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Ohio Restaurant Insurance: For the kitchen, the dining room and the bar.

Coverage for restaurants, cafes and bars, from the walk-in cooler to the delivery driver. We're an independent agency, so we compare several carriers and explain every piece.

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The Quick Answer

Most Ohio restaurants start with a Business Owners Policy (BOP) or a property and liability package, then add what a kitchen needs: food spoilage, equipment breakdown and business income if a covered loss closes the doors. General liability helps with guest injuries like a slip and fall. If you serve alcohol, liquor liability coverage matters, because Ohio has a dram-shop law. Delivery drivers using their own cars bring in hired and non-owned auto, and card payments bring in cyber liability. Add EPLI for your staff and workers' comp through the Ohio BWC. eGoodwin Insurance is an independent agency in Marion and Powell that compares multiple insurance companies. Call (740) 387-8335.

Start with: A BOP, plus kitchen add-ons
Serve alcohol?: Ask about liquor liability
Ohio workers' comp: Through the Ohio BWC
Call first: (740) 387-8335

Ohio Restaurant Insurance, The Short Version

A lot can go wrong between the walk-in and the front door. Cover the parts that matter.

A coffee shop in Powell, a family diner in Marion, a pizza place in Westerville that runs its own delivery and a bar in Delaware all need different things. What they share is a kitchen full of expensive equipment, food that spoils when the power goes out, guests on the floor every day and a team that turns over faster than most businesses.

We're an independent agency, which means we represent multiple insurance companies. We shop your coverage across several carriers, compare what comes back, and explain it in plain English. In Mark's words, we help you buy insurance rather than sell it to you. Mark Goodwin has been a licensed insurance professional since 1990, and our offices in Marion and Powell work with restaurants across Ohio.

Most restaurants start with a Business Owners Policy, which packages general liability, property and business income. Then come the add-ons a kitchen needs: food spoilage for inventory lost to a power outage or a failed cooler, and equipment breakdown for the compressors, ovens and fryers a standard property policy may not cover when they fail on their own.

If you serve beer, wine or liquor, liquor liability coverage matters. Ohio has a dram-shop law, and many general liability policies limit or exclude liquor claims for businesses that sell alcohol. Delivery, card payments and staff each bring their own exposures, and we'll walk through them below. Nothing on this page is legal advice.

What a restaurant actually needs. In the order it matters.

Start with the package, then add what your kitchen, your bar, your delivery and your payments call for.

Start here

BOP

Business Owners Policy & Property

Bundles general liability, property and business income for many restaurants and cafes. Property covers your building or leasehold improvements, furniture, kitchen equipment and inventory. Some larger or higher-risk restaurants are written on a separate package instead.

Core

Liability

General Liability

Helps with guest injuries like a slip and fall on a wet floor, plus defense costs. Landlords and shopping centers usually ask for a certificate. Foodborne illness claims are often handled under products liability, so we'll check how your policy treats them.

Kitchen

Spoilage

Food Spoilage

A power outage or a failed walk-in can wipe out a full inventory overnight. Food spoilage coverage can help replace it, depending on the cause and the policy. Limits are often small by default, so check yours against what you actually keep on hand.

Kitchen

Breakdown

Equipment Breakdown

Covers sudden mechanical or electrical breakdown of equipment like compressors, ovens, fryers and HVAC, which standard property coverage typically excludes. It may also help with the income lost while the equipment is repaired.

Downtime

Income

Business Income

Helps pay rent, payroll and lost profit while you're closed after a covered loss, like a kitchen fire or storm damage. In Ohio, plan for spring and summer storms, hail and straight-line winds, and winter pipe freezes.

Serve alcohol?

Liquor

Liquor Liability

Ohio has a dram-shop law, so liquor liability coverage matters for Ohio restaurants and bars that serve alcohol. It can help with claims tied to a guest who was served and later caused injury or damage. Many general liability policies limit or exclude these claims.

Delivery

Auto

Hired & Non-Owned Auto

If drivers deliver in their own cars, their accident on your errand can become your claim. Hired and non-owned auto can help protect the business. Restaurant-owned delivery vehicles need commercial auto.

Card payments

Cyber

Cyber Liability

Card payments, online ordering and point-of-sale systems all carry breach risk. Cyber liability can help with forensic work, customer notification and legal costs after a breach, depending on the policy.

Your team

EPLI

Employment Practices Liability

Restaurants hire often and have high turnover, which can mean more employment claims like wrongful termination, discrimination and harassment. EPLI is worth a conversation for most restaurant owners.

Ohio rule

BWC

Workers' Comp Through the BWC

Ohio is a monopolistic state, so workers' comp comes through the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC), not private carriers. We help you coordinate and review it, and look at stop-gap employer's liability for what BWC doesn't cover.

Serve alcohol? Check your liquor liability.

Many general liability policies limit or exclude liquor claims. Fifteen minutes on your menu, your bar and your hours, and we'll shop it across several carriers. Free, no pressure.

Check My Coverage Call (740) 387-8335

Liquor, Delivery & Payments

The three exposures restaurants miss most.

A BOP handles a lot, but these three often need separate attention. It's general information, not legal advice.

Liquor liability

Ohio has a dram-shop law, so liquor liability coverage matters for Ohio restaurants and bars that serve alcohol. It can help with claims tied to a guest who was served and later hurt someone or damaged property. Many general liability policies limit or exclude liquor claims for businesses that sell alcohol, so a separate liquor liability policy or endorsement is common. Your carrier will usually ask what share of your sales comes from alcohol, your hours, and whether you have entertainment or late-night service. Server training is good practice, and some carriers ask about it.

