# General business liability insurance



## jewelsandaj (May 6, 2011)

Greetings Fellow Foodies and Chefs!

I am in the process of opening a new catering/private chef business and I am looking for Names of reliable, yet

affordable companies that offer General Business Liability Insurance or other insurance suitable for this type of

company.  Any specific info or names you could offer would be greatly appreciated. 

Many thanks!
Jewels


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

I have had Travelers for years.

If you are just starting out small, I;ve heard the Hartford is good.

Insurance is a wonderful thing to have unless you need it:>D

pan


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## petemccracken (Sep 18, 2008)

IMHO, the company is far less important than obtaining the coverage you need and the needs for a caterer are far different than the needs of a private chef.

You need to find a broker/rep that understands your business(es) and the potential liabilities that you might face and then find one or more companies to underwrite those particular potential liabilities.

A "general business liability" policy may not offer you the protection you actually need.


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## jewelsandaj (May 6, 2011)

Thanks to you both! I'll check out Hartford and Travelers. 

Pete, if GBL is not potentially right for catering or personal chef, which type of insurance do you recommend?

Jewels


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

Jewels,

Chef Pete is right about getting an agent/rep. It's been so long for me I forgot I did just that. The rep. will sit down

with you and see what your needs are. Then he/she will shop it around for the best premium.

Some of the properties that we deliver wedding cakes to require 4 mil liability. Don't let the #'s scare you, it's not that expensive. I also carry a lot of spoilage. In case the power go out or something and I lose product.

hth

pan


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## petemccracken (Sep 18, 2008)

jewelsandaj said:


> Thanks to you both! I'll check out Hartford and Travelers.
> 
> Pete, if GBL is not potentially right for catering or personal chef, which type of insurance do you recommend?
> 
> Jewels


Ah, GBL is the category you're looking for, the devil is in the details!

General is just that, GENERAL. It covers everything that might go wrong!

First, understand I am NOT an insurance broker nor am I trained in insurance in any way. I have owned my own businesses for the past, um, 40 or so years.

You need to look at questions such as:

Do you have, or expect to have, employees driving company owned vehicles? Oh, then you need vehicle liability insurance for employee driver(s)
Do you serve alcohol?
Do you need "water damage" coverage?
What about "fire and extended coverage"?
Oh yes, what about theft, especially for caterers, by employees, or someone else that you have to defend.
Suppose an employee engages in an illegal activity while on a job, say selling drugs, are you covered and to what extent?
and the list goes on, and on, and on...
Insurance should cover you for not only your normal activities, but also unexpected and unplanned events and it is unique to your business, IMHO.

I carry "Personal Chef liability insurance" from The Hartford (in the neighborhood of $500/year), It is NOT the same as a restaurant liability insurance (varies, but starts around
$1,200/year and goes up) (I know this because I've had both) nor a caterer's liability insurance (really varies, depends on on-site or off-site, you may need additional insured certificates for actual events) (again, I've had both) but I can obtain a "rider" for special catering events if I need to.

IMHO, there is NO "cookie cutter" GBL policy that will protect YOU, you have to customize it for your business, that's why there are brokers, find one that specializes in your area of business and treat them like your attorney, accountant, doctor, or most trusted friend.


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## brian964 (May 7, 2011)

There is no company that offers the best deal for every person. You have to get quotes from different companies online and see which companies can provide you with the best price: http://www.quotes-center.com/business-insurance-quotes.html


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## jewelsandaj (May 6, 2011)

Hi All, 

Thanks so much for the advice! I will be looking into all your leads and suggestions.

Happy Cooking!

Jewels


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## tastycreations (Oct 19, 2012)

I found that Wells Fargo is a option to I am not sure of the details of what all is covered and as PeteMcCracken said the devil is in the fine print, but I bank with Wells Fargo only Personally as of now I am doing research on banks, insurance, and alot of other things. but Travelrs, and Hartford are advertised very well to small to large corporations.......


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