Insurance for restaurants
Prepare for the risks behind the dinner rush
Ting Insurance Services LLC is an independent agency that helps California restaurant owners explore available insurance options for their operations.
Tell us about your kitchen, crew and lease, and the insurance questions you want to work through.
Why work with us
- Options explained. We compare available options from the companies we work with and explain the differences. As part of every quote, we review the current policy and coverage documents you provide.
- An insurance check on your lease. We compare the insurance requirements in your lease with your policy documents and endorsements and discuss differences. This is an insurance review, not legal review.
- Help keeping certificates together. We help you collect certificates of insurance from vendors and contractors, including hood cleaners and repair trades, and track the ones we agree to follow up.
- A yearly conversation. We offer a yearly review, not only when you ask for a quote.
- An early start on renewal. We start renewals early. For business renewals, we request loss runs and review those received.
Coverages to review
Start with the work your restaurant does. These are coverage discussions, not a list of everything included in one policy.
- Business owners policy: A BOP combines property, liability and business interruption coverage. Ask whether your restaurant qualifies and which additions it needs.
- General liability: Review covered claims of bodily injury or property damage to others. Discuss customer falls and claims involving food you serve.
- Workers' comp: California employers must have workers' compensation coverage even with one employee. Describe cooking, cleaning, serving and delivery duties.
- Commercial package: Review a combination of selected coverage parts. Ask about property, equipment breakdown and business income, and which losses each part addresses.
- Commercial auto: Delivering meals or catering? Discuss business-owned vehicles, rentals and employees' own cars used for work. Coverage depends on the vehicles and coverage purchased.
Serving alcohol? Ask about adding liquor liability to your restaurant package. Ting Insurance Services LLC can place this coverage as an addition to a regular restaurant package, subject to underwriting and policy terms.
Common risks to reduce
These are actions for you and your staff, with specialist work handled by qualified providers. Our part is the insurance review, not kitchen maintenance or a workplace safety evaluation. A prevention step does not establish coverage for a loss.
Kitchen fires and grease buildup (show details)
Your action: Arrange hood and duct cleaning with a qualified provider and keep service reports together. Confirm the schedule with your local fire authority. Culver City's fire guidance calls for cleaning grease accumulation from exhaust-system components; do not assume one cleaning interval fits every kitchen.
Coverage question: Which building improvements, kitchen equipment and stock are included in property coverage? What business income coverage applies after a covered fire?
Slips and falls during service (show details)
Your action: Train staff to clean spills promptly, mark wet floors and keep walking routes clear. Keep floor mats clean and secured. Cal/OSHA's restaurant guide recommends these steps for workplace slip and fall hazards.
Coverage question: How would the policy address an injured customer versus an injured employee? Discuss general liability and workers' comp separately.
Burns and cuts in the kitchen (show details)
Your action: Train workers in safe knife handling and hot-equipment tasks. Use dry potholders or mitts, and follow equipment safety instructions. Cal/OSHA identifies hot oil, steam, hot surfaces and cutting tools as restaurant injury hazards.
Coverage question: Have you described every employee's duties, including cleaning and delivery work, for the workers' comp review?
Power outages and refrigeration trouble (show details)
Your action: Plan how to keep food cold before an outage. Record food temperatures and when the outage starts; keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible. Use retail-food guidance, and contact your local environmental health agency about safe operation and reopening.
Coverage question: Ask separately about equipment repair, spoiled food and lost income. Would the wording respond to a refrigeration breakdown, an off-site utility outage, or neither? Discuss equipment breakdown and business income without assuming either includes every outage loss.
Alcohol service (show details)
What to have ready
Bring what you have so we can begin the conversation:
- Your current policies and renewal date.
- The lease's insurance requirements, including any additional insured or waiver wording.
- Your menu, cooking methods and hood-cleaning and fire-system service records.
- Equipment and stock values, refrigeration service records and your outage plan.
- Staff duties, payroll information and any delivery or catering vehicle use.
- Alcohol-service details and certificates from vendors or contractors you want help tracking.
These are suggested conversation prompts, not a complete application or a statement of insurer requirements. For the safety records and outage plan, see Culver City Fire Department and CDPH's retail guidance.
Common questions
Is a business owners policy enough for a restaurant? (show answer)
What if a power outage spoils the food? (show answer)
Can you help with the insurance wording in my lease? (show answer)
Can you arrange liquor liability? (show answer)
Let's talk about your restaurant
Bring your coverage questions, lease and current policy. Start with the part of your operation you want to understand better.
Sources (6)
- Commercial Insurance Guide - California Department of Insurance. Accessed Nov 6, 2026. Property, general liability, commercial packages, machinery coverage and business auto. Coverage questions are prompts, not assertions that spoilage or utility interruption is included.
- What does a business owners policy (BOP) cover? - Insurance Information Institute. Accessed Nov 6, 2026. BOP components, business interruption and separate auto/workers' comp coverage.
- Employer information - California DIR, Division of Workers' Compensation. Accessed Nov 6, 2026. California employer coverage requirement and work-related injuries.
- Restaurant Employees Workplace Safety & Health Guide - California DIR / Cal/OSHA. Accessed Nov 6, 2026. Restaurant burns, cuts, safe handling, housekeeping and slip prevention.
- Fire Extinguishing for Commercial Cooking Notes - Culver City Fire Department. Accessed Nov 6, 2026. Local authority guidance on grease accumulation and exhaust-system maintenance. Used for the practical maintenance discussion, not as a statewide cleaning schedule or current code-section claim.
- Guidelines for Food Safety at Retail Establishments During Temporary Power Outages - California Department of Public Health. Accessed Nov 6, 2026. Public copy hosted by Lake County; revised August 31, 2015. Retail-specific preparation, temperature records and local environmental health role.