If you enjoy cooking for a crowd in a public setting, food trucks are the way to go. You can earn money at fairs, street fests, concerts, athletic events and other venues, in addition to serving lunchtime crowds in commercial areas.
When you operate a food truck, you do the driving, the cooking and the cleaning, and you manage all of the equipment and paperwork. That includes making sure you have the proper insurance coverage.
Business, auto, and kitchen all rolled into one
Since you operate a truck and serve food, you'll need some specific coverages to run your business without putting yourself or the public at risk.
Commercial auto insurance
First, you'll need commercial auto liability insurance for any damage or injury you cause to others while driving the truck. Since food trucks operate in crowded areas there is a risk of someone or something being inadvertently hit by your truck.
Commercial auto policies include optional coverage for physical damage to the truck and any equipment permanently installed in it, as well as fires, theft and vandalism. Your lender will most likely require this coverage if you have to borrow money to purchase the vehicle.
General liability insurance
As for preparing and serving food, you'll need general liability (GL) insurance (distinct from your auto liability insurance). A GL policy will cover your legal defense and any damages assessed against you for injuries caused by fires, hot oil, electric shocks or any other part of the food delivery process. The policy may also cover you for claims that your food made someone sick, but you should double-check with your insurance professional about the limits of coverage. Municipal business ordinances and health codes will most likely require this coverage.
Other policies, such as workers' compensation and environmental liability, may be required as well. Check with your insurance professional about state and local insurance requirements.
Commercial property insurance
You will need commercial property insurance for your equipment, food stocks and other business property (paper goods, utensils, cleaners, signs, awnings, etc.) not permanently attached to the vehicle. This coverage is usually bundled with a GL policy, but you may choose to do without it if you are willing to pay for those losses out of pocket.
Equipment breakdown insurance
You should consider insurance for equipment breakdown. While commercial property insurance pays for losses to your property from outside perils (fires, wind, theft, etc.), it does not cover losses to equipment that arise from accidents or malfunctions within them. For that, you may need equipment breakdown coverage, which would protect you from the economic consequences of a breakdown. You might want to toss food spoilage onto the insurance grill, too. (If your fridge malfunctions, you could be stuck replacing the food on your own.)
Commercial property and equipment breakdown policies provide options for covering lost income and extra expenses if your property is damaged or you are barred from operating in the wake of a weather disaster or violent event.
Cyber insurance
You're probably using a mobile point-of-sale system that takes customer payments, collects data or sends receipts — and that means you're transacting personally identifiable information. If your system gets hacked, you could be liable. Check with your insurance pro about the coverage and limits on your GL policy.
Speak to your insurance professional for custom coverage
Food trucks are becoming more and more popular. Unless your food truck has an unusual level of risk, you should have no trouble finding an insurance policy that can be customized just for your kind of mobile food business.
Speak to your insurance professional. They can help create a policy that will cover everything you need to get on the road!