Restaurant Insurance: The Secret Ingredient to Building Your Portfolio
Brokers, are you ready to become the ‘master chef’ of restaurant insurance? Learn more about our Restaurant Insurance programs by watching our Q + A session recorded last week.
Join us as we delve into the complex world of restaurants and answer your questions on restaurant insurance to help you build your business.
Get the handouts here:
Download the webinar slides
View the Q + A’s
Expert Panel:
Heidi Strommen
Senior Vice President, Primary Hospitality Programs
Heidi oversees the overall strategy and management of Distinguished’s primary programs for restaurants and hotels. Heidi joined Distinguished in April 2019 with the acquisition of ProHost USA, a program administrator specializing in restaurants, where she served as President. She has an extensive background building programs for restaurants and related risks at ProHost. Her career experience also includes a variety of positions at Twin City Group, a retail brokerage. She is a past president of Target Markets Program Administrators Association and currently serves on the Advisory Board. She has authored articles about insuring restaurant exposures for various industry magazines, including Risk & Insurance, Insurance Journal, Agent and Broker, and Rough Notes. Heidi earned a BA in Government from Cornell University and an MBA from Metropolitan State University.
Erick Schmitt
Regional Vice President of Sales
Erick Schmitt is the Regional VP of Sales for Distinguished’s Central and Eastern territories. He is responsible for new business sales for all products and leading our Regional Sales team. Erick joined Distinguished in 2020 from Markel Specialty, where he worked as a Senior Sales Manager. Before that, Erick was a Business Development Manager at AIG and in various positions at Nationwide Insurance. Erick received his bachelor’s degree in Marketing at the Ivy College of Business at Iowa State University.
We received many questions during our Q + A. Here’s a sampling:
Do you write the policies on your paper? Or do you use carriers available, if so what carriers do you
use?
Our carrier partners are Arch for the package program, Beazley for monoline cyber, Chubb for the monoline umbrella.
Are you OK with restaurants with inhouse limited delivery? And do you offer non-own and hired auto endorsements?
We do not write any auto coverage for restaurants with first-party delivery.
Do you offer commercial auto for restaurants?
We consider incidental commercial auto if not related to delivery.
What about EPLI and D&O?
We offer an EPLI endorsement. We do not write D&O.
Are there any windstorm or property insurance limitations in Florida?
We only write property X-wind in Florida. We can also write liability only with the broker placing property separately.
What bar area hours will you consider? I had one declined as they are open until 1:30 a.m. and
food service stops at 10 pm.
Food must be served within 1 hour of closing (can be a limited menu.) We do not insure restaurants open later than 1:00 a.m
How do you rate each risk? Payroll and sales?
We rate GL on sales.
It says nothing past 1 am. What about Vegas? Every place is open past 1 am here. Are you not a market in Las Vegas?
We write some Vegas restaurants, and they close by 1:00 a.m.
Does your package offer EPLI with third-party coverage?
The EPLI coverage we offer does not include third parties.
Can you entertain Sports Bars or restaurants with entertainment that’s not a one-man band? Can you write without A&B Exclusions?
We do not write sports bars or restaurants, regardless of entertainment. We do not use A&B exclusions on our program.
Do you write property insurance for restaurants located in the protection class9?
No – we write property in PC 1 – 7.
Does your Cyber Liability Ransome?
We have a monoline cyber program that includes ransomware.
Does your Umbrella go over the liquor liability?
Our umbrella does go over liquor liability.
IS THIS BOP? OR CPP?
This is CPP.
What is the highest percentage of liquor sales you will accept?
Up to 45% on fine dining. Less on casual restaurants (generally under 40%)
Briefly, what are your coastal guidelines for Long Island, NY?
This depends on several factors, including construction type, whether we are insuring the building, and distance to the coast. It’s very location-specific.
Will you write Seasonal Restaurants?
We do not write restaurants closed for more than 30 consecutive days.
Is Hired and Non-Owned Auto available to be quoted with PKGs?
We write hired and non-owned auto with the package if there is no delivery exposure and only incidental.
You mentioned this, but do you write property in Coastal South Carolina and Liquor Liability in South Carolina?
We do not write wind coverage in Tier 1 counties in SC. We will include liquor coverage in our restaurant package in SC.
Can you write monoline umbrella?
Yes, we write monoline umbrella.
How does the carrier respond to Assault and Battery in restaurants?
We’re silent on A&B Assault and Battery.
Distinguished Programs can help you specialize in the restaurant market. With over 30 years of experience in the industry, we have seen it all. Register your brokerage with us and get started today!
About Distinguished Programs
Distinguished Programs is a leading national insurance Program Manager providing specialized insurance programs to brokers and agents with expertise in Real Estate, Community Associations, Hotels, and Restaurants. Property and liability products are distributed through a national network of agents and brokers. Serving the same core markets and partnering with the most stable and reputable carriers, Distinguished Programs’ high-limit umbrella programs remain the clear choice in its areas of specialty for superior coverage, competitive pricing, and attentive service. Through thoughtful innovation, stemming back to 1995, Distinguished Programs fosters growth and opportunities for its brokers, carriers, and employees.
View a full list of our programs and submit business with Distinguished.
