Coffee Shop Insurance Ontario

Coffee Shop Insurance Coverage for Business Owners

Caffeine makes the world go ’round, so it’s hardly surprising that a stop at the local coffee shop is essential for many people to help them get their day started on the right foot. To the uninitiated, running a coffee shop may seem pretty straightforward—pour a cup of coffee, bag a muffin and let the revenue roll in. But in reality, it’s a lot more complicated than that. Coffee shop owners have a lot to juggle daily, including liability exposure and the possibility of a destructive event such as a fire or an equipment failure.

Your coffee shop is unique, and your Ontario coffee shop insurance policy needs to be unique to reflect your particular insurance needs and the risks you are exposed to. The experienced team of brokers at Morison Insurance can take some of the burden off your shoulders by finding the perfect combination of coffee shop insurance coverages to ensure you have financial protection against all the perils you’re most likely to encounter while running your business.

What is Coffee Shop Insurance?

Ontario coffee shop insurance is a type of business insurance policy tailored to meet the insurance needs of coffee shops in general, but more importantly, your specific coffee shop. It offers protection against financial losses caused by insured events that are listed or not explicitly excluded on your policy, depending on your insurance policy.

What’s covered also varies from policy to policy, but in general, having Ontario coffee shop insurance means your insurance carrier will provide funds to help you recover from destruction or loss caused by fire, natural disasters, theft, vandalism and more. It’ll also help you recoup legal costs, medical expenses, settlement fees and more should you be sued for causing third-party bodily harm or property damage. The financial protection afforded by Ontario coffee shop insurance is indispensable to business owners because there’s simply no way to avoid every single accident or misfortune that may occur over the years. When disaster strikes, you need to know that you’re backed with the necessary financial support to recover quickly and get your business running again, and that’s precisely what the right Ontario coffee shop insurance can do for you.

What Kinds of Businesses Need Ontario Coffee Shop Insurance?

Any business owner who decides to open a coffee shop or business with a similar type of food and beverage service business needs the support and protection of coffee shop insurance. That includes:

• Cafés
• Tearooms
• Juice bars
• Bubble tea shops
• Bakeries
• Sandwich shops
• Delis
• Bistros
• Internet cafés
• And others

The qualified brokers at Morison Insurance will consult with you to learn more about your one-of-a-kind business so we can make the best recommendations on the Ontario coffee shop insurance coverages and limits with a coffee shop insurance quote.

What Types of Coverage Come With Ontario Coffee Shop Insurance?

When it comes to coffee shop insurance, Ontario business owners can expect the types of coverage and coverage limits to vary according to their particular insurance needs and what they want out of their policy. Coffee shop business insurance includes standard coverages such as commercial general liability (CGL) and commercial property insurance—coverage that any commercial business needs. Some optional coverages can be included in your coffee shop insurance quote, such as product recall insurance and equipment breakdown insurance, that may be recommended depending on how your coffee shop operates.

Commercial General Liability

This type of coffee shop insurance coverage is vital because it protects you from financial loss if you are the defendant in a lawsuit. After all, you or your employees caused third-party property damage, third-party bodily injuries, or personal harm. Suppose you accidentally spilled hot coffee all over a customer and caused burn injuries, for example. In that case, they could sue you for their medical costs and possibly compensation for pain and suffering. Or, if you dropped a scone butter-side-down on a client’s costly designer handbag and ruined it, they could bring a lawsuit against you for the replacement expense.

In these kinds of situations, your Ontario coffee shop insurance company would have their team of lawyers work on your behalf to defend against these allegations – so you are not out of pocket for legal fees. The commercial general liability insurance provider also pays settlement costs up to your policy limit should you be sued successfully. That way, the plaintiff can get the compensation they are entitled to and you can avoid paying your own savings for medical bills, replacement costs and more.

Product Liability Insurance

Suppose your coffee shop manufactures and sells products, including food. In that case, product liability coverage will be necessary for your Ontario coffee shop insurance to prevent you from paying out of pocket should your product cause injury or personal harm. With product liability on your policy, your insurance carrier covers the cost of legal defence and settlements related to defects in design, marketing or manufacturing and problems such as omissions on the product label.

For example, if your coffee shop produces baked goods and sells them pre-packaged to grab and go, it’s possible you could forget to list an ingredient on the label or warn that your baked goods may contain traces of allergens like nuts. If a customer suffered a severe allergic reaction after consuming it, your product liability coverage would offer you financial support to deal with the ensuing expenses up to your coverage limits.

