If you want to start your own food truck business, getting insurance is one of the most important steps. If you don’t have the right insurance or security, your food truck could cost you a lot of money or even throw you out of business. This article will explain the best food truck insurance, the cost, requirements, and flip food truck insurance.
Food Truck Insurance
A food truck insurance policy is a type of small business insurance that may be modified to cover the many risks that are associated with operating a food truck. A comprehensive insurance policy for a food truck will provide protection for your company against a variety of risks, including those posed by accidents and litigation, as well as those posed by lost income and broken equipment.
Who Needs Food Truck Insurance?
Food truck insurance can help the following businesses:
- Ice cream trucks
- Lunch trucks
- Vending trucks
- Mobile food trucks
- Catering trucks
- Concession trucks
Best Food Truck Insurance
Finding good food truck insurance that combines business owners’ (BOP) and commercial motor policies can be challenging. We looked into different insurance companies to find the best ones for the food truck business. These are the companies that got the best scores when we looked at their financial stability, customer happiness, ease of use, and the policies they offered.
#1. Progressive: Best Overall for Insurance for Food Trucks
Due to the policy it provides, Progressive Commercial Insurance is the best overall provider of food truck insurance. The leading commercial motor insurer, Progressive, has the track record and expertise to appropriately insure your food truck. It offers both a general liability policy for your company’s operations and a comprehensive policy for the vehicle itself. It received a 4.25 out of 5 for its policy, consumer convenience, and financial stability. Progressive is also among our top suppliers for small businesses.
#2. GEICO: Best for a Restaurant With a Food Truck
GEICO is a great insurance company for places that use food trucks. It has an easy-to-understand strategy that can be changed in many ways. For instance, do you want to be covered if your oven breaks? Then you can add coverage for machine breakdowns. It got a 4.25 out of 5 because of how well it is doing financially, how easy it is to use, and how good the customer service is.
#3. Hiscox: Best for Food Trucks That Take Online Orders
We gave Hiscox a score of 4 out of 5 because of its great customer service, ease of use, and wide range of plans. Because of the cybersecurity insurance, it’s the best service for a food truck that takes online orders. This coverage is something that Hiscox suggests as an add-on to its food truck policy.
#4. Acuity: Best for Caterers
Acuity got a score of 3.75 out of 5 because it has great customer service and policies that are tailored to each person. Because of how its rules are set up, Acuity is best for caterers and other food retailers. You can change the limits and extra coverages on its policies to fit your wants. Some of the things that can be covered are food contamination, machine breakdowns, and data breaches.
Flip Food Truck Insurance
FLIP offers very reasonable solutions starting at $299 per year and focuses on protecting businesses. The typical FLIPs coverage plan includes coverage for general liability, commercial personal property (inland maritime), product liability, and rental premises. You can also buy short-term coverage for up to three days for parties, and the company also sells insurance for liquor liability. FLIP provides food trailer insurance as well as food truck insurance with a trailer endorsement for businesses that own trailers. You can get coverage by applying for it online, and you’ll get proof of insurance right away. You can add as many people as you want to your package at no extra cost.
Great American Insurance Group backs FLIP. AM Best gives them an A+ (superior) grade for their financial strength. Given its size, the insurance company also had fewer problems with the NAIC than would be expected. The company doesn’t offer commercial insurance for vehicles, which is a big downside. Unless you have a food truck that stays in one place, you’ll need to get your commercial car insurance somewhere else.
Cost & Coverage
A basic insurance contract from FLIP for a food truck costs $25.92 a month, or $299 a year. But you can add more coverage choices to your policy to make it fit your needs. For example, you may want to increase the amount of coverage for your business’s personal property or add coverage for professional liability.
There are a few things that can change how much your insurance costs for your food truck. The first is the company’s yearly sales. If your mobile food truck business makes less than $50,000 per year, the insurance might cost as little as $299 per year. If your gross sales are between $50,001 and $100,000 per year, however, your insurance can cost $399 per year.
You also need to figure out how much your business’s personal property is worth. This includes things like tools, supplies, and inventory. If the value of your business property is more than $10,000, you have to pay an extra $179 per year.
Customer Satisfaction & Convenience
Coverage is offered in 50 states. You can quickly get a quote and buy insurance online. If you have questions or would rather talk to someone, you can also talk to approved non-commissioned-based agents. If you have a loss, you can file a claim at any time through your account page, and an adjuster from Great American Insurance Group will contact you within three days. The online dashboard lets you add more insureds at no extra cost, and you can get a quick COI if a certain place needs it for your truck.
Food Truck Insurance Cost
The policies you choose, the particular risks that your food truck faces, the cost of your business’s equipment, and a number of crucial operational factors all affect the price of your food truck insurance. Cost figures come from the policies that Insureon customers have bought.
