From wildfires to hurricanes to tornadoes and floods, there's no end to the natural disasters that can impact your restaurant. But threats to your business aren't limited to natural disasters – consider the man-made variety, including robbery, food safety issues, and slip and fall accidents – these events can be equally devastating to your business and your finances.

How should you prepare for these threats? The answer is insurance. As a restaurant owner, you have many options to manage your risk, including business owner's policies, workers' compensation, general liability, business interruption insurance, commercial auto, cyber and more.

Types of Business Insurance

• A business owner's policy and general liability insurance can protect you from an injury suffered by someone at your restaurant (excluding employees.) They cover damage to your business property, theft, defamation, or advertising. They'll also protect you from damages caused by defects in your products.
• Workers' compensation will cover any injury or illness suffered by an employee while on the job.
• Business Interruption Insurance protects you from revenue loss if a disaster forces you to temporarily close your doors. Business Interruption Insurance can be purchased as a standalone policy or added to your business owner's policy. 
• Commercial Auto Insurance covers damage to company-owned vehicles from accidents, vandalism, or natural disasters like flooding. It will also protect your employees or the victims of an accident. It can also cover your employees using a personal vehicle while doing business, but to be sure, you should discuss this with your insurance agent.
• Cyber Insurance helps cover costs incurred by data breaches, including notifying your customers after a breach. Cyber insurance often pays for their fraud monitoring for some time. 

Is Business Insurance Too Expensive

One of the most significant factors is the time you've been in business – the longer and safer your track record, the better your rates will tend to be.

One suggestion is to lower your risk to lower your premiums. You can do these things now, like using automated oil exchangers to prevent employees from handling hot fry oil.

There are also fire suppression systems and cleaning systems that eliminate grease buildup in your restaurant's kitchen.

Talk With Your Insurance Agent About These Questions

· If your employees are driving their vehicles, do both of you have the proper coverage? Their personal auto policy may not be covering them while they are on the clock. 

· Did you add delivery during the pandemic? If so, do you have the proper auto insurance? And if you contracted with a third-party delivery service, are you carrying the insurance your new agreement requires? 

· Did you add outdoor seating? Or special events? Are those properly covered and accounted for in your policies?

Now is the time to ask these questions (and more) and review your need for these types of business insurance. And remember that Quikstone can help if you don't have the cash on hand to purchase the coverage you need. Don't wait until disaster strikes. Then it will be too late. 

Since 2005, Quikstone has helped thousands of restaurants like yours grow and prosper with easy, fast, and flexible working capital for all their business needs. 

A cash advance from Quikstone is not a loan; it's a purchase of a small portion of your future credit card sales. There's a simple one-page application, and no collateral is needed. If you process credit cards, you could qualify for as much as $250,000. We have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, and 80% of our merchants are repeat customers.

Contact us today and get started with a no-cost or obligation consultation.