Food safety · cold chain · someone else's kitchen
Liability insurance for a caterer
A caterer supplies a product that people eat and often works in a kitchen that is not his. Those two facts determine which cover you really need.
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Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Aansprakelijkheidsverzekering voor een cateraar.
The calculator and the quote form below are in Dutch. Prefer to do this in English? Email info@finassverzekert. nl or call 072 - 509 24 56 and we will take it from there.
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
- We arrange the switch, including cancellation
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
Public and employers' liability insurance (AVB) covers injury and property damage to third parties. For a caterer the heaviest claim is predictable: food poisoning. A broken cold chain, a dish left out too long or cross-contamination on a chopping board can make dozens of guests ill at once. Legally that is product liability. For a party classed as the producer the strict liability under Article 6:185 of the Dutch Civil Codeapplies, under which the injured party does not have to show fault but only the defect and the loss. Check expressly, therefore, whether the section product liability is covered as well.
The second point is allergens. Anyone who serves a guest with a nut or gluten allergy a dish without a correct declaration causes injury that is directly traceable. Work with a fixed allergen list per dish, have the client confirm it in writing and keep that confirmation. The cost of the food itself and of supplying a buffet again are not insured: the exclusion of the product supplied and of recall and re-supply costs applies with virtually every insurer. Fines from the NVWA (the Dutch food and consumer product safety authority) after a hygiene inspection do not fall under it either.
The third point is that you usually work in a hired kitchen or one made available to you. If a pan burns, a drain overflows or a cooker is damaged, those are items you had in your care and the care, custody and control exclusionapplies. Your own equipment, refrigerated trolleys and crockery belong on business contents and goods insurance; spoilage while driving on goods in transit insurance for food products.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare public and employers' liability insurance (AVB).
What to look out for
Four points on which a catering claim is decided.
A demonstrable cold chain
In an outbreak the insurer asks for your temperature records, your hygiene code and the retained samples. If you can produce them, there is a good chance you can fend off an unfounded claim. If you cannot, the course of events is interpreted against you and even the defence costs cover stops at a case that is lost.
The buffet itself is not insured
If a mistake means you have to supply again or you are not paid the contract sum, that is pure financial loss and not damage to property. For an error in advice or an assignment carried out badly without injury, professional indemnity insurance is the appropriate cover, not the AVB.
On the road with the van
Damage you cause with a vehicle falls outside the AVB. There is the compulsory motor insurance under Article 2 of the Dutch Motor Insurance Liability Act (WAM). See the business van insurancefor that. If an assistant drives for you, employers' liability for road use also comes into play, as explained at WEGAS and WEGAM.
Hired-in assistants
If you use self-employed chefs or waiting staff for a large party, the client can hold you liable for their mistakes under Article 6:171 of the Dutch Civil Code. Ask for their policy schedule and set out in your conditions that every party engaged has liability cover of its own; otherwise their losses land entirely on your policy.
What does your premium depend on?
- Annual turnover: the basis for the premium for a catering business
- Type of dishes: hot food and raw products weigh more heavily than a cold buffet
- Number of guests per assignment: determines the scale of a possible outbreak
- Your own production kitchen or working on site: changes the care, custody and control risk
- Hired-in workers: counts towards your duty of care and chain liability
- Sum insured and excess: per claim and per insurance year
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | AVB | BAV |
|---|---|---|
| A guest breaks a tooth on a bone splinter in your terrine | Yes | No |
| You run a full roll cage into the panelling of the function room | Yes | No |
| A guest slips on spilled water at your serving buffet and breaks a hip | Yes | No |
| A leaking gas cylinder at your cooking station sets the marquee canvas alight | Provided that | No |
| The refrigeration unit on your hired trailer fails and the fish spoils en route | No | No |
| The client refuses the invoice because the buffet was an hour late | No | No |
In a fire the clause on naked flames and deep-frying applies. If it is not complied with, cover lapses for that case.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
Twenty guests fall ill after my buffet. What does the policy pay?
The guests' personal injury falls under product liability, provided that section is included. That covers medical costs and loss of income for the people affected. The contract sum you lose, replacing the buffet and the damage to your reputation remain at your expense. The insurer investigates the cause and conducts the defence if the claim is unfounded.
I damage the cooker in the venue where I am cooking. Is that covered?
Usually not. Equipment you operate is in your care, and the care, custody and control exclusion takes that loss out of the cover. Some insurers offer a limited care, custody and control section for an additional premium. Draw up a condition report of the kitchen with the venue beforehand, so that it is clear afterwards what damage was already there.
Do I have to have a HACCP plan to be insured?
A hygiene code is a statutory requirement under food law and not a condition of cover in itself. In reality it works out that way: without records you cannot show that you acted carefully. Some insurers also include a clause requiring you to apply the code demonstrably.
Am I insured if I also serve alcohol or run a bar?
Only if those activities are in your capacity. If it says only preparing and supplying meals, serving drinks, setting up a bar or dressing a room can fall outside the description. Have the capacity amended before you take on such work; Articles 7:928 and 7:930 of the Dutch Civil Code attach consequences to an incorrect declaration.
Read more
Within Bedrijfsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering
- Bedrijfsaansprakelijkheidsverzekeringthe main page
- Bedrijfsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering cateringkok
- Bedrijfsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering restaurant
- Bedrijfsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering cateringbedrijf
- Bedrijfsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering horeca zzp
- Bedrijfsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering kok zzp
- Bedrijfsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering horecabedrijf
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