Commercial Property Insurance

As cautious as you may be, you can’t stop everything that could go wrong with your commercial property. There’s no coffee shop without the actual shop, which makes the thought of destructive catastrophes like fire and vandalism troubling. If you own the building your business is run out of and the building is damaged by fire, natural disasters and more, or you incur a loss due to malicious damage or theft, your Ontario coffee shop insurance carrier will provide you with funds to cover damage restoration to the building and replace or repair stolen or damaged equipment. You will likely need additional coverage for your commercial property insurance, such as water damage protection, so you can get support to deal with moisture problems caused by overland flooding, plumbing leaks and other issues.

Business Interruption Insurance

If your coffee shop or equipment is damaged or stolen, the processes of repair, replacement and damage restoration aren’t going to take place in a day—it could be weeks or even months before you can reopen. While repair and replacement are underway, you’ll have no choice but to close up shop, and that will, of course, negatively impact your bottom line. The solution is to include business interruption insurance in your Ontario coffee shop insurance policy. This type of insurance will allow you to get financial assistance to help you recoup your loss of income and take care of other expenses such as employee wages and operational costs, so you’re able to get back on your feet as soon as possible and get back to generating revenue. It’s worth noting that business interruption coverage does not typically apply to government-mandated closures for infectious disease control.

Equipment Breakdown Insurance

You need specific expensive equipment to run your business as you see fit, and if that equipment is stolen or damaged in a fire, you can rely on your commercial property coverage for assistance. But what if there’s a mechanical failure? Suppose your baking oven breaks down, for example. In that case, equipment breakdown insurance on your Ontario coffee shop insurance policy will come in very handy to provide support so you can get it fixed or replaced. Equipment breakdown coverage also applies to building functions such as HVAC, which is crucial since you can’t expect customers to sit and enjoy a beverage when it’s below zero degrees Celsius outside, and your furnace is broken.

Cyber Liability

Part of your business undoubtedly involves computers and sending or receiving information via the internet. While it’s a much more convenient way to store and transmit information than we had in the past, it does expose business owners to a risk of cyber crime from criminals who could use the information they gain for extortion or fraud. Cyber insurance on your Ontario coffee shop insurance covers expenses related to cyber breaches, ransomed information and fixing damaged security networks.

Other Types of Coffee Shop Insurance Coverage

• Product Recall Insurance
• Negative Publicity Coverage
• Commercial Auto Insurance
• Business Contents Coverage 

Contact our team today to learn more about these coverages and what should be included on your coffee shop insurance policy. We would be happy to provide you with multiple coffee shop insurance quote tailored to your specific needs.

Am I Legally Obligated to Have Coffee Shop Insurance in Ontario?

No, you’re not—business insurance is not mandatory in Canada for most types of businesses, including coffee shops. The exception is commercial auto insurance, which is mandatory if you or your employees drive a vehicle for business purposes. When it comes to insurance for coffee shops, coverage such as commercial general liability and commercial property insurance is not legally required. But just because the government does not mandate it, doesn’t mean you don’t need it.

How Much Does It Cost for Coffee Shop Insurance in Ontario?

It’s hard to narrow down the cost of coffee shop insurance without knowing more about your particular business because many variables can affect the cost of your premiums. When you apply for coffee shop insurance, the insurance provider completes a risk assessment to determine which risks are most likely to befall your business. Based on that evaluation, they choose how they will provide you with a coffee shop insurance quote. Some of the factors they look at include:

• Business location
• Details of the building, such as age and fire suppression measures
• Items and products you sell
• Insurance claims history
• How many employees do you have
• Annual revenue
• Safety standards
• Business practices—for example, whether you use a deep-fat fryer
• Previous experience running a food service business
• Coverage limits

The best way to learn more about how much you can expect to pay for coffee shop business insurance is to chat with an experienced Morison Insurance broker and give them some information on your unique business operation. This information will allow them to hunt down the ideal coverage combination at competitive rates and ensure you have the right coffee shop insurance quote that fits your business.

What Should My Liability Limit Be for Coffee Shop Insurance?

The minimum recommended liability coverage limit on your coffee shop insurance policy is $2 million, which may seem like a lot. Still, when it comes to litigation, your expenses can easily exceed that, and you’ll be responsible for paying out of pocket to cover the remainder. In many cases, it’s best to go above $2 million to ensure you have adequate coverage. Your Morison Insurance broker can give you more detailed recommendations on your coffee shop insurance limits once they have learned more about your business’s challenges and risk exposures.

Where Can I Get a Coffee Shop Insurance Quote?

When it’s time to get started on coffee shop insurance quotes, business owners can trust our team of Morison Insurance brokers to go the extra mile in finding the right types of insurance for their unique business. Morison Insurance is a family-owned and operated business, and we strive to treat each and every one of our clients with the same courtesy and quality service we would offer our own family members. To learn more about Ontario coffee shop insurance and contact our expert brokers, call us at 1-800-463-8074. You can also request a quote online.