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Alcohol service, late hours, crowds, cash and entertainment make licensed venues one of the harder risks to place. Fewer insurers will quote, and the detail in the liability wording matters more than it does for most businesses. We start with how your venue trades before comparing products.
Public liability is for third-party injury and property damage on or arising from your premises, such as a patron falling on a stairway. Product liability is designed for claims arising from the food and drink you serve. Landlords and licensing conditions commonly call for $20 million.
Some public liability policies exclude or limit claims connected to the service of alcohol, such as a claim alleging that an intoxicated patron was served and later caused injury. For a venue whose main trade is alcohol, this wording is the first thing we review.
Venues with door staff or crowd controllers need to know how the policy treats assault and the actions of security, whether they are employees or contractors. Many wordings limit or exclude these claims, and insurers usually ask to see the security contractor's own insurance.
Fit-out, bar equipment, furniture, audio and lighting, kegs, spirits and wine are insured at replacement value. Stock levels often rise before major events and holiday periods, so the sum insured should reflect your busiest weeks.
Licensed venues hold more cash and portable stock than most businesses. Theft and money cover usually sit in their own sections, each with a limit and security conditions that need to suit how the venue runs after close.
Windows, glass doors, mirrors, back-bar displays and illuminated signs are insured under the glass section, with a limit matched to the replacement cost.
If a fire, flood or other insured event closes the venue, business interruption is designed to cover your loss of gross profit and ongoing fixed costs such as rent and wages while you rebuild. The indemnity period and the gross profit figure need to be set with care.
Mechanical and electrical breakdown of coolrooms, beer systems, glycol chillers, glass washers and brewing plant is generally not part of standard property cover and needs to be added as its own section.
Patterns we see when reviewing existing bar and pub policies. Any of these familiar?
*Subject to policy terms and conditions.
A bar or pub will commonly consider public and product liability with suitable liquor liability wording, property and contents, stock, glass, theft, money, equipment breakdown and business interruption cover.
Workers compensation is arranged separately and is compulsory for most Victorian employers. Cover remains subject to underwriting and the policy terms selected.
Liquor liability refers to cover for claims arising from the sale or service of alcohol, for example an allegation that a patron was served while intoxicated and later injured themselves or someone else.
Some public liability policies exclude or limit these claims. For a licensed venue, the cover is arranged either by extension or under a specialist hospitality wording.
Premiums depend on your turnover, the split between food and alcohol sales, trading hours, capacity, entertainment, security arrangements, claims history and the limits you select.
Venues that trade late, run a dance floor or host live entertainment are generally rated higher than those that close earlier. Pricing is set by the insurer and confirmed at quotation.
It depends on the wording. Many policies limit or exclude claims arising from assault, and the actions of contracted crowd controllers are often treated differently from those of your own employees.
We review this part of the policy closely and ask your security contractor for evidence of their own liability insurance.
Only if the insurer knows about them. Entertainment, dance floors, ticketed events and private functions change how a venue is rated, so they should be declared when the policy is arranged and whenever your offering changes.
Yes. Alongside the venue covers, a producer needs to consider brewing or distilling plant, stock in process and finished stock, contamination and spoilage, and goods in transit to venues and retailers.
If you also sell packaged product to the public, see our liquor store insurance page.
Send us your current schedule of insurance and a real broker will benchmark it against a wider market, line by line, with no review fee and no obligation. If you are opening another venue or expanding beyond Victoria, we can arrange cover there too. If you choose to place cover through us, we may earn commission from the insurer as set out in our Financial Services Guide.
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