Cooking on site · naked flames · capacity
Liability insurance for a catering chef
A catering chef cooks where the guests are: in a hall, a garden, a listed building or a marquee. Naked flames in a place that was not built as a kitchen are the core risk.
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Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Aansprakelijkheidsverzekering voor een cateringkok.
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 others. For a chef working on site, fire is the loss with the greatest scale. A gas burner on a wooden floor, a fryer under a marquee canvas, an overheated pan next to a curtain: the damage rarely stops at the appliance. Insurers therefore work with a clause on naked flames, cooking and deep-frying setting out requirements for the distance from combustible material, a fire blanket, a fire extinguisher on hand and supervision. If you do not meet those, cover for fire damage can lapse.
The second point is the description of your capacity. If it only says that you prepare meals, an insurer can dispute that setting up a mobile kitchen, connecting gas cylinders or running a cookery workshop falls under it. For chefs working on site this is the most common reason why a claim is not dealt with. Have setting up, the use of gas equipment and workshops included expressly. The general explanation of the product is on the hub page on the AVB.
Three things stay outside the cover. The equipment you operate or hire falls under the care, custody and control exclusion: a cracked induction hob or a damaged cooker belonging to the venue you pay for yourself. The dish itself and supplying it again are excluded, even where you made the mistake. And fines from the NVWA (the Dutch food and consumer product safety authority) or the fire service are never insurable. Your own knives, pans and mobile kitchen belong on business contents insurance.
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 that go wrong more often than the cooking itself when working outside a fixed kitchen.
Gas cylinders and electricity on site
An overloaded power supply, an extension lead on a reel or a gas cylinder with an uninspected hose causes a fire or a short circuit at the client's premises. Ask in advance about the capacity available, use inspected equipment and record the inspection dates. After fire damage that is the first thing you are asked about.
Allergens and what you tell the guest
Anyone cooking in view of guests gets asked about ingredients verbally. A wrong answer leading to an allergic reaction is personal injury and falls under product liability. Work with a written ingredients list per dish and have the menu confirmed by the client in advance.
Your assistants in the marquee
If you use dishwashers, runners or second chefs, the duty of care under Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code applies, and through subsection 4 to hired-in workers as well. Cuts, burns and slipping on an improvised floor are the familiar causes here. Arrange footwear, cut-resistant gloves and a short briefing on site, and record it.
Damage to the venue itself
Grease marks on a parquet floor, soot damage to a ceiling or a damaged terrace are damage to property, but the part you were working on can fall under care, custody and control. Take photographs of the space beforehand and agree where you may cook. Those records determine the discussion about the scale afterwards.
What does your premium depend on?
- Annual turnover: the usual measure for the premium
- Use of naked flames: determines which fire clause applies
- Type of locations: listed buildings and marquees weigh more heavily than a fitted-out hall
- Number of covers per assignment: a measure of the scale of a food claim
- Own and hired-in assistants: counts towards the employers' liability section
- 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 pan of flambeed sauce tips over and burns a guest at the live cooking station | Yes | No |
| A waiter from the venue trips over your gas hose and sprains an ankle | Yes | No |
| A participant in your cookery workshop cuts a finger deeply with one of your knives | Provided that | No |
| The induction hob you hired from the venue cracks under a pan that is too heavy | No | No |
| Your cooking fumes set off the smoke detectors and the organiser claims for the evening being cut short | No | Provided that |
| The client refuses to pay for the dinner because the meat was overcooked | No | No |
If an activity such as a workshop or setting up is not in your capacity, an insurer can decline to deal with the claim.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
A fire breaks out in the hall where I am cooking. Is that covered?
Fire damage to someone else's building is damage to property and fits on the AVB, provided you are liable and the clause on cooking and naked flames has been complied with. That clause imposes requirements on distance, fire-fighting equipment and supervision. If those were not met, the insurer can limit or refuse cover; costs mount up quickly in a loss of this kind.
I work as a self-employed chef for a catering business. Who insures what?
The catering business has an AVB of its own for its organisation and staff, but you are not automatically insured on it. As a self-employed person you are a non-subordinate. The client can be held liable under Article 6:171 of the Dutch Civil Code and will then recover from you. A policy of your own with the right capacity prevents you being uninsured then.
Does the policy pay for replacing a dinner that went wrong?
No. The value of the dish supplied and the cost of preparing it again are excluded. That is your business risk. What is paid is the loss others suffer to their person or property as a result, such as medical costs after food poisoning. The client's lost turnover is pure financial loss and stays outside the AVB.
Do I have to declare every assignment separately?
No, the AVB is a running cover based on your capacity and turnover. You do report structural changes: working abroad, much larger assignments or adding bar work, for example. Articles 7:928 and 7:930 of the Dutch Civil Code attach consequences to an incorrect or out-of-date declaration when a loss occurs.
Read more
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