Liability insurance for a catering company
A catering business with its own kitchen and a team of staff has two sides to its risk: what happens to the guests and what happens to its own staff.
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In brief
In a catering business of any size the centre of gravity of public and employers' liability insurance shifts to the staff. A production kitchen is one of the most accident-prone working environments there is: hot oil, slicing machines, wet tiled floors, cold rooms and time pressure. Under Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code you carry a heavy duty of care and you have to show that you had arranged instruction, protective equipment, maintenance and an up-to-date risk assessment. If you cannot, you are in principle liable for injury to your chef or dishwasher. Through subsection 4 the same applies to agency workers, casual workers and trainees.
On the guest side the scale is decisive. A staff restaurant or a conference with hundreds of covers turns one mistake in the cold chain straight into a claim with many injured parties. That personal injury falls under product liability; where you prepare the food yourself the strict liability under Article 6:185 of the Dutch Civil Codeapplies. What is not covered is just as easy to name: the value of the food supplied, the costs of a product recall or of serving a lunch again, and the administrative fine from the NVWA (the Dutch food and consumer product safety authority). A contractual penalty for late delivery is also excluded, because that is pure financial loss.
Two covers sit alongside it. If your drivers use company vehicles, the insurance requirement in Article 2 of the Dutch Motor Insurance Liability Act (WAM) applies and, in addition, employers' liability for road use; see WEGAS and WEGAM. If production stops because of a fire in the kitchen, that is not a liability matter but a case for business interruption insurance. For the rest of the sector we refer you to insurance for the hospitality sector.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare public and employers' liability insurance (AVB).
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What to look out for
Four points that make the difference in a catering organisation with staff.
Agency workers and the flexible pool
At peak times you work with people you barely know. It is precisely with them that instruction about the slicing machine, the convection oven or lifting roll cages is often missing. Article 7:658(4) of the Dutch Civil Code makes you liable as the hirer, even though the contract lies with the agency. Record the safety instruction per employee and have it signed off.
Working at the client's premises
If your team runs a staff restaurant or a customer's kitchen, you operate equipment that is not yours. Damage to it falls under the care, custody and control exclusion. Arrange this by contract: set out who does the maintenance, who reports a defect and what damage remains for the client's account.
Subcontractors in the chain
If you engage another caterer, a hire company or a team of self-employed people for a large event, your client can hold you liable for their mistakes under Article 6:171 of the Dutch Civil Code. Ask for policy schedules every year and check that their capacity covers the work you subcontract.
Environment and drainage
Frying oil, cleaning agents and coolant ending up in the sewer or the soil lead to clean-up costs. Those fall outside the AVB, which only covers personal injury and damage to property. There is a separate environmental damage insurance.
What does your premium depend on?
- Payroll: the main yardstick for employers' liability
- Annual turnover: counts towards the products section
- Share of hot food: freshly prepared work carries more food risk than packaged products
- Own fleet: delivery changes the staff and road risk
- Agency and flexible workers: count towards your duty of care as a hirer
- 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 hundred people at a conference lunch fall ill after a break in the cold chain | Yes | No |
| A guest in the staff restaurant trips over the cable of your mobile buffet lighting | Yes | No |
| A trainee cuts himself on the bread slicer on his first day | Provided that | No |
| Your driver reverses into a customer's roller shutter door | No | No |
| The customer recovers the cost of a replacement caterer it had to engage | No | Provided that |
| The NVWA imposes a fine after a hygiene inspection in your production kitchen | No | No |
Injury to your own and hired-in staff runs through the employers' liability section. That is not switched on for every policy.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
A chef burns himself on the fryer. Is that covered?
Injury to your own staff falls under the employers' liability section, if that is included. The insurer will test whether you complied with Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code: instruction, safe equipment, maintenance and supervision. Missing prevention can put the payout under pressure. Report the accident in good time, including to the labour inspectorate where the injury is serious.
The client imposes a penalty because we delivered late. Is that insured?
No. A contractual penalty or liquidated damages is not personal injury or damage to property and falls under the exclusion of pure financial loss. Penalty clauses are almost always excluded on professional indemnity insurance as well. Limit this risk in your terms of supply rather than in the policy.
Does the cover also apply outside the Netherlands?
Only if the territorial limits allow it. Catering at a trade fair in Germany or Belgium belongs in the policy, as do supplies to customers who take the product on abroad. For the United States and Canada, separate and more limited conditions or an exclusion apply with virtually all insurers.
What if the cause lies with a supplier?
Towards the guest you remain the supplier of the dish and you are therefore approached first. Your insurer can then seek recovery from the party that supplied the contaminated product. Keep delivery notes, batch numbers and retained samples, therefore. Without those records recovery cannot be achieved.
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