Frequently Asked Question:

Does Bar Insurance Cover Bouncers and Security Staff?

Insurance Type
Related Industries
Related Coverages
General Liability
Workers’ Compensation

The Short Answer

Only if the arrangement is set up correctly. A bar’s policies can cover security staff on its own payroll, but contracted security companies need their own coverage, and a gap there can leave the bar exposed to excessive-force claims.

The Full Answer

Door staff are one of the highest-claim roles in a bar, because their job is to put hands on people in tense moments. How the bar hires them determines which policy answers when a patron says a bouncer used too much force.

How your security arrangement changes coverage:

Employees. Bouncers on your payroll fall under your workers’ compensation policy for their own injuries, and claims against the bar for their conduct fall under general liability or assault and battery coverage, subject to those forms’ limits.

Contracted security firms. The company should carry its own general liability, assault and battery, and workers’ compensation coverage, and name your bar as an additional insured. Ask for the certificate and the endorsement, not just a statement that they are covered.

Informal arrangements. Friends or cash-paid door help are the riskiest setup, because neither the bar nor the individual may have coverage that responds.

How Liberty structures your protection: We review your security setup, write contract insurance requirements you can hand to a vendor, and confirm your own assault and battery wording covers allegations against staff.

Related Questions

Yes — restaurants process card payment data through point-of-sale systems daily, and a breach affecting customer payment information typically isn’t covered under general liability, which is why cyber liability is now considered standard for the industry.

A restaurant’s own commercial auto policy typically doesn’t cover an employee’s personal vehicle, so restaurants using employee-owned cars for delivery generally need hired and non-owned auto liability coverage.

Typically no — standard business interruption coverage is triggered by direct physical damage to the property, so a closure ordered for a health code violation alone usually isn’t a covered event unless it follows a covered loss.

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