Commercial Food Truck Insurance: Coverages and Costs
Commercial food truck insurance covers common risks, like employee injuries and truck damage. Rates depend on location, your food truck’s age, coverage limits, and more.
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3+ years experience in insurance and personal finance editing
NPN: 20564519
Katie uses her knowledge and expertise as a licensed property and casualty agent in Massachusetts to help readers understand the complexities of insurance shopping.
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Commercial food truck insurance isn’t just one policy that covers food trucks your business owns. The term refers to a group of commercial insurance policies that can address the specific coverage needs of food truck owners, like accidents, theft, and physical damage.
Anyone who operates a food truck should have commercial food truck insurance to comply with state insurance laws. Food truck insurance rates depend on factors like location, food truck type, food truck age, and coverage limits.
Here’s what you should know about finding the right vehicle insurance for your commercial food truck.
Quick Facts
Ice cream truck owners, mobile food vendors, and catering businesses may need food truck insurance.
Common policies for food truck owners include general liability, commercial auto, and workers’ compensation insurance.
U.S. states typically have higher insurance requirements for commercial vehicles than personal vehicles. Specific requirements vary by state.
What is commercial food truck insurance?
Commercial food truck insurance protects your business against financial loss from risks like collisions, customer illness, property damage, food safety concerns, and employee injuries. It also covers lawsuits from third-party claims.
Commercial food truck insurance isn’t a single insurance policy. It typically includes multiple coverage types that your business might need, like general liability insurance, commercial auto insurance, and workers’ compensation insurance.
Food truck insurance differs from personal auto insurance in a few ways. It covers the food trucks your business owns and uses for work purposes. Personal car insurance doesn’t usually cover business use.[1]
Commercial insurance also provides higher liability policy limits to at least meet state insurance requirements for food truck business operations. A standard food truck insurance policy will cover many different types of food trucks. This includes mobile food vendors, catering, concessions, ice cream, and beverage trucks.
Who needs commercial food truck insurance?
Anyone who operates a food truck as part of their business should have commercial food truck insurance. Not only does food truck insurance provide financial and legal protection against various risks, but commercial auto insurance is also a legal requirement for many businesses.
Some professions that might require commercial food truck insurance include:
Ice cream truck owners
Mobile food sellers
Cafes with food trucks
Restaurants with food trucks
Catering companies
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What commercial food truck insurance covers
Depending on your business’s risk exposure, commercial food truck insurance may include a variety of policy types, like general liability and commercial property insurance. Here are some of the most common coverages that food truck owners might need:
General liability insurance: General liability insurance covers your business from third-party claims of bodily injury, property damage, and advertising injury.
Commercial property insurance: Commercial property insurance covers damage to the contents inside your food truck and around the area where you park your truck.
Business owner’s policy (BOP): A business owner’s policy (BOP) is a bundle that combines general liability insurance and commercial property insurance. BOPs are usually cheaper than purchasing these policies separately.
Commercial auto insurance: Commercial auto insurance covers your liability if you cause an accident while driving your food truck. It also covers employees insured under the policy. Every state except for New Hampshire requires commercial auto insurance.[2]
Optional food truck insurance coverages
You may benefit from optional coverages for your food truck in addition to the basic commercial coverages. While these endorsements can fill gaps in your basic policy, adding them will increase your insurance premium.
Here are some of the most common optional food truck insurance coverages:
Workers’ compensation: Workers’ compensation insurance covers an employee’s medical expenses if they incur an injury or get sick at work. Most states require workers’ comp for businesses with multiple employees.
Liquor liability: If your food truck serves alcohol, your state may require you to carry liquor liability insurance. It covers your business financially and legally if you overserve a customer who causes property damage or injures another person.[3]
Food spoilage: Some insurance companies offer food spoilage coverage, which reimburses your business for food contamination caused by a power outage or equipment breakdown.
Inland marine: Inland marine insurance covers movable items required to operate your business. For food truck businesses, this might include cooking equipment, ingredients, tablets, or mobile payment terminals.
Cyber liability: Cyber liability insurance covers your financial losses if a data breach or cyberattack targets your business. It can cover costs related to notifying customers, paying ransomware, and hiring a crisis PR team.
Product liability: If a customer gets sick after eating at your food truck, product liability coverage will pay for their medical bills and related expenses. It’ll also cover your legal fees if a customer sues you.
Commercial food truck insurance cost
The cost of commercial food truck insurance varies for each business. Premiums depend on factors like your location, type of truck, number of trucks, coverage limits, deductibles, business claim history, and insurance company.
Because food truck insurance rates can vary widely, it’s important to shop around and compare multiple quotes. Comparison shopping can help you find the cheapest commercial food truck insurance for your business and coverage needs.
