Liquor Liability Insurance for Your Business
Essential insurance protection for bars, restaurants, and more.
Protect Your Business From Liability Lawsuits
If your business profits from the sale of alcohol, you’ll need liquor liability insurance to operate with peace of mind. These policies protect you from paying legal fees, settlements, and medical bills associated with bodily injury or property damage caused by an intoxicated person who was served alcohol by your business.
Intoxicated customers are a liability for personal injuries or property damage
Protect your business from legal fees, settlements, medical bills
Get coverage for bar fights, property damage, injuries, and driving under the influence
If you are selling or serving alcohol, your commercial general liability insurance will exclude injury and property damage caused by an intoxicated person. Businesses that will need liquor liability coverage include:
Restaurants
Wineries and breweries
Bars and taverns
Caterers
Grocery stores
Liquor stores
Alcohol Consumption Means Liability Risk
Liquor liability insurance is also known as “dram shop” insurance because it was developed to counter dram shop laws. These laws are named after establishments in 18th century England that served gin by the spoonful or “dram.”
Dram shop laws in more than 40 states hold businesses liable for the actions of intoxicated customers who were served or sold alcohol at their establishment. This means a third-party victim can sue the intoxicated person and the business that served them.
Consider if you were a bar owner and several drunk patrons broke into a fight following a particularly tense sporting event. One man suffers a broken nose and fractured collarbone from the incident and sues the perpetrator and your business for damages. Regardless of whether the court determines you overserved a clearly intoxicated person, expensive legal fees could harm your business.
Liquor liability insurance covers any legal costs, settlements, and medical fees you may be liable to pay.