Liability, property, liquor liability and employee benefits for California hotels, restaurants, event venues and tourism businesses.
Health, dental, vision and other plans that help you attract and keep front-of-house, kitchen and management staff in California’s competitive hospitality labor market.
Covers bodily injury and property damage to guests, vendors and visitors on your premises — slip-and-fall injuries, food-borne illness claims and damage caused by your operations.
Required if you serve, sell or distribute alcohol. Covers claims when an intoxicated patron injures themselves or others after being served at your establishment.
Covers your building, furniture, kitchen equipment, signage and business income lost to a covered event. Includes options for spoilage coverage, flood and earthquake in high-risk California zones.
Required for every California employer. Hospitality carries elevated risk from kitchen burns, slips, heavy lifting and repetitive-motion injuries across housekeeping and service roles.
Extra liability limits above your GL, liquor liability and employer’s liability. Hotels, resorts and large restaurants often need $5 M+ for franchise or management-company requirements.
Health, dental, vision and other plans that help you attract and keep front-of-house, kitchen and management staff in California’s competitive hospitality labor market.
Landlords, franchise brands and corporate event clients will each ask for proof of coverage before you open, renew a lease or host an event. Common requests include GL and liquor-liability certificates naming the landlord or franchisor as additional insured, evidence of workers’ comp, and property coverage matching the lease value. We issue same-day certificates and handle mid-term endorsements.
Every carrier rates hospitality risks differently. These are the factors that come up most often.
Every carrier rates hospitality risks differently. These are the factors that come up most often.
Past liability and workers’ comp claims and your experience mod.
Hotels, restaurants and event venues welcome the public onto their premises every day — a steady stream of slip-and-fall risk, food-safety liability and alcohol-related claims. California’s consumer-protection landscape adds employment-practices exposure from wage-and-hour lawsuits, ADA accessibility claims and strict tip-pooling rules. A single kitchen fire or foodborne-illness incident can shut down operations and trigger both property and liability claims simultaneously.
General liability
Responds to guest injuries on your premises — a wet-floor slip, a burn from a hot surface, an allergic reaction. It also covers completed operations: a catered event where guests later become ill. Watch the assault-and-battery exclusion — standard GL often excludes it, and bars, nightclubs and late-night venues need it added back.
Liquor liability
California’s dram-shop exposure is real. If a patron you served causes an accident after leaving your establishment, the injured party can sue you. Liquor liability is separate from GL and must be purchased explicitly if alcohol exceeds an incidental percentage of revenue.
Commercial property
Covers building, contents and business income. For restaurants, add spoilage coverage for walk-in coolers and freezers. Hotels should verify that the limit covers FF&E (furniture, fixtures and equipment) at replacement cost, not depreciated value.
Workers’ compensation. Every California employer must carry it. Hospitality class codes for kitchen staff, servers and housekeeping carry moderate-to-high rates driven by burns, cuts, slips and repetitive-motion injuries.
Wage-and-hour compliance. California’s meal-break, rest-break and overtime rules are stricter than federal law. Violations trigger EPLI claims and can affect your insurance profile.
Health-department licensing. County health departments require food-handler certifications, facility inspections and in some cases specific liability insurance for permits.
Workers’ comp premium depends on payroll split across class codes — servers, kitchen staff, bartenders, housekeeping, management and clerical. Accurate code assignment matters: a bartender misclassified as clerical will trigger an audit surcharge. Seasonal staffing swings are common in hospitality, so we build estimates that reflect your busy season without overcharging in the off-months.
Before you sign a lease or franchise agreement, expect insurance requirements: GL limits of $1 M/$2 M with the landlord as additional insured, liquor liability matching your alcohol sales, property coverage at least equal to the landlord’s interest, and often an umbrella of $5 M+. Franchise brands add their own endorsement requirements. We keep all of these on file and issue updated certificates whenever your lease or agreement calls for them.
We’re an independent California broker that works with carriers experienced in restaurant, hotel and event-venue risk. We structure programs that cover your premises, your people, your liquor exposure and your business income — and we handle the certificate requests that landlords and franchise brands send every renewal cycle.
Hotels, restaurants and event venues welcome the public onto their premises every day — a steady stream of slip-and-fall risk, food-safety liability and alcohol-related claims. California’s consumer-protection landscape adds employment-practices exposure from wage-and-hour lawsuits, ADA accessibility claims and strict tip-pooling rules. A single kitchen fire or foodborne-illness incident can shut down operations and trigger both property and liability claims simultaneously.
General liability
Responds to guest injuries on your premises — a wet-floor slip, a burn from a hot surface, an allergic reaction. It also covers completed operations: a catered event where guests later become ill. Watch the assault-and-battery exclusion — standard GL often excludes it, and bars, nightclubs and late-night venues need it added back.
Liquor liability
California’s dram-shop exposure is real. If a patron you served causes an accident after leaving your establishment, the injured party can sue you. Liquor liability is separate from GL and must be purchased explicitly if alcohol exceeds an incidental percentage of revenue.
Commercial property
Covers building, contents and business income. For restaurants, add spoilage coverage for walk-in coolers and freezers. Hotels should verify that the limit covers FF&E (furniture, fixtures and equipment) at replacement cost, not depreciated value.
Workers’ compensation. Every California employer must carry it. Hospitality class codes for kitchen staff, servers and housekeeping carry moderate-to-high rates driven by burns, cuts, slips and repetitive-motion injuries.
