Walk-in goes down overnight. A grease fire closes you for three weeks. A customer has one too many. We cover the things that actually put restaurants out of business.
From a two-person coffee shop to a full-service kitchen with a liquor license — we'll build coverage around how you actually operate.
Compressor goes on the walk-in and you lose everything in it — plus the weekend. A standard property policy covers the freezer if a fire destroys it, but not the mechanical breakdown that spoils $8,000 of inventory.
Equipment BreakdownRebuilding is one bill. The other is four weeks of no revenue while rent, insurance, and your key staff still have to be paid. Without business income coverage, that gap comes out of your pocket.
Business Income & Extra ExpensePennsylvania holds licensees responsible for serving visibly intoxicated patrons — and a standard general liability policy excludes liquor liability for businesses that serve. If you have a license, this is the coverage that protects it.
Liquor LiabilitySlip-and-falls, customer injuries, and property damage claims arising from your dining room, kitchen, or lot.
Coolers, freezers, ovens, HVAC, phones, and computers — mechanical failure, not just fire and theft.
Lost income, replacing contaminated product, and sanitation expenses after a contamination event.
Keeps revenue flowing while you're closed for a covered loss — the coverage that decides whether you reopen.
Essential if you serve. Standard general liability excludes it for businesses that sell alcohol.
You take cards all day. Breach response, notification costs, and recovery if your POS is compromised.
Erie offers restaurant-specific enhancements — coverages like food contamination and lost income, equipment breakdown, and liquor liability — that go beyond a generic business policy.
These are optional. You're not forced into a bundle of things you don't need. A coffee shop with no liquor license and a full-service kitchen with a bar should not be carrying the same policy, and they won't with us.
We'll walk through your operation, tell you which of these are worth adding for how you actually run, and where a cheaper policy is leaving you exposed. No pressure, and no charge for the review.
Workers' comp is required from your first employee — including part-time staff and family members. Pennsylvania has no family exemption, and penalties run daily.
If you deliver or cater, make sure hired and non-owned auto is on the policy. Your personal auto policy generally won't cover an employee running deliveries in their own car.
Only if you carry equipment breakdown coverage. A standard property policy responds to fire, theft, and similar perils — not the mechanical failure of a compressor. Equipment breakdown is what covers the unit and the product you lost with it. It's one of the most common gaps we find in restaurant policies.
Yes. Pennsylvania's dram shop exposure applies to any licensee serving alcohol — the type of license doesn't change your liability for serving someone visibly intoxicated. Standard general liability excludes liquor liability for businesses that sell alcohol, so it has to be added.
Business income coverage replaces the revenue you would have earned during the shutdown, and extra expense helps with costs to get reopened faster. Getting the limit right matters — it should reflect how long a real rebuild takes in this area, not a guess.
Yes. Pennsylvania requires workers' compensation from your first employee, including part-time workers and family members. There's no family exemption and no hours threshold.
Not automatically. If employees use their own vehicles for deliveries, you need hired and non-owned auto liability — their personal policy may not respond to a business-use accident, and the claim can land on you. Tell us if you deliver or cater and we'll make sure it's addressed.