Running your café is a labour of love, but it’s not without risk. From unpredictable customer accidents to fire damage or equipment breakdown, life as a café owner can present unexpected challenges. That’s why having the right café business insurance in place is essential.
At Alexander Swan, we specialise in leisure insurance that’s tailored to protect your café and other businesses within the leisure sector, such as restaurants, cafés, and a wide range of leisure businesses, against real-world risks. In this guide, we’ve created a practical café insurance checklist to help you understand exactly what you need to cover. Whether you’re launching a new café or reviewing your existing cover, this blog will help you make informed decisions to protect your business, your team, and your customers.
Why Café Business Insurance Matters
If you own a café, your business is more than just bricks and mortar; it’s your livelihood, your team’s workplace, and a space your community depends on. But what would happen if a fire broke out, an accident occurred, a customer slipped, or your fridge failed overnight? Without insurance, the costs could be devastating.
Café business insurance offers financial protection against various events, including these and many others. More importantly, it gives you peace of mind, allowing you to focus on what matters: brewing great coffee, serving your community, and growing your café. Insurance also helps secure your café’s future by providing long-term protection and sustainability.
Your Essential Café Insurance Checklist
Here’s a breakdown of the core insurance covers we recommend for any independent café. There is a wide range of insurance options available, and this checklist can be tailored to suit the specific needs of your café.
Public Liability Insurance
This is a non-negotiable. Public liability insurance covers you if a customer, supplier, or member of the public is injured or suffers property damage while on your premises.
Why it’s important:Spillages, a wet floor, uneven floors, or loose wires can all lead to accidents that may result in legal action. Public liability covers the legal fees and compensation claims that may follow.
Employers’ Liability Insurance
If you employ any employees or staff—full-time, part-time, or even volunteers—you’re legally required to have employers’ liability cover.
Why it’s important: This protects your café if an employee becomes ill or injured as a result of their work, covering compensation costs that may arise. Without it, you could face heavy fines or legal costs.
Business Contents and Equipment Insurance
Your café likely depends on equipment such as coffee machines, refrigerators, ovens, and POS systems. Contents and equipment cover ensures that damage, theft, or breakdowns don’t bring operations to a halt. Equipment breakdown cover is also available to protect against unexpected failures of essential machinery and building systems.
Why it’s important: Replacing commercial kitchen equipment is expensive, especially if it breaks unexpectedly. Insurance helps cover the cost quickly, so you’re not left out of pocket.
Stock Cover
Stock insurance protects your perishable and non-perishable stock, which can be costly to replace if it’s damaged due to an insured event such as fire, flood, or a power failure.
Why it’s important: If your fridge fails overnight and your stock is spoiled due to an insured event, stock insurance can help recover the financial loss.
Business Interruption Insurance
What happens if you can’t trade for a few days or weeks due to an insured event, such as a fire, flood, or major equipment failure? Business interruption insurance helps cover loss of income during this downtime.
Why it’s important: It ensures you still have money coming in to pay rent, staff wages, and other ongoing expenses while you are unable to continue trading because of an insured event.
6. Building Insurance (if you own your premises)
Buildings insurance: If you own the café premises, buildings insurance protects the physical buildings, including the structure and items that are part of the building like boilers and fire alarms, from events such as fire, flooding, or vandalism.
Why it’s important: Repairing or rebuilding the physical buildings after an insured event can be costly; buildings insurance covers these costs and helps ensure your business can resume operations.
7. Product Liability Insurance
If you serve food or drink, product liability covers claims arising from illness or injury caused by the products you sell.
Why it’s important: Even with strict hygiene practices, mistakes or supplier issues can happen. For example, if a deep fat fryer malfunctions and causes injury or damage, or if a faulty product leads to a fire that damages a customer’s house, this cover helps protect your café from lawsuits.
8. Cyber Insurance (Optional but increasingly relevant)
If you run an online booking system, digital loyalty programme, or store customer payment details, cyber insurance protects against data breaches and cyberattacks.
Why it’s important:
Cafés are increasingly digital, and protecting customer data is not only responsible but also legally required under GDPR.
Why Work with Alexander Swan?
We understand the unique pressures of running an independent café. That’s why we work directly with our clients to understand their specific needs. Our leisure insurance solutions are designed to suit your world, offering flexibility, affordability, and comprehensive cover you can trust. We work with leading insurers to ensure you receive coverage that suits your café’s requirements. All our policies are designed to be flexible and can be tailored to suit the specific needs of each café, so you benefit from expert advice and efficient claims handling.
When you work with us, we’ll:
- Take the time to understand your business
- Source competitive quotes tailored to your café
- Provide ongoing support if you ever need to make a claim
- Keep your cover up to date as your café grows
Whether you’re just starting or reviewing your existing policies, we’re here to help every step of the way.
Café Insurance FAQs
1. Is café business insurance a legal requirement?
While not all types are legally required, employers’ liability insurance is mandatory if you have staff. Other types, like public liability and contents insurance, are strongly recommended to protect your café from financial loss.
2. Can I bundle different covers into one policy?
Yes. At Alexander Swan, we can create a bespoke policy that combines multiple covers under one package, saving you time and potentially reducing your premium.
3. How much does café insurance cost?
Costs vary depending on your location, size, turnover, and level of cover. We’ll work with you to find an affordable plan that meets your specific needs.
4. Does my café insurance cover outdoor seating?
It can. If you offer outdoor seating or serve customers outside, we’ll make sure your policy includes cover for that area too.
5. What should I do if I need to make a claim?
Simply get in touch with our team. We’ll guide you through the claims process from start to finish, helping you get back on your feet as quickly as possible.
Need a Hand with Your Insurance?
Whether you’re a seasoned café owner, just getting started, or running a busy café, we’re here to help make café business insurance straightforward and stress-free. Contact us today for a no-obligation review of your current policy, or let us help you build the right cover from scratch. With Alexander Swan, you can easily access support and resources whenever you need them.