Delivery drivers

If your drivers use their own cars, their personal auto policy may not cover business use. If they're in an accident on a delivery, the injured person may come after the restaurant. Hired and non-owned auto coverage can help protect the business in that situation. If the restaurant owns its delivery vehicles, those need commercial auto. Third-party delivery apps have their own arrangements, so tell us how your delivery actually works.

Card payments and online ordering

Every card swipe, online order and loyalty program holds customer data. A breach can bring forensic investigation, customer notification, legal help and card-brand costs, depending on the policy. Cyber liability can help pay for many of those costs. It doesn't replace good security practices, and what it covers varies by policy, so we'll go through it with you.

Restaurants we work with. From the corner cafe to the full bar.

The right program depends on what you serve and how you serve it. Here's where we spend most of our time with Ohio restaurant owners.

Cafes & coffee shops

Smaller kitchens, early hours and steady foot traffic. A BOP is usually the core, with spoilage and equipment breakdown for espresso machines and coolers.

Family & casual dining

Full kitchens and full dining rooms. Property, liability, spoilage, equipment breakdown and business income, plus EPLI for a bigger team.

Bars & taverns

Alcohol is the main exposure. Liquor liability matters, and we check how your general liability policy treats assault and liquor-related claims.

Pizza & delivery

Drivers on the road every night. Hired and non-owned auto for employees in their own cars, commercial auto for owned vehicles, and cyber for online orders.

Food trucks & catering

Equipment that moves and events at other people's venues. Commercial auto, liability with certificates for event hosts, and coverage for gear off-site.

Multi-location owners

Two or more locations across Marion, Delaware and Franklin counties. We look at whether one combined program makes more sense than separate policies.

Lose power last storm season?

Spring and summer storms, hail and straight-line winds can knock out power and coolers at once. Check your food spoilage limit and business income coverage before the next storm. Free review.

Review My Policy Call (740) 387-8335

How we help restaurant owners. Without slowing down service.

We shop several carriers

We're an independent agency, so we represent multiple insurance companies and compare what comes back instead of offering one company's policy. We work for you, not an insurance company.

We fit coverage to your menu

Alcohol or no alcohol, delivery or dine-in, one location or several. We build the program around how your restaurant actually runs and explain what each piece does.

We handle certificates fast

Landlords, shopping centers and event hosts ask for proof of coverage. Send requests through our service center or call, and we'll work to turn them around quickly.

We review it as you grow

New locations, a liquor license, catering, delivery or a bigger team. We review your program as your business and the insurance market change, from the first quote through every renewal.

Ohio restaurant insurance questions. Straight answers.

What insurance does a restaurant need in Ohio?

Most restaurants start with a Business Owners Policy or a property and general liability package, then add food spoilage, equipment breakdown and business income.

If you serve alcohol, liquor liability matters. If you deliver, look at hired and non-owned auto. If you take cards, consider cyber liability. And if you have staff, workers' comp comes through the Ohio BWC and EPLI is worth a conversation.

Do I need liquor liability insurance in Ohio?

If you serve alcohol, it's worth having. Ohio has a dram-shop law, so liquor liability coverage matters for Ohio restaurants and bars that serve alcohol.

Many general liability policies limit or exclude liquor claims for businesses that sell alcohol, so a separate policy or endorsement is common. This is general information, not legal advice.

Does my policy cover food lost in a power outage?

It may, if you have food spoilage coverage and the cause is covered. Some policies cover spoilage from a utility outage, some only from equipment breakdown at your location, and limits are often small by default.

Check your spoilage limit against what you actually keep in the walk-in and freezers. We'll compare how each carrier handles it.

What is equipment breakdown coverage?

It covers sudden mechanical or electrical breakdown of equipment like compressors, ovens, fryers and HVAC systems. Standard property coverage typically excludes breakdown that isn't caused by something like fire or wind.

It may also help with business income and spoilage tied to the breakdown, depending on the policy.

My delivery drivers use their own cars. Am I covered?

Not automatically. A driver's personal auto policy may not cover business use, and the injured party may look to the restaurant after an accident on a delivery.

Hired and non-owned auto coverage can help protect the business. Restaurant-owned delivery vehicles need commercial auto. Tell us how your delivery works and we'll check the gaps.

Does general liability cover a customer who slips and falls?

Typically, yes. General liability helps with guest injuries on your premises, like a slip on a wet floor, plus defense costs, up to your limits.

It doesn't cover your employees' injuries. In Ohio those go through the BWC.

Do I need cyber insurance if I just take card payments?

If you take cards, run online ordering or keep customer data in a point-of-sale system, you have cyber exposure.

Cyber liability can help with forensic investigation, customer notification and legal costs after a breach, depending on the policy. It doesn't replace good security practices, and coverage varies by policy.

How does workers' comp work for my Ohio crew or staff?

Ohio is a monopolistic workers' comp state. Employers get workers' comp coverage through the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC), not from private insurance companies, so we don't sell a private comp policy for your Ohio operations.

What we do is help you coordinate and review your BWC coverage alongside the rest of your program, and look at stop-gap employer's liability, which is often added to a business policy to help with lawsuits over employee injuries that fall outside the BWC system. This is general information, not legal advice.

How much does restaurant insurance cost?

It ranges too widely for one honest number. A small coffee shop and a full-service restaurant with a bar and delivery are very different risks.

Your sales, alcohol share, building, equipment, payroll, delivery setup and claims history all move the price. Because we're an independent agency, we shop your coverage across several carriers and compare.

Still have questions? Call (740) 387-8335. We'll give you a straight answer.