Cooking School Insurance

Updated 4 June 2023

Cooking is a life skill that many people want to improve. Whether guests attend your classes to become better home chefs or to pursue a professional culinary career, there’s lots of variety and knowledge you can offer. There’s also a lot of risks involved because of the specialised equipment and food involved. As with any service that involves food products and education, health and safety standards must be met. In addition, your students can file for litigation alleging different claims. Having cooking school insurance can protect you and Otao Kitchen against any risks that may arise during operations. 

Why is Cooking School Insurance Important?

When you are teaching someone a skill, there are always risks of accidents, injuries, damage, and other issues. Especially when your school focuses on cooking and uses different food products as an integral part of the curriculum, risks can have costly repercussions.

• One of your students is injured or suffers property damage while on the premises of your cooking school.
• Misuse or malfunction of one of the cooking tools or machinery causes an injury.
• Your equipment or school suffers property damage from fires, floods, or other causes.
• The ingredients your school uses cause a student to suffer illness or an allergic reaction.

Equipping your cooking school with the right cooking school insurance can ensure your business doesn’t burn in the event of an accident.

What Does Cooking School Insurance Include?

Liability Insurance– also called CGL insurance, provides coverage for injuries, bodily harm, and property damages occurring to a third party during your business operations. For example, if a student is injured on your premises, you are covered for lawsuits, losses, and medical expenses.

Product insurance– although students aren’t technically buying your food products, the ingredients you use are a part of the overall service you sell. If your products cause an allergic reaction or illness, product liability insurance covers the legal, medical, and settlement costs for any damages caused.

Property Insurance– your cooking school operates in a building and relies on many expensive and highly specialized equipment to operate. It’s important to ensure your assets are protected in the event of a fire, vandalism, flood, or other natural accident beyond your control.

What is culinary insurance?

Culinary insurance is a type of commercial insurance product designed for individuals and businesses that operate a cooking or food establishment. Some of these businesses include personal chefs, caterers, independent food vendors, and cooking schools.

One of the major concerns and risks for a cooking school is liability. With ingredients, expensive kitchen equipment, food processing tools, and many students, any unexpected event could cost your cooking school significant financial loss. Culinary insurance helps cover the medical bills, settlement awards, legal defence fees, and other costs related to any lawsuits or third-party liability claims.

For example, if your ingredients cause severe food poisoning or your food storage rooms become damaged in a flood, culinary insurance ensures your losses are covered.

As a result, you can run your cooking school with confidence and keep your greatest assets protected from insured perils.

How much does culinary insurance cost?

Every cooking school operates differently and has different insurance requirements. As a result, the cost of your culinary insurance policy also differs.

Typically, insurance companies measure your risk as a potential customer and estimate the likelihood that you will file a claim in the future. The higher risk you pose as a customer, the more expensive your insurance policy will be. Similarly, the more insurance coverage you need, the more expensive your cooking school insurance policy will be.

Here are some of the factors many insurance companies will take into consideration when determining your risk as a customer and the cost of your cooking school insurance premium:

• The size of your cooking school
• The location of your cooking school
• The total number of employees you have
• The annual total and projected gross revenue of your business
• The total value of equipment and property your cooking school owns

What does cooking school insurance cover?

Insurance companies offer cooking school insurance with a variety of coverages and add-ons. You can choose the type of coverage you want and your coverage limit for each type of insurance.

In general, cooking school insurance covers damages to your commercial equipment and property, lost income, and third-party injuries and property damage arising from an insured peril.

Examples include:

• Fire
• Food-borne illnesses
• Stolen property
• Floods
• Equipment failures