Owning a tavern can be an extremely rewarding experience. Tavern owners get to know their community in the context of their leisure time, when they are happy, relaxed, or celebrating a special occasion.
However any business that serves alcohol exposes themselves to a high degree of risk, and unfortunately this means higher insurance premiums.
Tavern insurance must cover a range of possible risks. The first form of insurance you will need is common to all customer serving businesses, and that’s general liability insurance. General liability insurance covers the possibility of an injury or damage to property on your premises. When people are drinking alcohol, accidents like falls become a lot more common.
A more specific kind of tavern insurance is dram shop insurance. Dram shop insurance does not apply to every state, for example in Maryland, Kansas and Nebraska there are no dram shop laws. Some states do not have dram shop laws but customers are protected in a similar manner as if there were, for example Hawaii or Washington. Illinois was the first state to introduce dram shop laws in the nineteenth century. If your tavern is in Illinois or Wisconsin you will definitely need dram shop insurance.
Dram shop laws hold the tavern owners responsible for the destructive activities of their clients if they have been served alcohol while already drunk or if they are minors. These cases typically involve drunk driving, destruction of property and assault, and as such can involve millions of dollars in damages.
Tavern owners can reduce their tavern insurance premiums by taking steps to reduce risk. These steps might include closing earlier, promoting designated driver schemes, and training staff to deal with intoxicated customers.
Another factor to consider when applying for tavern insurance is what proportion of your income comes from alcohol sales. The more your business depends on alcohol the higher your premiums are going to be. For this reason some tavern owners make an effort to offer other services such as food or games.
For many being a tavern owner provides years of happiness and prosperity, don’t let accidents ruin your business, secure peace of mind by getting the right tavern insurance.
