You depend on your food truck to generate income for your small business. That’s why protecting it with proper food truck insurance is so important. Before you get started learning the basics of food truck insurance, it’s important to understand you are dealing with both a business and a vehicle—which means both will need to be covered. Below, we’ll take you through some food truck insurance basics and recommended coverage.
Food Truck vs. Food Trailer
The first step in getting your food truck insured involves understanding the difference between a food truck vs. food trailer. A vehicle that tows a trailer where the food is made and sold is a food trailer. A truck with an all-encompassed cooking and cashiering station in the vehicle is a food truck. Fully understanding your business and vehicle will help you decide which coverage is right for you.
Types of Food Trucks
There are a number of food truck types out there. Some of the more common ones include:
- Taco trucks
- Concession trucks
- Vending trucks
- Ice cream trucks
- Lunch trucks
- Catering trucks
If you own one of these food service vehicles, or a similar type, you’ll need food truck insurance to protect your assets.
Types of Coverage Food Truck Owners Need
As mentioned, you’ll need to purchase small business insurance and commercial auto insurance to ensure your food truck business is fully covered. By customizing the options available under these types of insurance, you’ll get the best coverage for your business. For food truck owners, it’s highly suggested that you at least get the following types of commercial coverage:
- Commercial auto insurance
- Commercial property insurance
- Commercial liability insurance
- Workers Compensation
Commercial Auto Insurance
Commercial vehicle insurance provides liability coverage when driving the truck, as well as collision and comprehensive coverage for the vehicle itself. Say your food truck crashes into another vehicle on your way to a catering event. Or, imagine one of your drivers backs the food trailer into a parked car. Commercial auto insurance will cover the cost for damage, according to the specific terms of your policy.
Commercial Property Insurance
The items in your vehicle are are an important part of keeping your business thriving. Things like cooking equipment, payment-handling systems, and appliances are essential to your business’ livelihood. Knowing things can sometimes go wrong is why it’s important to have insurance. For example, if a stove in your vehicle caught fire, commercial property insurance would protect you from paying out-of-pocket for recovery costs.
Commercial Liability Insurance
Food truck liability insurance protects you from certain incidents with your customers. Say a customer gets sick from your food, or claims to have gotten sick from your food, and sues you. This type of commercial liability insurance can help pay for legal fees, as well as medical costs for the customer.
Workers Compensation
This type of coverage will help cover the costs of an injured employee. If an employee get seriously hurt from, say, a slip-and-fall, workers compensation will take care of the expensive medical bills and hospital visits.
Factors That Determine Food Truck Insurance Cost
If you’re wondering how much does food truck insurance cost, know that the answer depends on a number of factors. The type of food service vehicle is a factor, as well as your location. Although most of the factors are difficult to change, you can keep the cost of insurance down by hiring drivers with clean driving records. Drivers who have no accidents on their record are less of a risk than drivers who have violations on their record or have been in accidents.
Where Do I Get Food Truck Insurance?
Freeway Insurance has been providing commercial insurance options for over 30 years, so we understand the needs of business owners. We can help you obtain affordable food truck insurance that fits the needs of your business. When you request a quote, we’ll ask a few questions about your business and the type of food truck vehicle you want to insure, then we’ll compare quotes to find you the best coverage at the lowest price. Start your free commercial truck insurance quote online or over the phone at (800) 777-5620 today.
