Liability insurance for a restaurant
In a restaurant the heaviest claim rarely comes from the dining room. It comes from a dish containing an allergen that was not on the menu, or from an extraction duct that caught fire.
- Several insurers compared objectively
- 9.5 customer rating for a new policy
- AFM licence 12016589
- Personal 072 - 509 24 56, weekdays 9–17
This page in another language: Nederlands
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.
- Independent advice
- Several insurers
- Switching arranged
- Help with claims
In brief
Public and employers' liability insurance (AVB) exists for injury and property damage suffered by others. In a restaurant the most serious loss is that of a guest who eats something he should not have eaten. The duty to give information about the fourteen allergens follows from Regulation (EU) 1169/2011; anyone who fails to state nuts, gluten or shellfish, or allows cross-contamination in the kitchen, causes injury that falls under product liability. Where you prepare food yourself, the strict liability under Article 6:185 of the Dutch Civil Codealso applies: the fact that you worked carefully is then no defence. Check, therefore, that the product liability section is on your policy and not just general liability.
The second serious point is the equipment above the cooking line. Grease in the extraction duct is the best-known cause of major fires in catering, and such a fire rarely stops at your own premises: neighbours, flats above and the premises you rent are caught up in it. Insurers therefore work with conditions on cleaning and maintenance of the duct, filters and fryers, with a set interval. If you cannot produce those reports, that is a ground for refusing payment.
Three things fall outside, predictably: the value of the food itself and the cost of redoing a spoiled dinner, the turnover of your own that you lose if the business has to close, and fines from the NVWA (the Dutch food and consumer product safety authority). The first is a failure to perform the contract, the second belongs on a business interruption insurance and the third is a sanction. See also the sector page liability insurance for the hospitality sector.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare public and employers' liability insurance (AVB).
Independent, personal, sorted quickly
We compare your business liability insurance (AVB) across dozens of insurers, explain where the real differences lie, and arrange the switch from start to finish — without you having to chase it yourself.
Business liability insurance (AVB)
Compare
Get coveredWhy arrange it through Finass Verzekert?
We look at the terms as well as the premium, and stay your point of contact when there is a claim.
Independent
We are not tied to one insurer and compare on the basis of an objective analysis of several companies.
One fixed adviser
You call or email someone who knows your file. No menu options, no changing call centres.
Switching without hassle
We cancel your old policy and align the start date, so you are never a day without cover.
Help with claims
We report the claim and monitor how it is handled. In urgent cases you can reach us on the emergency line.
What to look out for
Four subjects that more often decide the payment at a restaurant than the sum insured.
Allergens and what is said at the table
Liability arises the moment your front-of-house staff confirm something that is not correct in the kitchen. Work with an allergen matrix for each dish, keep it up to date when a supplier changes, and have staff ask further questions when in doubt rather than reassure. To the guest, a spoken assurance counts as heavily as a menu.
Coats, bags and car keys
If you take guests' belongings into safekeeping, that property is in your in your care and you run into the care, custody and control exclusion. The same applies if you accept keys to park a car. If you do want that damage covered, separate care, custody and control cover is needed; otherwise a clear notice about safekeeping in the restaurant is your only defence.
Suppliers, grease and drainage
If a grease trap overflows or frying fat gets into the sewer, this is soil and environmental damage. That is generally excluded on the AVB and belongs on an environmental damage insurance. If the cause of a food incident lies with a supplier, you remain the point of contact for the guest and only recover afterwards.
What changes in the business
Adding a terrace, opening in the evening, delivery or a second site changes the risk. Report it, because Articles 7:928 and 7:930 of the Dutch Civil Code tie the payment to what you disclosed at the outset and during the policy. If staff go on the road for work, look at WEGAS and WEGAM.
What does your premium depend on?
- Annual turnover: the usual basis in catering
- Payroll and number of employees: decisive for the employers' section
- Type of kitchen: wok, grill and deep fryer weigh more heavily than cold preparation
- Number of covers per day: more guests increases the chance of a group claim
- Maintenance of extraction and fire suppression: recorded intervals reduce the risk
- 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 | Basic | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| A guest with a nut allergy is served a dessert containing nut oil and ends up in A&E | Provided that | Yes |
| A guest trips over a loose mat in the passage to the toilets | Yes | Yes |
| A grease fire in the extraction duct spreads to the flat above | Provided that | Provided that |
| A kitchen porter cuts his hand open on a slicing machine without a guard | Yes | Yes |
| A guest's coat disappears from the attended cloakroom | No | Provided that |
| Your catering delivery spoils in transit and the company party is called off | No | No |
Extended here means a policy with the product liability and care, custody and control sections included. In a grease fire the maintenance condition remains decisive.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
A guest has an allergic reaction to a dish. Who pays for that?
If the allergen information was incorrect or incomplete, this is personal injury caused by a defective product. That falls under the product liability section, provided it is on your policy. Where you prepare food yourself, Article 6:185 of the Dutch Civil Code applies, which establishes liability without the guest having to prove a fault. The guest's treatment costs and loss of income fall under it; the bill for the dinner does not.
Fire from the extraction spreads to the neighbours. Is that insured?
Damage to third parties' premises and contents is liability damage and covered in principle. The insurer will, however, test the condition on cleaning the duct and filters. If the cleaning reports for the prescribed period are missing, the payment can be refused or reduced. Keep those reports, therefore, as carefully as your kitchen records.
A guest damages our fit-out. Can I claim that on my policy?
No. Your own contents are not someone else's loss and belong on business contents insurance. You can hold the guest liable yourself under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code. If you do not recover that loss, it stays at your expense. Liability insurance exists solely for damage you cause to others.
Do I have to report a complaint if the guest has not yet claimed anything?
Yes. Article 7:941 of the Dutch Civil Code requires you to report an event as soon as you reasonably know that a claim may follow from it. After a food incident or a fall in the restaurant you want the insurer to be able to record straight away what happened. If you wait for a solicitor's letter, evidence has often already gone and late notification can be held against you.
Every situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.
- Compare public and employers' liability insurance (AVB)The main page
- Liability insurance for a hospitality businessKitchen staff, injury to guests, premises
- Liability insurance for a catererFood safety, cold chain, someone else's kitchen
- Liability insurance for a self-employed restaurant ownerSmall business, stand-in staff, tenant's interest
- Liability insurance for a catering companyProduction kitchen, staff, contract chain
- Liability insurance for a catering chefCooking on site, naked flames, capacity
- Liability insurance for a self-employed worker in hospitalityWorking at the client's premises, care, custody and control, your own policy
- Liability insurance for a caféInjury to guests, terrace, alcohol
- Liability insurance for a self-employed chefRunning someone else's kitchen, allergens, recovery claims