Food Truck Insurance

Food Truck Business Liability

Whether you need refrigerated truck insurance or commercial van insurance, we can help you get the proper food service vehicle insurance for your business.

Because you depend on your vehicle every day, it’s important to protect it with the proper food service vehicle insurance.
Types of food trucks we insure
Food trucks are growing in popularity across the nation and insures both new and experienced food truck business owners.

We provide food truck insurance coverage for the following:

• Mobile food trucks
• Lunch trucks
• Catering trucks
• Concession trucks
• Vending trucks
• Ice cream trucks

Key Takeaways:

• Some insurance companies sell food truck insurance bundles. However, many owners of food trucks patch together coverage by purchasing different kinds of insurance products.
• You’ll need to obtain commercial auto insurance for the truck itself and also, of course, workers compensation insurance for employees and general liability for other risks.
• The cost of food truck insurance differs depending on how much total coverage you opt to buy.

Food trucks can be found basically everywhere in American cities serving everything from hotdogs to dumplings and to even gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches. Starting a food truck business may be a good and less expensive way to get into the restaurant business for aspiring restaurant owners.

However, kindly take note that getting a food truck business is still pricey and just like any of your personal vehicles, these also need insurance. You may be also required to purchase a certain amount of insurance coverage in order to have a permit to operate in your area.

Food truck insurance is a bit more complicated than just a simple commercial auto insurance policy. This is a kind of car insurance for vehicles that are used for business purposes. Furthermore, food truck owners also need insurance coverage for the unique risks that are associated with operating the said business. This includes general liability coverage or business liability coverage which then covers damage or injury you’re responsible for.

One example is when a customer is accidentally burned by food that came right out of the fryer. Another insurance coverage that you should consider purchasing is worker’s compensation coverage which then pays your employees if they are injured while working for you in your food truck business. You may also, of course, need even more coverage depending on where you are and the details of your operation.

Who needs food truck insurance?

You need to consider a lot of things when you start a food truck business such as beyond the initial investment needed to purchase supplies and equipment. You’ll also need to acquire a business license and different permits from your city, county, or state. We suggest checking with your local government to see what are the requirements before you can start such a business.

Your state will also likely require food trucks to carry a certain amount of insurance. You’ll need to also carry insurance for any kind of mobile food business even if you don’t actually cook any food in your vehicle. This includes the following:

• Ice cream trucks
• Food trailers
• Lunch trucks
• Food trucks
• Catering trucks

Some insurance companies may offer you specific food truck insurance that combines various coverages you’ll need. However, it’s more likely that you’ll need to combine coverage for your food truck by buying different kinds of insurance policies that will provide you coverage for different aspects of your food truck business.
It’s possible that you can do some research on your own. However, a licensed and independent agent can also help you further understand what kind of insurance you must get and also the right amount of coverage for your food truck.

What insurance does a food truck need?

The exact insurance you need for your particular food truck business actually depends on several factors such as your location and what kind of business you have. If you have a food truck business with ovens, refrigerators, and deep-fryers on board, you will need more coverage than a lunch truck that sells premade sandwiches and sodas. Basically, you should anticipate needing several kinds of insurance coverage.

Commercial auto

A commercial auto insurance policy is, of course, for your vehicle. This is made up of several different components in order to protect your food truck in different ways including the following:

Liability coverage – Bodily injury liability covers you when you or one of your employees cause bodily injury to another person while driving your food truck. While property damage liability covers you when you or one of your employees cause property damage to another person while driving your food truck. These kinds of insurance coverages are bundled into a “combined single limit” in commercial insurance policies. While for personal auto policies, they are often separate.

Medical payment coverage / personal injury coverage – this pays for the medical expenses for the driver and passengers of your food truck in case they meet an accident regardless of whose fault.

Collision coverage – this pays for damage to your food truck from an accident regardless of whose fault.

Comprehensive coverage – this pays for damage to your food truck in case someone steals from your food truck business, vandalism, natural disaster and calamities, and other non-crash incidents.

Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage – this pays for damage to your food truck business caused by an uninsured or underinsured driver

Commercial policies also offer several kinds of specialized coverage that personal insurance policies do not offer such as rental reimbursement with downtime which then covers the expenses to rent a temporary replacement if your food truck happens to need repairs or hired vehicle coverage which then covers you if you rent cars or vans for employees or clients.
If your food truck is a trailer attached to a vehicle, you then need to add an endorsement to your commercial auto insurance coverage to ensure that the trailer is also included.

General liability

You’ll also need general liability coverage. This is also called commercial general liability. This ensures you have protection in case you may become liable for any third-party injuries or damage. If your customers or clients are injured or if you or one of your employees is responsible for damage, this coverage will cover the costs.

This kind of insurance coverage is important for food truck owners since the nature of your business exposes you to different liabilities. One scenario is when a customer could get sick from contaminated food or be burned by hot oil or there may be a chance that you or one of your employees could accidentally damage or break a customer’s valuable property while catering to an event. These are some instances where general liability coverage can step in for you and cover the medical bills, repair costs, and also the possible legal fees from a lawsuit.

Workers compensation

Workers’ compensation insurance is an important coverage and is required by law in almost every state even if you only have one or two employees. This will pay for an employee’s medical expenses and some of their lost wages once they get injured at work or become sick as a result of their work.
Covered accidents can include everything from an employee injuring their back while lifting a heavy box of goods or a cook slipping on an oily floor or an employee accidentally cutting their finger to employees getting injured during a food truck fire.

Commercial property insurance

Commercial property insurance is another important kind of insurance coverage for food truck owners most especially if your food truck includes expensive appliances such as grills, refrigerators, freezers, or fryers.

Furthermore, this essentially covers just the physical contents of your food truck which then includes kitchen equipment and also computers, signs, important documents you have on your food truck, and other people’s property such as a backpack that your employees bring to work and it was then destroyed by fire.