Where to buy commercial food truck insurance
You can purchase commercial food truck policies from major insurance companies, specialized insurance brokers, and local agents. The best method for you depends on your personal preferences.
Insurance companies that sell commercial coverage for food trucks include:
Allstate: Allstate has a wide range of coverage options for food truck operators, including commercial auto, general liability, equipment breakdown, and business interruption insurance.
Food Liability Insurance Program (FLIP): The Food Liability Insurance Program (FLIP) offers specialty coverage for food truck owners, including workers’ compensation insurance, liquor liability, and inland marine insurance. Rates start at $26 per month.
Liberty Mutual: Liberty Mutual insures food truck owners across the U.S. You can get a business owner’s policy, general liability insurance, inland marine insurance, and many other policies.
Next: Next is an online insurance company that offers many different types of food truck insurance, like commercial property insurance, umbrella insurance, and workers’ compensation. The company has three levels of coverage available, and you can save up to 25% with discounts.
Progressive: Progressive Commercial insures different types of food trucks, including vending trucks, ice cream trucks, catering trucks, and more. You can get a quote online or call an agent directly.
State Farm: Through State Farm, food truck owners can get basic coverages, like general liability insurance, commercial auto insurance, and inland marine insurance.
Thimble: Thimble offers comprehensive coverage for food truck owners, with options like general liability, commercial property, business interruption, and liquor liability insurance. Thimble sells coverage by the day, month, or year, so it can be a good option if you only need temporary food truck insurance.
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Factors that affect the cost of commercial food truck insurance
Commercial food truck insurance premiums depend on many different factors. Insurance companies consider the following criteria when calculating rates:
Location
Where your business operates has a big effect on rates. For example, if you park your food truck in a busy city center, you could pay a higher premium than someone with a food truck in a less populated area.
Number of employees
Bigger businesses often pay higher premiums.In most cases, the more employees your business has, the more expensive your premium will be.
Value of your truck
Insurers will consider the value of your truck when setting premiums. It’ll probably cost more to insure a brand-new food truck than a used truck that’s several years old.
Deductibles
Some food truck insurance policies have a deductible, which you pay out of pocket when you file a claim. Choosing a lower deductible will result in a higher premium, and vice versa.
Claim history
If your food truck business has filed any insurance claims in the last few years, you could pay a higher rate than a business with a clean claims history.
How to file a food truck insurance claim
If your business experiences a covered loss, like stolen cooking equipment, you can file a claim with your insurance company for reimbursement.
Here are the steps you should follow to report a food truck insurance claim:
Document the damage. Take photos and videos of the damage, and write down what happened. If the incident involved theft or an accident, call the police and file a police report. This will be helpful when you file the claim.
Contact your insurance company. Notify your insurance company about the loss. An agent will walk you through the process and provide paperwork for you to fill out. Some insurers allow you to file claims online.
Complete the claim paperwork. Complete the claim paperwork, and attach relevant documents — like photos of damage, a police report, or receipts for temporary truck repairs. Your insurance company will contact you if it needs more information.
Get your reimbursement. An adjuster will investigate the loss and let you know if your insurer approves the claim. You’ll receive reimbursement for the claim, minus any deductibles.
Commercial food truck insurance FAQs
If you own a food truck, it’s important to have the right types of insurance. Here’s some additional information that can be helpful as you shop for coverage.
Is commercial food truck insurance expensive?
Commercial food truck insurance can be expensive, but rates vary for each business. Some of the risk factors that affect food truck insurance premiums are your location, type of food truck, coverage limits, and deductibles.
What insurance do you need for a food truck business?
Most food truck businesses legally have to carry commercial auto insurance. Depending on state laws, businesses may also need other types of insurance, like general liability insurance, workers’ compensation, or liquor liability insurance.
How can you lower your food truck insurance costs?
You can often save money on food truck insurance costs by bundling policies, paying your annual premium in full, and choosing higher deductibles. Comparing insurance quotes can also help you find the lowest rate.
How much is $1 million in liability insurance for a food truck?
The premium for a $1 million food truck liability insurance policy is different for every business. To find the most affordable rates, it’s a good idea to compare quotes from a few different insurance companies.
Elizabeth Rivelli is a freelance writer covering insurance and personal finance. She has extensive knowledge of various insurance lines, including property and casualty, health, and life insurance. Her byline has been featured in dozens of publications, including Investopedia, Forbes, Bankrate, NextAdvisor, and Insurance.com.
Elizabeth has been a contributor at Insurify since October 2022.
3+ years experience in insurance and personal finance editing
NPN: 20564519
Katie uses her knowledge and expertise as a licensed property and casualty agent in Massachusetts to help readers understand the complexities of insurance shopping.
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