You need more than a cup of flour and a pinch of salt.
To whip up a successful business, you also need bakery insurance.
Whether you make cakes or croissants, everyone loves a good bakery! After all, weddings and birthdays just wouldn’t be the same without a little something sweet.
You spend hours making your customer’s events special, but who is looking after you?
Just like any food business, bakeries are exposed to plenty of risk—from food poisoning to broken equipment and more. Bakery insurance helps protect your business from these risks so you can keep satisfying Orlando’s sweet tooth for years to come.
What Bakery Insurance Do You Need?
Finding the right insurance coverage for your business is a lot like baking the perfect pastry—you have to use the right ingredients for the results to be delicious.
Here are some of the policies that any bakery should consider for adequate insurance coverage.
Business Owners Policy (BOP)
When looking for commercial insurance, a Business Owners Policy, or BOP, is the first place you should start. This policy bundles three essential forms of coverage together:
General liability insurance covers your legal fees (including settlements and judgments) in the event you are sued for damages to a third party. This can be anything from a slip and fall incident to charges of fraud.
Commercial property insurance helps repair or replace damage to your property due to a covered loss. For example, if lightning strikes your bakery and shorts out your commercial freezer, your commercial property coverage can help.
Business interruption insurance helps reimburse you for lost income if you have to close your doors due to a covered loss. So when water damage puts your kitchen out of commission (making you unable to fulfill orders), you don’t have to sweat it.
Equipment Breakdown Coverage
As a baker, you rely on functioning equipment to get through your day, but if your oven won’t preheat or your freezer short circuits, your commercial property coverage can’t help.
Commercial property insurance helps protect against external factors, like fire and theft. For power surges, electrical shorts, mechanical breakdown, and motor burnout, you need equipment breakdown coverage.
Product Liability Insurance
No matter how much time and energy you put into making sure your baked goods are fresh and delicious, accidents happen. Maybe you didn’t realize the eggs had expired, or you accidentally used an item a customer was allergic to.
However, food poisoning can sometimes be listed as an exclusion under your general liability policy. Adding product liability insurance to your BOP can help cover medical and legal bills related to damages you cause to a third party.
Food Spoilage Insurance
Ever had to replace everything in your fridge and freezer due to a power outage? Then you’ll understand why food spoilage insurance is so important!
Here in Central Florida, hurricanes and typical summer thunderstorms can knock out power for hours, or even days, at a time. Adding food spoilage as an endorsement to your BOP will give you extra peace of mind.
Liquor Liability Insurance
This is a must-have policy if you plan on serving any kind of alcohol at your establishment or allowing customers to bring in their own.
Boozy brunch is a great idea, but having liquor liability insurance is an even better one!
While liquor liability insurance won’t stop you from being sued over an assault, DUI, or personal injury charge, it will protect your small business’ assets.
Commercial Auto Insurance
If you plan on using any form of vehicle to deliver your products—from delivery vans to food trucks—commercial auto insurance is essential. Not only are you exposed to lots of risk on the road, your personal auto policy likely won’t cover losses that occurred during business use.
Opting for full coverage car insurance protects against a wider range of risks than purchasing the bare minimum.
Workers Compensation Insurance
If you have four (4) or more employees at your bakery, Florida law requires you to carry workers compensation insurance, but this is a must-have for bakeries of any size.
The food service industry is notorious for workplace injuries; liquids, hot surfaces, sharp equipment, and close quarters make them almost unavoidable. With workers comp coverage, however, you won’t have to pay out of pocket for your employee’s medical bills or lost wages.
Even if you only have a single employee you are still faced with these risks. The law may not require Workers Compensation Insurance, but that doesn’t mean your business does not need it!
Commercial Umbrella Insurance
Having liability coverage is great, but only if you have enough. Commercial umbrella insurance can help increase your coverage limits and/or protect against a wider variety of claims.
And with an average cost of just $900 a year, it offers one of the biggest bangs for your buck.
Do I Need Insurance For a Home-Based Bakery?
Yes!
Home-based bakeries are still businesses and are exposed to risk (just like any other bakery).
If you’re operating a bakery out of your home as a Florida Cottage Foods operation, you should put just as much thought into your insurance coverage as if you had a storefront in a busy strip mall.
You may not have to worry about a customer slipping on a recently mopped floor, but you still run the risk of food poisoning, lawsuits, and property damage. Operating a home based business is no excuse not to take your livelihood seriously!
The Recipe For Success
Opening a business is always an exciting new venture, but without the right insurance, you’re opening yourself up to any number of risks.
Protecting your livelihood involves a lot more than making sure the freezer is closed and locking the doors at night. Bakery insurance helps give you the peace of mind that will allow you to keep baking for years to come.
At Harry Levine Insurance, we make the insurance buying process as easy as pie. Our friendly, knowledgeable agents are experienced with a wide range of commercial policies and will take the time necessary to learn about your business. This will allow us to recommend the policies that are right for your needs and your budget.
(Talk about having your cake and eating it, too!)
Call today or visit our website for a free quote.
