Hard Insurance Market Presents New Challenge to Restaurants

3 Min Read By Paul DiBenedetto

There’s a glimmer of light at the end of the pandemic tunnel for the U.S. restaurant industry as COVID-19 vaccination rates grow and new virus cases and related deaths continue to decline. The economy is recovering and the doors are opening for more than just fast food and take-out and delivery.

But the recovery won’t be easy. Restaurants are coming back saddled with a lot of risks in an insurance market that’s the hardest it’s been in over 20 years. A hard market is one where premiums escalate and the carriers’ have significantly reduced capacity to cover greater loss limits. It’s created an environment where insurance premiums on some lines are doubling (or more) if coverage is available at all.

Insurance Pressures Facing Restaurateurs The hospitality industry in general was hit badly by the pandemic lockdown. For the lodging sector, for example, the culmination of massive losses from unprecedented acts of God (fires, floods and winds) and man (active shooter…