Catering Insurance
Insurance for caterers who cook and serve in other people's venues: wedding and event caterers, corporate and boardroom caterers, and contract caterers running a kitchen inside a school, office, care home or sports club.
Working In Places That Are Not Yours
The thing that sets catering apart is that almost nothing you work in belongs to you. The kitchen is the venue's, the marquee is the hire company's, the crockery may be rented, and the guests are your client's. When something goes wrong, the question is not only whether you are covered, but whose property was damaged and who is entitled to come after you for it.
A policy written for a restaurant assumes you control your own premises. A caterer needs one that follows the business from venue to venue, covers the equipment you take with you and the kit you hire in, and has a product liability section that stands up when a hundred wedding guests eat the same meal.
What Catering Insurance Covers
Public liability
Injury to guests and the public, and damage to other people's property, including the venue you are working in. £5 million is the common requirement for venues and corporate clients, and some ask for £10 million.
Product liability
Illness or injury caused by the food and drink you serve. At a large event one mistake reaches every plate, so this section and its limit matter more for caterers than for almost any other food business.
Employers' liability
Compulsory with a £5 million minimum. It applies to the casual, agency and event staff you bring in for a busy weekend as well as permanent staff, and catering firms often employ far more people in summer than in winter.
Equipment, at your premises and away from it
Ovens, chafing dishes, hot cupboards, crockery and serving equipment, covered while stored and while in use at venues. Make sure the cover is not limited to your own address.
Hired in equipment
Marquee kitchens, extra ovens and tableware hired for an event. Hire contracts usually make you responsible for loss and damage, and that liability needs its own cover.
Goods in transit
Food, drink and equipment on the way to and from a venue. A dropped load or a breakdown on the motorway on the morning of a wedding is a real loss, and the transit section covers the goods rather than the vehicle.
Stock and deterioration of stock
Food prepared and stored ahead of an event, including loss when a cold store fails. Large events mean large quantities of chilled stock at once.
Business interruption
Lost gross profit if your production kitchen cannot be used after an insured event. For a caterer with bookings months ahead, losing the kitchen in peak season is the serious loss.
Where The Cover Stops
Wordings differ between insurers, so treat these as the usual position rather than as universal fact. Where one of them matters to you, it is worth checking on your own schedule before you need to.
Damage to the venue's kitchen
Public liability commonly excludes property in your care, custody or control. If you are working in a venue's kitchen it may count as being in your control, so damage to the kitchen itself may need a specific extension. Check this before you sign the venue's terms.
Contract terms you have accepted
Venue and client contracts often ask you to indemnify them for anything arising from your work. Your policy covers your legal liability, not every promise in a contract, so read indemnity clauses before agreeing to them.
Equipment left unattended
Theft of equipment left in an unattended venue or vehicle overnight is often excluded or limited. Many insurers require vehicles to be locked and equipment to be out of sight.
Alcohol service
Running a bar at an event brings licensing and a different liability profile. It needs to be declared, and you may need a temporary event notice or to work under the venue's licence.
Event cancellation
Your policy does not cover the income you lose if a client cancels a booking. That is a matter for your booking terms and deposits rather than your insurance.
Open flames and LPG
Cooking with gas in marquees and outdoor spaces is commonly accepted, but insurers expect the appliances to be safe and checked, the cylinders stored correctly and staff to know what to do. Declare it.
Whose Kitchen Is It When It Catches Fire?
Most catering claims that turn into disputes come back to one question: who was responsible for the thing that was damaged. If a fryer catches fire in a hotel kitchen you are using for a wedding, the hotel's own insurer may pay for the kitchen and then come after you. Whether your public liability answers depends on how your policy treats property you were working with.
Standard wordings typically exclude property in your care, custody or control. A venue kitchen you have taken over for the day can fall inside that exclusion. The answer is usually an extension covering premises you use temporarily, and it is worth confirming it is there rather than assuming it.
Read the venue's terms too. Some ask you to take on responsibility for the entire kitchen, its equipment and any downtime. Your insurer is not bound by a promise you made in a contract it never saw, so if a venue's terms go further than ordinary liability, show them to your broker.
One Kitchen, Two Hundred Guests
A restaurant serving a bad dish affects one table. A caterer serving a bad dish at a wedding can affect every guest at once, and the claims arrive together. That is why product liability limits and food safety records matter so much in this trade.
Insurers will look at how you plan and control food safety: temperature records during transport, cooking and holding, how long food sits between kitchen and plate, and how you manage allergens across a set menu where guests have declared dietary needs in advance. A caterer who can show those records is in a much stronger position when a claim is made.
