Along any high street or town centre, every independent café or small eatery will be different. Whether you run a traditional “greasy spoon”, coffee shop, tearoom or artisan diner specialising in certain foods, you’ll need a tailored business insurance policy that’s as unique as your venture.

Since the wellbeing of your business is vital to your livelihood, there’s no doubt that you’ll run it in a careful, considered and safe manner. However, there will always be the risk of things going wrong that are often outside of your control.

Keeping yourself and your business insured against the unexpected will go a long way towards ensuring you get to run your café with minimal interruption to your service. By covering multiple aspects of your operations under a single policy, you can provide protection for your employees, customers and equipment on your premises.

Just like with any other business, people will play important roles in your daily trading. Whether they’re your employees working behind the counter or your customers enjoying their food and drink, it’s important that each individual in your café is safe from harm while on your premises.

Your employees will often be working with complex equipment to make hot food and drinks, increasing the possibility of them accidentally suffering cuts or burns. Meanwhile, the potential risks to your customers can include unsafe or unstable dining furniture causing an injury, as well as illnesses brought on by poorly prepared food.

With employers’ liability cover and public liability cover, your business can stay protected if somebody should pursue a compensation claim against you. In addition to this, legal expenses cover may also be available to you to offer financial assistance with any legal fees that come your ways as a result of action taken against your business.

The contents inside your café will often be vital to operating your business on a daily basis. Items will generally range from cups and plates to tables and chairs, but also including food and drinks making equipment to the food itself. With contents insurance, expensive equipment like coffee machines, milk steamers or sandwich toasters will be covered in case anything becomes damaged or faulty, requiring you to replace it at a cost.

Additionally, you may also want to add buildings insurance to any contents cover if you own the premises yourself. This will provide cover if the building suffers structural or flood damage, for example, forcing you to close up shop for a time. If you rent your unit from a commercial landlord, it’s up to them to have their own buildings insurance policy in place, so you may want to double check this with them.

Depending on the nature of your café, you might store pre-packaged food or the basic ingredients for making fresh dishes. If you face major problems with your consumable and perishable stock, it can leave you needing to source and pay for replacements. With product insurance cover, you should be able to claim back expenditure for loss of stock.

Finally, business interruption cover may also prove to be vital for keeping your business afloat if an unexpected event forces you to close your café for a few days or even weeks. Examples of this can include fire or flood damage to your café or kitchen, as well as any sudden disruption to your gas, electricity or water supply.

At Clyde, it’s our mission to provide you with a completely tailored business insurance policy that suits your exact needs, whether you run a café, coffee shop or small bistro. Our brokers work with a wide and diverse panel of insurers to find the right policy with the cheapest possible premium.

If you need specialist assistance when sourcing suitable café insurance, speak to one of our expert team today. Call 0000 000 0000 or send us a few details via our “Get a quote” form online. We’ll get to know all about you and your business to sort out the most appropriate cover at the best price.