Operating a food truck can be risky business. We understand that you run a tight budget and want to keep your insurance costs under control, but after reading the below we hope to shed some light on why a liability umbrella is worth the cost to protect you and your business.
Auto Liability- Your auto liability exposure is your biggest exposure. Food trucks weigh tons (literally) and can cause serious damage to vehicles, property and people. Our program* includes one million dollars in auto liability which should be enough for minor accidents, but with injuries involved, one million can go fast in medical bills, lawsuits and defense costs. We also include hired and non-owned auto which can be a huge exposure if you are sending employees on errands our renting vehicles for business. You can read more on hired and non-owned auto here.
Product Liability- Food borne illness is a real concern in the food truck business. With ingredients in motions between store or commissary to truck to location there is exposure to temperature change and bacteria growth. Also, food allergies are a bigger expose now than they ever have been. If one or more of your customers has a serious reaction you could be looking at a major liability claim. Our program* includes one million per occurrence and two million aggregate. The aggregate means that you have two million dollars available for the policy period, but the one million per occurrence means your limited to one million per claim/occurrence.
Premises Liability- Slip and falls can easily happen around your truck. You could have a leak, there could be debris that someone slips on, someone could trip on a generator, your window could fall on someone's head, etc. Luckily these types of claims are not frequent, but when they do happen they are usually large claims. Our program* includes the one million per occurrence and 2 million aggregate just like the product liability.
Employers Liability- If you have staff you have employers liability. This would be an employee suing for damages for injuries, loss of income, loss of future income, punitive damages, etc. If you are partially or wholly responsible for their injury, you workers' compensation insurance will cover employers liability. Depending on your state your limit will vary. Here in California, statutory requirements are for one million dollars meaning that if you employ you are required to carry workers compensation and employers liability for one million dollars. An umbrella can cover the excess liability if the workers' compensation policy is scheduled.
Most venues and contracts require one million in general liability and likely one million in auto liability. Even if you are not required to carry higher limits than this you should consider an umbrella policy to sit over the exposures and limits mentioned above. If you have that large claim that clearly is going to be over one million dollars your carrier is going to cut a check and walk away leaving you to defend and pay for any costs above that. Our program* average cost for a one million umbrella is $425 per year! Don't let one large loss haunt and follow you for a lifetime. Purchase an umbrella so you have enough coverage for a devastating claim. Contact us if you have any questions about umbrellas or insurance for your food truck business.
*"Our program" mentioned above is though our preferred program carrier. Higher or lower limits may be available depends on territory and/or customer preference. Please contact us with any questions about or program or otherwise.