Restaurants, Cafes & Bars
Restaurant Insurance
Insurance for the kitchens, dining rooms, and bars that feed and serve Alberta.
Restaurant insurance is a package built for food and drink businesses: commercial general liability for a customer who is hurt or made ill, liquor liability if you are licensed to serve alcohol, property coverage for your build-out and kitchen, business interruption when the doors close, equipment breakdown and spoilage when the refrigeration fails, and cyber protection for the payment and customer data you hold. A busy kitchen, an open dining room, hot equipment, and, for many, a liquor licence, put a lot of exposure under one roof. Cafe, family restaurant, fine dining, pub, or bar, the right program protects the space, the income, and the people you serve. Velocity builds these programs for restaurants across Alberta, sized to how your business actually runs.
The Exposure
Risks you face.
A restaurant concentrates the public, open flame, refrigeration, and, often, alcohol in one space. Each is a different kind of exposure.
A customer injured on your premises
Wet floors, crowded dining rooms, patios, and stairs are constant sources of slip-and-fall claims. Even a minor injury can mean thousands in legal defence before any settlement, and it is what general liability is built to answer.
Food-borne illness and a product you served
A customer who becomes ill, or an allergic reaction to an ingredient, can name the restaurant. This product and food liability exposure is generally covered within your general liability policy, and it is one reason that coverage is the foundation of every restaurant program.
Serving alcohol, and liquor liability
If you are licensed to serve alcohol, your business can be held responsible for injury or damage caused by a patron who was over-served. Liquor liability responds to that exposure, and Alberta expects your servers to be ProServe-trained.
Fire, water, and damage to your build-out
Commercial kitchens are a leading source of fire, and a burst pipe or a fire next door can close you for weeks. The build-out, kitchen equipment, and contents you have invested in are all exposed.
Equipment failure and spoiled stock
A walk-in cooler or freezer that suffers a sudden and unexpected breakdown can spoil a room full of stock overnight and stop service. That internal failure is left out of a standard property policy and needs equipment breakdown coverage.
Lost income after a shutdown, and cyber
When a covered loss closes the doors, the rent, payroll, and supplier bills keep coming. And your point-of-sale, online ordering, and reservation systems hold payment and customer data governed by Alberta’s PIPA, so a breach carries a duty to notify.
The Protection
Coverages we recommend.
Commercial General Liability
Can cover injury or property damage to a customer or member of the public, including a slip on your floor and illness or a reaction tied to the food you served. In today’s climate $2 million is the standard minimum limit, and it is the non-negotiable foundation of every restaurant policy.
Liquor Liability
For licensed premises, this responds when your business is held responsible for injury or damage caused by a patron who was over-served. Essential for any restaurant, pub, or bar that holds an AGLC licence.
Commercial Property
Can protect your build-out, kitchen equipment, furniture, and stock against fire, water, theft, and vandalism. Insure to the right value so co-insurance does not reduce a claim.
Business Interruption
Can replace lost income and cover rent, payroll, and ongoing expenses if a covered loss closes the restaurant. Critical for a single-location operation with thin margins.
Equipment Breakdown
Can cover the sudden and unexpected failure of refrigeration, cooking equipment, and building systems, and the spoiled stock and lost income that follow, which a standard property policy leaves out.
Crime & Cyber
Crime coverage responds to employee theft, robbery, and fraud, while cyber covers a breach of the payment and customer data in your point-of-sale and booking systems, including the notification Alberta’s PIPA requires.
Coverages shown are general examples, not a description of any specific policy. Policy coverages widely vary and should be confirmed with your broker.
How your coverage fits Alberta’s rules
Running a restaurant in Alberta means meeting rules that insurance does not replace. Your kitchen needs a food-establishment permit and is inspected by Alberta Health Services under the Public Health Act and the Food Regulation, and most cities also require a municipal business licence. If you serve alcohol, you need a licence from Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis, and your servers are expected to hold ProServe certification, both of which sit behind your liquor liability coverage. And because your point-of-sale and reservation systems hold customer and payment data, Alberta’s Personal Information Protection Act sets out what you must do, including notifying the Privacy Commissioner, if that information is breached. We build your program to sit alongside all of it.
