A bar is insured as a licensed premises rather than as a shop that happens to sell drink, and the licence is what changes the underwriting. Late hours, alcohol, entertainment and a crowd standing rather than sitting produce a risk profile that a general retail or catering policy is not written for.
Liability, in a room where people are drinking
Public liability answers for customers injured on the premises and is the section most exposed in a bar, because the combination of alcohol, glass, wet floors, stairs and closing time produces exactly the incidents it exists for. Employers' liability is compulsory once anybody is employed and covers bar staff, cellar work, glass collectors and door supervisors on the payroll. Where door security is contracted in, the supervisors' own employer normally carries their cover, and the contract should confirm it rather than leaving the assumption unexamined.
The licence itself, and losing it
A premises licence under the licensing regime is the permission the business trades on, and it can be reviewed, restricted or revoked. Loss of licence cover answers for the financial consequence when that happens for reasons outside the licensee's deliberate misconduct, and it is a cover peculiar to this sector. Insurers also attach conditions that track the licensing objectives, including door supervision at stated times, working closed circuit television and refusal and incident logs, and those conditions are enforceable terms of the policy rather than advice.
Stock, glass and money
Stock in a bar is valuable, concentrated and mostly in the cellar, where deterioration following a refrigeration or cooling failure is a genuine loss rather than a theoretical one. Glass cover for shopfronts, mirrors and back bar fittings is standard in this trade and worth having on a street facing venue. Money cover matters more than in most retail, because bars take cash late at night and hold it on the premises until banking, and the wording will state limits for money on the premises in and out of a safe and in transit.
Business interruption and the weekend that pays the week
Closing a bar after a fire or a flood stops income immediately while rent, rates and key staff costs continue. The indemnity period needs to cover reinstating a fit out, which in a bar is bespoke and slow, and then rebuilding a trade that may have moved to a competitor down the road. Trading in this sector is also concentrated into particular nights and particular weeks of the year, so a closure of a given length does not produce a proportionate loss, and the sum insured should be set on the annual figure rather than on an average month.
Questions people ask about bar insurance
Is bar insurance different from restaurant insurance?
It overlaps but it is underwritten differently. The licence, late trading hours, entertainment and a standing rather than seated crowd move the liability rating, and covers like loss of licence and glass are more prominent than in a restaurant.
What is loss of licence cover?
It responds to the financial loss when a premises licence is restricted or revoked for reasons outside the licensee's deliberate wrongdoing. It is close to unique to licensed trade policies and is not part of a general commercial package.
Do I need employers' liability for door staff?
If they are on your payroll, yes. If they are supplied by a security contractor, that contractor is normally their employer and carries the cover, which is worth confirming in the contract rather than assuming.
Is cellar stock covered if the cooling fails?
Only where a deterioration of stock extension is in place. Ordinary contents and stock cover responds to damage from an insured peril, not to product spoiling because refrigeration stopped.