What is Food Truck Insurance?
Food trucks have become an increasingly popular business model. Without the constraints of a kitchen and physical building, companies can easily travel to various locations and festivals to serve specialties. There is a certain creative freedom in utilizing food trucks that simply isn't there in the majority of restaurants.
Of course, with such freedom comes special risks. This is why it's essential to have comprehensive coverage for food trucks to protect a business.
How Does Food Truck Insurance Work?
Food trucks have become an increasingly popular business model. Without the constraints of a kitchen and physical building, companies can easily travel to various locations and festivals to serve specialties. There is a certain creative freedom in utilizing food trucks that simply isn't there in the majority of restaurants.
Of course, with such freedom comes special risks. This is why it's essential to have comprehensive coverage for food trucks to protect a business.
What Does Commercial Food Truck Insurance Cover?
Insurance for the Truck
Similar to traditional auto insurance policies, commercial food truck insurance covers physical damages sustained by trucks in the event of collisions, along with liability and comprehensive coverage. This does not protect the internal contents of the truck, however.
Insurance for Equipment and Truck Contents
Commercial property insurance usually covers business property in the form of point-of-sales equipment, pans, pots, stoves, and food. Any items that your business uses that are not directly a part of the truck are protected with property insurance coverage from perils related to vandalism, fire, theft, and weather-related events.
Liability Insurance
Although commercial auto policies include coverage for liability, it only covers damage while the vehicle is in motion. For instance, a pedestrian is struck by a driver.
Commercial general liability insurance is independent of standard auto liability and protects from damage caused during the time in which the business runs. In the event that your food truck business gets sued by customers claiming that they suffered food poisoning, the commercial liability coverage handles representation and legal fees even if the lawsuit is lost.
Employee Insurance
Employees are not protected by general liability policies because they are considered part of the operation. If a laborer suffers bodily injuries on the job, their lost wages and medical expenses are covered under workers compensation.
This is mandated for the majority of employers on the state level and is an essential failsafe to protect a business from such lawsuits.
Food Trailer Insurance
For food trailers that are towed, your business requires an endorsement that extends the existing commercial auto insurance policy. Otherwise, the policy only covers the towing of the trailer. If the trailer were damaged during the collision, the property damage would not be covered.
The extent of the coverage for the trailer varies and normally relies on weight. Always be sure to check with a professional insurance company before considering an investment into additional coverage.
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Factors that Affect Food truck Insurance Premiums
Unfortunately, unlike a traditional restaurant whose kitchen is enclosed by a building, your food truck business is based on the truck moving through various locations. Due to the fact that you're utilizing the truck for commercial purposes, it won't be covered under traditional auto insurance.
Therefore, you will need to invest in business auto insurance as part of the plan. This coverage helps to protect you in the case that the food truck gets into an accident. It's possible for life to throw the business into many crazy scenarios. For example, if you're parked out on a hot summer day in the sun, and a customer accidentally burns themselves when making contact with the vehicle. In another instance, a customer
could have gotten food poisoning. This could result in your business being held liable.
You always want to serve healthy, sanitary food to customers to prevent any potential for illness. This is why you would want to serve anything spoiled. There could also be a situation in which the power goes out, and all the food in the fridge spoils. Fortunately, there exists special coverage to add to the insurance plan for protection.
Spoilage insurance can help cover problems. Some policies even cover costs to fix issues relating to shutdowns.
Although a food truck is a unique way to run a business and house, it still demands certain basic coverages as part of the insurance policy. If there are employees, you will need to acquire workers' compensation insurance to help cover lost wages and expenses if they get injured while on the job.
Given the amount of expensive equipment required for food preparation, insurance for systems breakdown can help cover repair and replacement costs when things break.
Furthermore, as your business needs to be traveling to various locations, interruption insurance can cover lost income if you cannot operate your business, such as the result of a natural disaster.
What are the Most Common Food Truck Claims?
The breakdown for mechanical failure or equipment issues is one of the more common food truck insurance claims. This covers expenses necessary for the repair or replacement of equipment damages and protects income lost as a result of the breakdown.
Although commercial property insurance protects against external damages caused by fires, equipment breakdown insurance protects internal damages caused by power surges, mechanical breakdowns, operator error, and motor burnout.
How to Get Commercial Food Truck Insurance?
Given the increasing prevalence of food trucks, many insurance companies offer insurance for mobile businesses or even specialize in such a service. Major insurance companies offer numerous options for such eateries, as business and commercial insurance policies represent their primary portfolio.
Use G&G Insurance to compare rates. For the best prices, get a quote or call us today. Our specialists review your unique insurance requirements and recommend plans that protect your company and drivers.
