Food Cart Insurance
A food cart is a treasured part of many events including fairs, carnivals, and sporting events. The smell alone can evoke nostalgia for many Canadians, and they are ubiquitous in downtown city areas. But running a food cart is not quite as simple as the memories they conjure. There are many things to consider to ensure your food cart business has the most comprehensive insurance coverage possible to protect you from potential risks.
Covering Your Risk As A Food Cart Owner
From an insurance perspective, there are risks and liabilities associated with a food cart, similar to running any other food service or food truck business. The food industry is heavily regulated, so adhering to the regulations is paramount. There are also inherent risks involved in food preparation. A comprehensive food cart liability insurance package can cover various potential liability situations for a cart or food truck owner.
An ALIGNED Insurance Advocate can assist with building a package to suit your specific needs, and it should contain the following three main components:
- Food cart commercial general liability insurance is necessary for anyone doing business as a street vendor. Essentially, it protects you as the vendor from a loss if you’re found legally liable for third-party bodily injury or property damage caused by your product or your business activity. The general liability coverage will include expenses such as medical bills and legal fees.
- Commercial property insurance provides the replacement or repair costs of your food cart and the actual cash value for your business property in the event of loss.
- Commercial auto insurance is essential for driving your food truck and work vehicle to and from your job site.
You should also consider product liability insurance if the food you serve is recalled or causes any harm, as well as property insurance with extra expense coverage.
What are Some Possible Claim Scenarios for a Hot Dog Cart?
- Your refrigeration unit inside the cart fails, you don’t realize it at first, and the food you prepare does not meet the recommended storage temperature. A customer becomes ill as a result of the food spoilage.
- A condiment container from your hot dog cart is spilled in front of the cart and a customer spills, falls and hurts themselves.
- Your employee gets into an accident while transporting your hot dog cart to its spot for the day and your work vehicle is damaged as a result.
Accidents and mishaps can happen to anyone. The best defence is putting together an insurance package that fits your business’s unique circumstances.
Do You Need Insurance To Run A Food Cart or a Hot Dog Cart?
You might think that insurance isn’t needed for your hot dog cart because your business is much smaller and less complicated than the big corporations you see. However, you should have hot dog cart vendor insurance purchased before starting your hot dog cart vending business.
There are always risks with a business that provides food services. Since the food and beverages industry is heavily regulated in Canada, even the smallest wrong move or mistake can cause damages and financial losses.
For example, the hot dogs and beverages you sell can cause a customer to become ill with food poisoning. Your hot dog cart can cause property damage or bodily injuries to a customer or your surroundings. In any of these cases, your customers can sue you for the damages and injuries you cause them.
That’s why you need hot dog cart vendor or food truck insurance to ensure financial protection against any third-party liability claims, lawsuits, and damages. Even if you have never encountered a single case of claim or lawsuit in all the years you operated, insurance protects you against the irreversible damages of doing business. Even one claim or lawsuit can send your hot dog cart rolling out of business.
How Much Is Insurance For A Food Cart?
The cost of insurance for a food cart largely depends on the risks your business faces, the types of insurance you purchase, and the amount of coverage you have.
For example, if you purchased commercial general liability insurance (which is essential for hot dog cart vendors) but not commercial property insurance and commercial auto insurance, your insurance cost will be less expensive than if you bought all three types of insurance.
Insurance companies might also consider location, amount of annual revenue earned, your equipment, the size of your business operations, and various other factors to determine the exact price of your hot dog cart vendor insurance premium.
What Type of Business Should Consider Food Vendor Insurance?
Any business that buys, prepares, and sells food to the public in nontraditional locations (i.e., a carnival) can benefit from food vendor insurance, regardless of where you operate and your customers.
Some examples of businesses include:
- Food trucks
- Food trailers
- Food carts (i.e., hot dog carts)
- Caterers
- Food concessionaire (i.e., refreshment stands)
- Personal chefs and private chefs
- Restaurants
Since the food and beverages industry has many strict regulations, food vendor insurance is typically needed even if you occasionally sell food at community events or you are only participating in a one-day festival.
Food vendor insurance will protect your business from the unique risks of these events and mobile operations.
Find the Right Food Cart Liability Insurance from ALIGNED
We know that as a food cart business, you try to save money where you can. Our brokers are not just commercial insurance specialists, we’re advocates who work on your behalf to get you exactly the food cart insurance coverage you need to protect your business at rates you can afford. Click Here To Get A Quote or contact one of our business insurance experts for information or with any questions you may have.
Related Posts:
- Food Truck Insurance Overview
- Food Retail Insurance 101
- What You Should Know About Food and Beverage Insurance
- Food Liability Insurance
- Liability Insurance for Small Business