Wage-and-hour compliance. California’s meal-break, rest-break and overtime rules are stricter than federal law. Violations trigger EPLI claims and can affect your insurance profile.
Health-department licensing. County health departments require food-handler certifications, facility inspections and in some cases specific liability insurance for permits.
Workers’ comp premium depends on payroll split across class codes — servers, kitchen staff, bartenders, housekeeping, management and clerical. Accurate code assignment matters: a bartender misclassified as clerical will trigger an audit surcharge. Seasonal staffing swings are common in hospitality, so we build estimates that reflect your busy season without overcharging in the off-months.
Before you sign a lease or franchise agreement, expect insurance requirements: GL limits of $1 M/$2 M with the landlord as additional insured, liquor liability matching your alcohol sales, property coverage at least equal to the landlord’s interest, and often an umbrella of $5 M+. Franchise brands add their own endorsement requirements. We keep all of these on file and issue updated certificates whenever your lease or agreement calls for them.
We’re an independent California broker that works with carriers experienced in restaurant, hotel and event-venue risk. We structure programs that cover your premises, your people, your liquor exposure and your business income — and we handle the certificate requests that landlords and franchise brands send every renewal cycle.
Send us the requirements from your contract, lease or credentialing packet, including the certificate holder, additional insured and waiver of subrogation, so we can review your request.
Do I need separate liquor liability if I only serve beer and wine?
It depends on the percentage of revenue from alcohol. Many GL policies include incidental liquor coverage if alcohol is a minor part of your business. Once it exceeds the threshold (often 15–25% of revenue), you need a standalone liquor-liability policy.
Does my policy cover food-truck operations?
Not automatically. A food truck needs its own commercial auto, GL and possibly a separate property floater for the truck’s equipment. If you operate both a brick-and-mortar restaurant and a food truck, we can often bundle them with the same carrier.
What is assault-and-battery coverage?
It covers claims arising from physical altercations on your premises. Standard GL often excludes it. If you operate a bar, nightclub or any venue with late-night hours, this endorsement is essential.
Do I need employment practices liability (EPLI)?
California’s strict employment laws make EPLI especially important for hospitality. Wage-and-hour disputes, tip-pooling violations, discrimination and wrongful-termination claims are common in the industry.
What does spoilage coverage cover?
It pays for perishable inventory lost when refrigeration equipment breaks down or power is interrupted. For a restaurant with walk-in coolers and freezers full of inventory, this endorsement can pay for itself after a single incident.
Can I get business-interruption coverage?
Yes, as part of your property policy. It replaces lost income and covers continuing expenses (rent, payroll) while your premises are being repaired after a covered event such as a fire or major water damage.
What about event cancellation coverage?
If your venue hosts weddings, conferences or large events, event-cancellation coverage protects against losses when a covered peril forces cancellation. It’s available as a standalone policy or an endorsement.
How is my workers’ comp premium calculated?
It’s based on payroll by class code multiplied by the rate for each code, then adjusted by your experience modification rate. Kitchen and housekeeping codes carry higher rates than front-desk or management codes.
How quickly can I get a certificate for my landlord?
Same day in most cases. We keep your policy details on file and can issue a certificate with additional-insured status within hours.
Do I need separate liquor liability if I only serve beer and wine?
It depends on the percentage of revenue from alcohol. Many GL policies include incidental liquor coverage if alcohol is a minor part of your business. Once it exceeds the threshold (often 15–25% of revenue), you need a standalone liquor-liability policy.
Does my policy cover food-truck operations?
Not automatically. A food truck needs its own commercial auto, GL and possibly a separate property floater for the truck’s equipment. If you operate both a brick-and-mortar restaurant and a food truck, we can often bundle them with the same carrier.
What is assault-and-battery coverage?
It covers claims arising from physical altercations on your premises. Standard GL often excludes it. If you operate a bar, nightclub or any venue with late-night hours, this endorsement is essential.
Do I need employment practices liability (EPLI)?
California’s strict employment laws make EPLI especially important for hospitality. Wage-and-hour disputes, tip-pooling violations, discrimination and wrongful-termination claims are common in the industry.
What does spoilage coverage cover?
It pays for perishable inventory lost when refrigeration equipment breaks down or power is interrupted. For a restaurant with walk-in coolers and freezers full of inventory, this endorsement can pay for itself after a single incident.
Can I get business-interruption coverage?
Yes, as part of your property policy. It replaces lost income and covers continuing expenses (rent, payroll) while your premises are being repaired after a covered event such as a fire or major water damage.
What about event cancellation coverage?
If your venue hosts weddings, conferences or large events, event-cancellation coverage protects against losses when a covered peril forces cancellation. It’s available as a standalone policy or an endorsement.
How is my workers’ comp premium calculated?
It’s based on payroll by class code multiplied by the rate for each code, then adjusted by your experience modification rate. Kitchen and housekeeping codes carry higher rates than front-desk or management codes.
How quickly can I get a certificate for my landlord?
Same day in most cases. We keep your policy details on file and can issue a certificate with additional-insured status within hours.
Tell us about your restaurant, hotel or venue — seating, revenue, alcohol sales and current coverage. We’ll compare options from carriers that specialize in hospitality and send you a proposal.
Tell us a little about your business. A licensed broker will follow up.
Tell us a little about your business. A licensed broker will follow up.
