Third-party bodily injury, third-party property damage, and personal/advertising injury from normal operations. Pays medical costs, legal defense, and settlements. Does not cover alcohol claims, employee injuries, or your own property.
Reviewed by a licensed commercial insurance agent. Last updated .
General liability insurance covers third-party claims from ordinary restaurant operations — a customer slips on a wet floor, gets food poisoning, or has property damaged. It pays medical bills, legal defense, and settlements. Nearly every landlord requires it before leasing, commonly at $1M-per-occurrence and $2M-aggregate limits.
What it covers
Third-party bodily injury, third-party property damage, and personal/advertising injury from normal operations. Pays medical costs, legal defense, and settlements. Does not cover alcohol claims, employee injuries, or your own property.
Who needs it
Effectively every restaurant, cafe, food truck, and caterer. Rarely mandated by statute, but almost always required by the commercial lease and by many vendor and licensing contracts.
Typical cost
Insureon restaurant median is about $141/month (~$1,691/yr); smaller food-and-beverage operations average closer to $44/month (~$525/yr). Urban, high-traffic premises pay more.
Varies by state?
Not materially — rates vary by location, not by statute.
Your landlord, not the state, usually forces it
General liability is rarely required by law, but it is almost always required by your commercial lease. Most landlords will not hand over the keys without a certificate of insurance showing at least $1M per occurrence / $2M aggregate, naming them as an additional insured, and often a waiver of subrogation. Higher-risk concepts may be asked for $3M–$10M.
What it will not pay: the alcohol gap
The most misunderstood point in restaurant insurance: general liability explicitly excludes claims arising from serving or selling alcohol. If you serve so much as beer and wine, a claim from an over-served patron falls to liquor liability, not general liability. Assault and battery can be excluded here too, leaving fight injuries uncovered under either policy without an endorsement.
What owners don’t expect
•General liability is the "GL" half of a BOP — bundling it with property is usually cheaper than buying each alone.
•Food-poisoning claims are generally covered as third-party bodily injury, but check for a foodborne-illness sublimit.
•Landlords typically demand additional-insured status and a certificate before you take possession.
•It does not cover alcohol claims, employee injuries, or damage to your own building and contents.
Common questions
Does general liability cover food poisoning?
Generally yes. A customer’s illness traced to your food is a third-party bodily-injury claim, which is exactly what general liability is designed to handle — covering their medical costs and your legal defense. Confirm your policy has no specific foodborne-illness exclusion or sublimit, because some carriers limit how much they will pay for it.
Foodborne-illness claims are hard to prove but expensive to defend, so the value here is often the defense cost as much as the settlement. Caterers and anyone serving large groups should carry higher limits for this reason.
Is general liability insurance legally required for a restaurant?
Not by most state laws, but practically yes. Nearly all commercial landlords require proof of general liability — commonly $1M per occurrence and $2M aggregate — before they will lease to you, often naming themselves as an additional insured. Liquor licensing and vendor contracts can require it too, so few restaurants operate without it.
Because the requirement comes from your lease rather than a statute, the specific limits are negotiable up to a point — but a landlord asking for $1M/$2M and additional-insured status is standard and reasonable.
How much is general liability insurance for a restaurant?
Restaurant owners pay a median of about $141 per month, or roughly $1,691 a year, according to Insureon’s restaurant cost data updated in October 2024. Smaller food-and-beverage operations average closer to $44 per month. Urban, high-traffic locations and higher liability limits push the number up from there.
General liability is usually cheaper bought inside a business owner’s policy alongside property coverage than as a standalone policy, which is why most restaurants start with a BOP.
Does general liability cover alcohol-related incidents?
No. General liability specifically excludes claims arising from serving or selling alcohol. If an over-served patron injures someone, that claim falls to a separate liquor liability policy, not general liability. This exclusion is the single most misunderstood gap in restaurant insurance, and it applies even if you only serve beer and wine.
The practical takeaway: a restaurant that serves any alcohol needs both policies. General liability handles the slip-and-fall; liquor liability handles the over-service claim.
Cost examples are illustrative national figures gathered from public filings and industry surveys. They are not quotes. Your actual premium depends on your state, carrier, revenue, payroll, location, and coverage selections. Restaurant Insurance Authority is an insurance marketing and referral service, not an insurer or licensed agency. We connect business owners with licensed independent commercial-lines agents who specialize in food and beverage. Questions? Call (855) 480-1410.
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