Hospitality Insurance

Hospitality Insurance

Protect your hospitality business with a comprehensive policy quickly and easily and focus on wowing your guests!

Zensurance - Hospitality Business Owner

Partnerships with over 50 leading Canadian insurance providers

Partnerships with over 50 leading Canadian insurance providers

Hospitality Worker

Insurance for hospitality industry

As a small business owner in the hospitality industry, you specialize in creating memorable, delightful experiences for your guests. After all, their comfort, pleasure, and satisfaction are always top priorities. However, no hospitality business is immune to accidents, losses, damages resulting from extreme weather, or third-party lawsuits. Get an extensive insurance policy to serve as the backbone of your risk management strategy and protect your reputation and assets.

From hotels, bed and breakfasts, and restaurants to spas, gift shops, and golf courses, hospitality insurance is a customized policy consisting of various coverages to protect your business from financial losses and damages. 

An insurance policy from Zensurance includes protection for the full spectrum of exposures hospitality businesses face. Our licensed brokers work closely with our clients to understand their concerns, answer their questions, and shop our partner network of over 50 insurance providers to get them the coverage they need.

  • Commercial General Liability (CGL) Insurance: CGL covers third-party claims or lawsuits alleging bodily injury or property damage. For example, if a guest trips, falls, and is injured while on your premises, CGL is designed to pay for their medical expenses.

CGL may include product liability insurance to cover any product you manufacture, distribute, or sell, including food. If your establishment serves alcohol, you will also need liquor liability insurance. You can be held liable for damages and injuries caused by one of your customers if it’s determined the amount of alcohol they consumed at your venue was a contributing factor.

  • Commercial Property Insurance: Commercial property provides financial support to pay for losses or damages to your property because of extreme weather, fire, flood, theft, or vandalism. It also pays to repair or replace your inventory, furnishings, and electronics. Commercial property insurance may also include business interruption coverage to replace lost net income and cover your overhead expenses following a property-related loss.
  • Equipment Breakdown Insurance: If you own expensive electrical or mechanical equipment, this type of coverage pays to repair or replace it if damaged by power surges, electrical shorts, or mechanical malfunctions. It applies to a broad range of office equipment like computers and photocopiers as well as your building’s HVAC system, and any freezers, fridges, and kitchen appliances you have. You must have commercial property insurance to add this protection to your policy.
  • Cyber Liability Insurance: No doubt your business has a website, a point-of-sale terminal, or accepts debit and credit card payments from your guests. Cyber liability covers you for costs associated with cybercrime, such as a data breach that exposes your customers’ private and financial data or if your business falls victim to a cyber-attack, such as a ransomware or phishing attack.
  • Commercial Crime Insurance: Unfortunately, internal theft happens and more than you might think. Commercial crime insurance protects you against internal theft, fraud, and acts of employee dishonesty. It also covers the theft of money in transit outside of your business if stolen while making a bank deposit, for example. You must have commercial property insurance to include this coverage in your policy.
  • Commercial Auto Insurance: If your company has one or more vehicles, or if you use your vehicle for business purposes, you need commercial auto coverage in your policy. Most personal car insurance policies do not cover damages or collisions that occur to you if you use your vehicle for work, including part-time side jobs like food delivery.
  • Legal Expense Insurance: Legal expense insurance is significantly cheaper than the cost to hire and retain a lawyer. It includes coverage to get legal advice or hire an experienced lawyer for help with various issues such as employment or contract disputes, debt recovery, and taxation audits. Adding this coverage to your overall policy is wise if you do not have a legal team or occasionally require legal support.
  • Event Liability Insurance: Hospitality businesses may host, organize, or participate in various public events, like a small business expo or community festival. If your business does, adding temporary special event liability insurance to your policy is recommended to cover third-party bodily injury and third-party property damage exposures you face at events held off your premises. For instance, if an attendee of a corporate event where you’re exhibiting trips over an exposed cable at your booth and is injured, you may be liable for the injuries they suffer. Event liability insurance is designed to cover an injured person’s medical expenses and potential legal claims arising from your participation at that event.

What the annual cost of a hospitality insurance policy is for your business depends on several factors insurance providers consider, including: 

  • The type of business and the products and services you offer
  • Your business’s location
  • Your years of experience as a business owner
  • How many people you employ
  • Your annual and projected gross revenue
  • Your insurance claim history

Every business in the hospitality industry should protect their reputation, assets, and finances with a comprehensive hospitality insurance policy, including: 

  • Art galleries and museums
  • Bars, pubs, and lounges
  • Bed and breakfasts
  • Billiard halls
  • Bowling alleys
  • Cabins and cottages
  • Cafes, cafeterias, and restaurants
  • Campgrounds
  • Caterers
  • Concession stands
  • Delis
  • Dinner theatres
  • Gift shops and retail stores
  • Golf courses
  • Hotels, motels, and inns
  • Mixed-use recreational facilities
  • Music clubs and venues
  • Spas and salons
  • Ski resorts

Getting insured is quick and easy!

Complete our 5-minute online application for a free hospitality business insurance quote.

Common claims scenarios

Commercial Insurance Canada Scenario

Problem: A sudden, violent wind and rainstorm descends on your gift shop and inflicts heavy structural damage to the roof that causes interior water damage. You are forced to close your business until repairs to the building are complete.

Outcome: Your commercial property insurance may pay for the repairs to your building, and the business interruption component of it may cover the net income you lose and overhead costs while repairs are underway.

Beauty Insurance

Problem: After eating a prepared salami sandwich at your deli, a customer suffers from food poisoning and seeks medical treatment. They subsequently sue you for damages.

Outcome: Your commercial general liability insurance may pay for your legal fees and court-ordered settlement, while your product liability coverage may reimburse the customer for their medical expenses.

Commercial Insurance for Contractors

Problem: Your inn’s central air conditioning system conks out because of a sudden mechanical malfunction in the middle of the summer season.

Outcome: Your equipment breakdown insurance may pay for the repairs to your building’s HVAC system.

Frequently asked questions

Will my hospitality insurance policy cover me if one of my employees falls for a phishing attack via email?

Provided you have cyber liability protection as part of your overall policy it will. You can prevent that from happening, however, by training your employees on how to spot and stop any kind of phishing attack.

Will a commercial auto policy cover me if my business’s cargo van is damaged in a collision?

If you include optional collision or upset coverage as part of a basic commercial auto policy, yes, you are covered for damage or loss of your van if it’s determined you are at fault for the accident. Without collision coverage, you are responsible to pay for damages to your vehicle in an at fault accident. If you are partially at fault or not at fault for a collision with another vehicle, the direct compensation-property damage (DCPD) portion of a basic commercial auto policy is designed to cover the cost of damages.

What coverage limit is best for commercial general liability coverage?

The amount of coverage you require for your policy depends upon what your business does and how much risk you face. You can choose between $1 million and $2 million worth of coverage for general liability. Most hospitality businesses err on the side of caution and select a $2 million coverage limit.

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You’re in the business of delivering world-class customer service that delights your guests and delivers what they want.  So are we! 

Getting the coverage you need to help your hospitality business thrive and grow is easy with Zensurance.  Start your hospitality insurance application to get a free quote.