Allergen management deserves particular care at events. Guests rely on the caterer to get the special meals right, often without seeing a label. Clear processes for identifying, preparing and serving those meals separately are the best protection for the guest and for the business.
Seasonal Staff And Employers' Liability
Catering firms often double or treble their headcount for the summer wedding season and the Christmas party season. Every one of those people counts for employers' liability, whether they are employed directly, supplied by an agency or paid as casual staff for the night.
Insurers base the premium on your wageroll, and an estimate that only counts the permanent team leaves the policy rated on a smaller business than the one that trades in June. Declare the expected total, including casual and agency staff, and adjust it at the end of the year if it turns out different.
How To Choose Insurance For A Catering Business
Catering is often insured on a restaurant policy that assumes the business stays in one place. We are an FCA regulated broker and will not tell you we are the best choice. These are the points that decide whether a catering policy works, and you can compare any broker against them, including us.
Does the policy follow you to the venue?
Ask whether equipment, liability and stock are covered at clients' venues and in transit, not only at your own premises.
Is damage to a venue's kitchen covered?
This is the gap that causes the most argument in catering claims. A broker who raises care, custody and control without being asked understands the trade.
Does the limit match what venues and corporate clients ask for?
Many require £5 million or £10 million. Check your biggest clients' requirements before choosing a limit.
Is hired in equipment included?
If you hire marquee kitchens or tableware, the hire contract usually makes you responsible. That needs to be on the policy.
Have they asked about seasonal and agency staff?
The wageroll for employers' liability should reflect your busiest month, not your quietest.
Factually, here is what we do. We describe catering at clients' venues on the proposal, we check how the policy treats venue kitchens and premises used temporarily, we include equipment away from your premises, hired in equipment and goods in transit where you need them, and we set the employers' liability wageroll on your seasonal peak. We do not arrange cover for mobile catering vans or food trucks. We are a broker, so your risk goes to several insurers rather than one.
What Moves The Price
Every policy is priced on the business behind it. These are the things that move the premium:
- Turnover, and the size and number of events you cater
- Whether you cook on site at venues or deliver food prepared elsewhere
- Product and public liability limits required by venues and clients
- Value of equipment, owned and hired in
- Wageroll, including casual and agency staff
- Alcohol service and cooking with LPG
- Claims record over the last five years
We are a broker, so we take it to several insurers rather than quoting one. Call 02382 000820 for a quote.
What We Need To Quote
- Address of any production kitchen or storage, and whether you own or lease
- The type of events and venues you cater for
- Annual turnover and largest single event
- Value of equipment you own and equipment you hire in
- Wageroll for permanent, casual and agency staff
- Whether you serve alcohol or cook with gas on site
- Any claims in the last five years
Cover that often goes with this
The gaps we most often find sitting next to this policy.
- Event and wedding venue insuranceThe other side of the arrangement, if you also run the venue.
- Goods in transitFood and equipment on the way to and from every event.
- Public liabilityThe limits venues ask for and what the cover actually includes.
- Talk to a brokerTell us where you cater and we will tell you what needs covering.
Common questions
What insurance do I need as a caterer in the UK?+
Employers' liability is compulsory if you employ anyone, with a £5 million minimum. Public and product liability are not required by law, but almost every venue and corporate client will ask for them, often at £5 million. Most caterers also need cover for equipment away from their premises, hired in equipment, goods in transit and stock.
Who is the best insurer for event catering?+
There is no single best insurer. What matters is whether the policy follows you to venues, covers damage to kitchens you use temporarily, includes hired in equipment and carries the liability limits your clients require. We place catering businesses with several insurers and compare them on those points.
Am I covered if I damage a venue's kitchen?+
Not automatically. Public liability commonly excludes property in your care, custody or control, and a venue kitchen you are using can fall inside that. An extension for premises used temporarily usually solves it. Check before you sign the venue's terms, particularly if they ask you to take responsibility for the whole kitchen.
Does catering insurance cover food poisoning at a wedding?+
Yes, through product liability, which responds when guests claim they became ill from the food you served. Because one mistake at an event can affect every guest, the limit matters, and insurers will look at your temperature records and allergen procedures when a claim is made.
Do I need insurance for agency staff at events?+
Yes. Agency and casual staff working under your direction usually count for employers' liability, and the premium is based on your total wageroll. Declare your expected seasonal peak, not just your permanent team.
Do you insure mobile catering vans and food trucks?+
No. This page covers caterers who cook and serve in venues, clients' premises and their own production kitchens. We do not arrange insurance for mobile catering vans or food trucks.
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