Restaurant Insurance

Last updated: April 2026

How Do You Find the Right Insurance for Your Restaurant in Florida?

Restaurant insurance is a combination of commercial coverages designed to protect food service businesses against the specific risks of operating a kitchen, serving the public, employing staff, and in many cases, serving alcohol. It is not a single policy. It is a program built from multiple coverage parts matched to your restaurant's size, menu, and operations.

Restaurants face more insurance risks than almost any other small business. You combine a commercial kitchen with hot oil and open flames, a public dining room where people can slip and fall, alcohol service, a high-turnover workforce, and perishable inventory that one power outage can destroy.

According to NFPA research, U.S. fire departments respond to an average of 7,410 structure fires per year in eating and drinking establishments. Cooking equipment is responsible for 61% of those fires. The accommodation and food services sector also reports one of the highest workplace injury rates of any industry, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

One lawsuit from a customer injury, one grease fire, or one wage and hour claim from a former employee can cost more than your annual revenue. That is not an exaggeration. That is what we see in claims data every year.

Augustyniak Insurance Group is an independent insurance agency in Jacksonville. We do not work for one insurance company. We compare restaurant coverage from carriers including Nationwide, Auto-Owners, and specialized commercial insurers to find the right combination of coverage, price, and claims service for your restaurant.

If you own a restaurant in Florida, you are probably asking:

• How much does restaurant insurance cost?
• Do I need liquor liability if I only serve beer and wine?
• Does my restaurant go on a BOP or a commercial package policy?
• What coverage protects me from employee lawsuits?

This page covers all of it.

Want to skip ahead? Request your free restaurant insurance quote or call (904) 268-3106.

We help restaurant owners across Jacksonville, Mandarin, San Marco, Riverside, the Beaches, Town Center, Orange Park, Fleming Island, Ponte Vedra, Nocatee, St. Augustine, and throughout Florida find the right coverage. Whether you operate in the San Marco dining district, along Beach Boulevard, in Five Points, at the St. Johns Town Center, or in one of the growing restaurant corridors in St. Johns County, we know the local market.

How Much Does Restaurant Insurance Cost in Florida?

Your rate depends on annual revenue, square footage, number of employees, cooking equipment, percentage of alcohol sales, claims history, and building age. A restaurant with deep fryers and a full liquor license is a fundamentally different risk than a sandwich shop with a panini press.

Here is what we typically see by restaurant type in Florida:

Ranges are estimates based on industry data and our commercial book. Your actual premium depends on your specific operations, location, and claims history. Call for an exact quote.

A good rule of thumb: budget 2% to 4% of your annual revenue for insurance. A restaurant doing $500,000 in sales should expect to spend $10,000 to $20,000 on a complete insurance program including workers' comp. The National Restaurant Association projects the industry will reach $1.5 trillion in sales in 2025, but rising insurance premiums remain one of the top fixed-cost challenges for independent operators.

The biggest factors that push restaurant premiums higher: alcohol sales exceeding 35% of total sales (which changes your classification from restaurant to bar/tavern), deep fryers and commercial grills without UL-listed hood suppression systems, late-night hours, delivery operations, and prior claims.

Know the Difference

Does Your Restaurant Need a BOP or a Commercial Package Policy?

This is one of the most important decisions in restaurant insurance. A BOP (Business Owner's Policy) bundles liability and property into one package at a lower cost. A Commercial Package Policy separates those coverages into individual, flexible parts.

Which one your restaurant qualifies for depends mainly on your cooking exposure and alcohol sales.

Feature	BOP	Commercial Package
Best for	Coffee shops, delis, sandwich shops, bakeries, limited cooking	Full-service restaurants, bars, any heavy cooking or high alcohol
Cooking exposure	No deep fryers. Panini press, ovens, soup warmers	Deep fryers, commercial grills, open flame, woks
Alcohol sales	Under 35% of total sales (or none)	Over 35–40% of total sales, full bar, late-night service
Premium auditable?	No. Flat premium. No audit adjustment	Yes. Liability adjusts based on actual payroll or revenue
Cost	Lower. Bundled discount	Higher. More flexible coverage parts
Typical carrier	Nationwide, Bankers, Main Street America	Nationwide, Auto-Owners, specialty markets

The 35% rule. When liquor receipts exceed roughly 35 to 40% of total sales (food plus alcohol), most carriers stop classifying your business as a restaurant and start classifying it as a bar or tavern. That changes your eligibility. You move from a BOP or standard restaurant program to a commercial package policy or a specialized bar/tavern program with different underwriting criteria. Some fine dining programs will allow exceptions, for example, because a restaurant serves very expensive wine or liquor.

What does "auditable" mean? On a commercial package policy, your liability premium is estimated at the start of the year based on projected payroll or revenue. At the end of the policy term, the carrier audits your actual numbers. If your revenue was higher than projected, you owe additional premium. If it was lower, you get a refund. On a non-auditable BOP, your premium is flat. No surprises at year-end. This is one of the biggest practical differences between the two policy types.

UL-listed hood suppression systems matter. Commercial kitchens with deep fryers and grills need UL 300-listed hood systems for grease containment and fire suppression. Without one, many carriers will not write your restaurant at all. If you have one, it can improve your eligibility and your rate.

Which Carriers Do We Use for Restaurant Insurance?

We are not locked into one carrier. As an independent agency, we match your restaurant to the carrier that fits your risk profile, cooking exposure, and alcohol percentage. Two carriers handle the majority of our restaurant business.

We also work with Bankers Insurance and Main Street America, both of which offer BOP programs for qualifying restaurants. For restaurants that do not fit any of these programs, we have access to specialty commercial insurers that write higher-risk operations. We evaluate every restaurant individually.

Does Your Restaurant Need Workers' Compensation in Florida?

Florida law requires workers' compensation insurance for restaurants with four or more employees, including the owner. That is Florida Statute § 440.02. The threshold is different from construction, where coverage is required at just one employee.

But here is what many restaurant owners miss: even if you have fewer than four employees, you are still personally liable for workplace injuries. Workers' comp is not just a compliance checkbox. It is risk transfer.

Restaurant workers' comp rates in Florida for 2026 are $1.16 per $100 of payroll for most restaurants (NCCI class code 9082) and $1.20 for fast food operations (class code 9083), plus a $160 annual expense constant. A restaurant with $400,000 in annual payroll would pay approximately $4,800 per year. Premiums are auditable and adjust at year-end based on actual payroll.

What About Delivery? Three Options for Restaurant Owners

If your restaurant delivers food, your personal auto insurance does not cover it. You have three options:

• Commercial auto insurance.
  If your restaurant owns delivery vehicles, you need a commercial auto policy. This covers the vehicle and liability for accidents during business use.
• Hired and non-owned auto endorsement.
  If employees use their own vehicles for deliveries or supply runs, this endorsement covers your business's liability. It does not cover damage to the employee's vehicle, but it covers you if they cause an accident while working for you.
• Third-party delivery apps.
  Using Uber Eats, DoorDash, or Grubhub transfers much of the delivery liability to the platform. Their drivers are not your employees. This is increasingly how restaurants handle delivery without taking on auto insurance exposure. It is a legitimate risk-transfer strategy.

Restaurant Insurance Questions Florida Owners Ask

Susan Augustyniak, CIC

Vice President, Augustyniak Insurance Group

Certified Insurance Counselor with 25+ years in the industry. Susan has led the Augustyniak Insurance team in Jacksonville since 2005, helping thousands of Florida businesses find the right commercial coverage across multiple carriers. This page was reviewed and updated in April 2026.