personal advice. What is actually covered, including exclusions, limits and the excess, is set out in the policy conditions and the insurance card (verzekeringskaart) of the insurer; you receive both before you take out cover. Taking out cover without advice? Then read what execution only means for you.
Where things go wrong in practice
Four points that make the difference between a policy that pays out and one that does not.
The extraction duct is a clause, not advice
Grease deposits in the extraction hood and the duct behind it are the most common cause of fire in hospitality. Insurers therefore put a cleaning frequency on the policy, sometimes tied to a certified firm. Keep the cleaning certificates and the inspection reports for the gas installation. After a kitchen fire that is the first thing the loss adjuster asks for. If they are missing, you end up arguing about whether the clause was complied with, not about the loss itself.
Spoilage of stock is a separate section
If the refrigeration fails because of a faulty compressor or a power cut, the spoiled contents of your chill and freezer rooms are not automatically covered. The spoilage section is needed for that. Read the conditions carefully: some policies require a temperature alarm or a fault detector, others only pay if the failure lasts longer than a set number of hours. Otherwise a fault that begins on a Friday evening becomes a total loss at your own expense.
What is not covered
The following, among others, are outside the cover: guests' property, such as coats and bags from the cloakroom, which belong with liability and fall under the care, custody and control exclusion; breakage of glassware and crockery in day-to-day service, which counts as a business risk; and gradual pollution of grease, steam and damp on fittings and finishes. Wear and tear, deferred maintenance of equipment and lost turnover while you are closed are also not paid for. For the last of these, business interruption insurance is needed.
Tenant's improvements in rented premises
Most hospitality businesses rent. Everything you had installed yourself and which is fixed to the structure is tenant's improvements: the bar, the kitchen line, tiling, suspended ceilings, extraction plant and the pipework laid in. That does not fall under your landlord's buildings policy, nor automatically under your business contents item. Declare the amount separately, based on what it costs to have the fit-out built again, not on the book value in your accounts.
Third-party property is not included
Goods belonging to customers that you have in your care (being worked on, under repair or in storage) are not your own business contents and fall under the care, custody and control exclusion in your liability insurance. Insure them under a separate third-party property section with its own limit.
Type of hospitality business. A restaurant with a fryer and wok is rated differently from a lunchroom or a <a href="https://www.finassverzekert.nl/en/business-contents-insurance-for-pubs-and-bars">bar</a> without a kitchen.
Value of the kitchen equipment. The replacement value of ovens, refrigeration, extraction and dispense system at replacement value as new.
Fire prevention and clauses. Cleaning frequency of the duct, fire blanket and suppression system above the fryer, gas inspection.
Construction type and compartmentation. A kitchen below flats or in a timber building weighs more heavily than a detached location.
Spoilage section and refrigeration capacity. The number of chill and freezer rooms and the limit chosen for stock spoilage.
Terrace and outdoor set-up. Furniture, parasols and heaters outside the building form a separate item with their own requirements.
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
How we arrange it
You request a quoteWe take stock of your situation, your risk and your wishes.
We compareseveral insurers, on premium as well as conditions.
You receive a proposalWith an explanation of the differences and the exclusions.
We arrange the switchIncluding cancellation, so there is no gap in cover.
Customers rate our service on four aspects: personal service, service delivery, availability and the outcome. The reviews are collected and published by NH1816 and come from customers who have actually taken out a policy with Finass Advies B.V. or reported a claim.
The installation itself belongs to the business contents and you insure it at replacement value as new. Note who owns it: if the installation is on loan from the brewery, it is not your property and the arrangements in the brewery contract apply. The contents of the kegs are stock and count in the goods item, not in the business contents.
Is the terrace covered?
Only if you declare it. Outdoor furniture, parasols, patio heaters, windbreaks and planters stand outside the building and do not automatically fall under the business contents inside. Insurers often attach conditions to them: securing them, putting them away when a storm is forecast or bringing them in after closing time. Theft of loose furniture from an unattended terrace is usually excluded.
Are guests' coats covered?
Not on the business contents insurance. Guests' belongings are not your own business assets. If something disappears from an unattended cloakroom, it is a matter of liability and the care, custody and control exclusion also comes into play. A liability claim is assessed under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code. A notice disclaiming liability does not always help. Discuss this with your liability insurance.
My business is closed after a fire. What does the policy pay?
Business contents insurance pays for the damaged equipment and fittings, not the turnover you lose during the rebuild and not the continuing rent and wage costs. A business interruption insurance is needed for that, with an indemnity period matching the time a kitchen rebuild realistically takes.
Finass Verzekert is a trading name of Finass Advies B.V. We advise on and arrange non-life insurance on the basis of an objective analysis of several insurers, and receive commission for this from the insurer, which is included in the premium. You pay no separate advice fee. Before you take out cover, we establish your wishes and needs.
You will find our licence, KvK and Kifid details and our complaints procedure at the foot of every page.