Why restaurants choose Velocity
We work with cafes, family restaurants, fine dining rooms, pubs, and bars, and we know where the risk actually sits: the liquor licence, the kitchen fire and refrigeration exposure, the thin margins that make business interruption matter, and the data your systems hold. We size the program to how you operate, whether you serve alcohol or not, and we issue the certificates a landlord or supplier asks for without delay.
How Pricing Works
What drives your premium
- Whether you serve alcoholA licensed restaurant, pub, or bar carries liquor liability exposure that a dry cafe does not, and the share of your sales that comes from alcohol is one of the biggest drivers of price.
- Type of food and cookingDeep frying, open flame, and high-volume kitchens carry more fire risk than a cafe or a cold-prep menu, so what and how you cook affects the premium.
- Annual revenue & seatingHigher sales, more seats, and patios mean more customers and more exposure, so your volume is a core input the insurer prices against.
- Your build-out & kitchen equipmentThe value of your leasehold improvements, kitchen equipment, and contents sets the property side of the premium, and it needs to reflect what you have actually invested.
- Location & hoursThe building, the neighbourhood, late-night hours, and local hazards like hail all factor into both liability and property pricing across Alberta.
- Fire protection & safetyA maintained hood-and-duct suppression system, regular cleaning, alarm monitoring, and ProServe-trained staff all reduce risk and can bring the premium down.
- Claims history, limits & deductiblesA clean record lowers your price while past injury, liquor, fire, or theft claims raise it, and higher limits cost more where a higher deductible lowers the premium but raises your share of a claim.
Common Questions
Questions ownersactually ask.
Do I need liquor liability if my restaurant serves alcohol?
Yes. If you hold an AGLC licence, your business can be held responsible for injury or damage caused by a patron who was over-served, and liquor liability is the coverage that responds. Alberta also expects your serving staff to be ProServe-trained. We make sure the coverage matches your licence and how you serve.
Is a customer getting sick from my food covered?
That is a food and product liability claim, and it is generally covered within your commercial general liability policy. It responds when a customer becomes ill or has a reaction tied to the food you served. Good food-safety practices and Alberta Health Services compliance reduce the risk, but the coverage is there for when a claim still comes.
What happens if my walk-in cooler breaks down and I lose all my stock?
If the cooler suffers a sudden and unexpected breakdown, equipment breakdown coverage can pay for the spoiled stock and the income you lose while it is down. That internal failure is specifically left out of a standard property policy, which is the gap this coverage fills. It does not cover a unit that simply wears out, so maintenance still matters.
How much general liability coverage should a restaurant carry?
In today’s climate, $2 million is widely regarded as the standard minimum for any one claim, and many landlords and suppliers ask for at least that. Busier rooms, patios, and licensed premises may warrant more. We match the limit to your operation and the agreements you work under.
Do I need a business licence and permits to open a restaurant in Alberta?
Yes. You need a food-establishment permit and are inspected by Alberta Health Services, most cities require a municipal business licence, and serving alcohol requires an AGLC licence. These are separate from insurance, but they shape the coverage you need, and we build the program to line up with them.
Does insurance cover a kitchen fire?
Fire is a covered cause under most commercial property policies, and commercial kitchens are a leading source of it. What matters is that your build-out, equipment, and contents are insured to the right value, that you carry business interruption for the closure that follows, and that your suppression system and cleaning are maintained. We review all of it with you.
Built for the kitchen,the dining room, and the bar.
Tell us what you serve and whether you hold a liquor licence, and we’ll size coverage to your kitchen, your dining room, and the way you operate. Most restaurants are bound within a few business days.
Not ready to switch? Book a 15-minute coverage review instead