One area of insurance that has grown significantly in our agency over the last decade is Charlotte food truck insurance. If you run a food truck in Charlotte, NC or are thinking about starting up a business in the industry, then you will have several insurance policy options to consider.
We have various carriers that specialize in these policy types and we can offer the most competitive rates in the market. We will discuss some of the most common policy types that you will want to protect you and allow you to complete contracts.
Auto Liability
Auto liability on a food truck is similar to a personal auto insurance policy and it will pay out in situations where you are involved in an incident while driving your food truck. If you hit a vehicle, person, or other object, your auto liability policy will pay for the bodily injury or property damage of the injured party. You can also include comprehensive and collision coverage, medical payments, etc along with your auto liability policy as you would your personal auto policy.
Auto liability limits chosen maybe be split limits like $100,000/300,000/50,000 or combined single limits of $1,000,000. The limits you choose will want to meet your minimum threshold to protect yourself and the limits being required by a contract.
General Liability
A general liability policy will pay out for losses outside of negligence while driving your vehicle. This could include claims of illness from the food that you serve or an individual being injured around your truck.
Typical limits for a general liability are $1,000,000 per occurrence. This is a common requirement if you plan to sell food in a public place.
Business Personal Property
Any business property that you use to serve, prepare, and deliver food should also be covered if you want protection for losses from fire, theft, or other losses. Your auto liability will likely have a cap on any of these items, even if they are permanently attached to the vehicle. Business personal property can included grills, coolers, products, and cash registers.
Workers Compensation
If you hire employees in your business, then you will also want to make sure that you have a workers compensation policy in effect. If your employees are injured in a workplace accident you can be sued not only for their injuries, but for their lost time at work.
There are laws in place that require workers comp coverage for your employees. In NC the minimum required limits for workers compensation is $100,000 each employee, $100,000 each accident, and $500,000 for the policy limit. You can increase these limits up to $1,000,000 for a nominal price increase.
Liquor Liability
If you serve alcohol, you will want to carry a liquor liability policy. These policies payout on claims that result from injuries caused by intoxicated patrons served by your establishment.
Aside from protecting yourself from catastrophic claims and being sued for losses, you will likely encounter a need for insurance due to contract requirements. NC counties, especially Mecklenburg County, have stringent insurance requirements for food trucks and vendors. In order to meet their requirements, you will need to prove that you have the minimum requirements by presenting an insurance certificate. It is not uncommon to see requests for insurance from other entities like building owners, landlords, restaurants, and festivals.
Some final thoughts on compiling food truck insurance quotes.
It is important to understand that you don’t need to combine all policy coverage types under one policy or carrier. In some cases, bundling these policies under one policy can be beneficial. In others, it can cost you more. You have to understand that sometimes insurance companies may offer you a lower rate on one coverage type, say auto liability, but make up for it by charging a higher premium on another policy type, say collision.
It is best to let an experienced insurance agent peruse all of the companies at hand and possibly piecemeal these policies together if it makes more financial sense for you.
Also, it is best to be prepared and present the needed information when getting quotes so you won’t have to go back and forth with the agent.
Below are some of the questions you may be asked when requesting quotes.
- Vehicle info including VIN numbers
- Driver info including date of births and license numbers
- Total annual sales
- Total annual payroll
- Liability limits
- Specific contract requirements
- Mailing and garaging address
Please let us know if you have any other questions regarding insurance for food trucks and trailers. Our expert agents are here to help.
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