#1. General Liability Costs for Food Trucks
General liability insurance costs food trucks an average of $45 per month or $560 per year. This policy covers food trucks in case a customer gets hurt or their property gets damaged, as well as in case the food truck’s advertising gets hurt. A BOP covers common business risks and protects your business property.
- Average cost per year: $560.
- Policy limit: $1 million per event.
- Policy deductible: None
#2. Commercial Auto Costs for Food Trucks
For food trucks, the average cost of commercial motor insurance is $135 per month, which comes out to $1,620 per year. This coverage may include protection against vandalism, weather-related damage to the vehicle, and car theft. If the driver of your food truck is found to be at fault in an accident, it can also pay for expenditures linked to injuries sustained by third parties as well as property damage.
- Average cost per year: $1,620.
- Policy limit: $1 million
Food Truck Insurance Requirements
Food trucks face a wide range of possible risks because they are multifaceted businesses. These insurance policies provide a choice of coverage alternatives to offset many of the dangers that food trucks face. Here are some common requirements that you may want to make sure your food truck insurance has.
#1. General Liability Insurance
General liability insurance is a basic form of protection that many companies require. Food cart insurance policies are a good way to get it. The protection usually guards against “slip and fall accidents,” as well as libel, slander, and false advertising claims.
All of these are requirements and safety measures that your food truck might want to have. Despite the fact that your vehicle might not have a vast facility, customers could still trip over an extension cord, and sellers could trip over a step when entering your truck. Both of these things have the potential to cause a slip and fall, which general liability insurance might cover. As far as libel, slander, and false advertising accusations go, a business of any size can be sued for these things, which may be very expensive.
#2. Commercial Auto Insurance
If you operate a food truck on public highways, you will most likely want food truck insurance that covers commercial auto insurance. Most states have minimum coverage requirements for every vehicle that is driven on public roads. If you don’t meet these minimum food truck insurance requirements, you could face serious penalties. If you don’t get a policy, your truck may not be protected in an accident, which may prove risky.
#3. Commercial Property Insurance
If you have a food truck or trailer that is not used on public roadways, business property policy requirements are needed to safeguard it. These policies are often included in package plans to protect buildings and property, but they can also be acquired as part of a food cart policy to insure equipment like a cart or trailer.
Even if you already have a vehicle that is covered by an auto insurance policy, it is still a good idea to purchase commercial property insurance in some circumstances. Adding property insurance to a food cart insurance policy is sometimes the most affordable way to cover expensive equipment that is stored in a truck but is not a fixed part of the vehicle.
#4. Inland Marine Insurance
If you opt to include commercial property insurance as part of your food cart insurance policy, then you should probably also give some thought to purchasing inland marine insurance as well. Both of these policies cover water-related risks. Equipment and merchandise are often protected by this insurance when they are transferred from one site to another. This kind of security can be absolutely necessary for food trucks and carts that set up shop in a variety of areas.
#5. Product Liability Insurance
If a defective product that a company had marketed to customers caused injuries, diseases, or property damage, product liability insurance typically covers it. These events are typically infections that are transmitted from one person to another as a result of incorrectly managed food when it comes to businesses that provide food services. Regardless of how thoroughly you wash your hands or how strictly you adhere to other rules, it is important to consider purchasing this coverage because poor handling at any point along the supply chain can lead to infections.
#6. Liquor Liability Insurance
In most cases, protection against alcohol-related incidents is provided through a specialty form of insurance known as liquor liability insurance. Businesses that sell alcoholic beverages frequently purchase this insurance, and if you want to apply for a liquor license, you might be required by law to get this coverage for your food truck in order to comply with certain requirements.
What Is Food Truck Insurance?
Food truck insurance is a set of insurance policies. At the very least, your food truck insurance should cover general liability and business auto. It’s also a good idea to have an industrial property and inland marine (business personal property) insurance. If you have staff, you might also need workers’ compensation coverage. If you serve liquor, you’ll have to add an endorsement for liquor liability.
Do You Need Food Truck Insurance?
Yes. Food truck owners are accountable for business-related accidents, illnesses, and losses. You may be liable if a consumer gets sick from your food or trips and falls on your equipment. Claims caused by accidents like these may quickly wipe out your company’s and your personal finances, forcing your food truck business to close.
Does Food Truck Insurance Include Commercial Auto Insurance?
No, it does not. At this moment, FLIP is unable to provide businesses that operate food trucks with commercial vehicle coverage.
What Is a Business Owners Policy?
What is BOP insurance (Business Owner’s Policy)? If you run a small business, a Business Owner’s Policy, or BOP, protects you from liability claims and lawsuits, protects your facilities, equipment, and inventory, and covers you financially if your business is forced to close abruptly due to a covered loss.
What Is the Cost of Food Truck Insurance?
Food liability insurance takes your safety planning to a whole new level by giving you a lot of defenses against accidents and events that you can’t plan for.
References
- Forbes
- Insureon
- Fitsmallbusiness
- Worldinsurance
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