Business insurance
Pub Insurance
cover for the bar, the cellar, the kitchen, the customers and the staff of a UK pub
A package for a pub: contents and stock, liability to customers and staff, and options such as buildings, lost income and loss of licence. The kitchen, opening hours and entertainment shape the terms.
- Locals, gastropubs and bars
- Stock, liability and takings together
- Freehold, tenanted and leased
- FCA authorised and regulated
Quick answerPub insurance is a package of cover for a UK pub. It usually brings together contents and stock, public and products liability, and employers’ liability for your staff, with options such as buildings, business interruption, loss of licence, money and glass. The kitchen, late opening and entertainment all shape the terms. Tell MyMoneyComparison.com about your pub once, and specialist UK brokers can come back with quotes.
This page is about the business that runs a pub. Owning a pub building let to a tenant is on our commercial landlord insurance page, and a building with flats let above a business is on mixed-use property insurance.
At a glance
Pub Cover, in Brief
Six things that decide how pub insurance behaves, before any of the detail.
- Customers and staff
- Public, products and employers’ liability
- Stock and the cellar
- Drink and food stock, and cellar cooling
- The kitchen
- Cooking brings fire conditions such as duct cleaning
- Late nights and events
- Entertainment and opening hours shape the terms
- Who insures the building
- Freehold or tenanted, and what the lease says
- Lost trading
- Business interruption and loss of licence
The basics
What Is Pub Insurance?
A combined policy for a pub business. Instead of buying each cover on its own, a pub policy puts the sections a pub is likely to need on one schedule, each with its own limit.
Contents and stock
Fixtures, fittings, equipment and drink and food stock, against fire, theft, flood and other insured events.
Public and products liability
Injury or damage to customers and others, including from food and drink you serve.
Employers’ liability
For staff who are injured or fall ill because of their work.
Business interruption
Lost income while insured damage stops or slows trading.
Loss of licence
Where offered, for loss of value if the premises licence is lost.
Buildings, if you are responsible
Owners insure it themselves; tenants check the lease.
How it works
How Does Pub Insurance Work?
You describe the pub, how it trades and how it is protected, choose the sections and limits, and the insurer sets terms. Changes during the year are reported so the cover keeps up.
You describe the pub
The premises, the turnover, the staff, the kitchen, the opening hours and any rooms or entertainment.
You choose the sections and limits
Contents, stock, liability, business interruption and extras, each with its own limit and excess.
The insurer sets terms
The schedule lists the sections, the limits and any conditions, such as for the kitchen or security.
Changes are reported during the year
Later opening, new events, a new kitchen or letting rooms can change the cover.
What it covers
What Does Pub Insurance Cover?
Contents and stock, liability to customers and staff, and a choice of extra sections such as business interruption, loss of licence, money, glass and buildings.
| Section | Where it sits | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Contents and stock | Core | Drink, food, fittings and equipment |
| Public and products liability | Core | The limit is set on your schedule |
| Employers’ liability | If you employ anyone | Covers injury or illness to staff |
| Business interruption | Often optional | Income lost after insured damage, for a set period |
| Deterioration of stock | Often optional | Stock spoiled when cellar or freezer cooling fails |
| Loss of licence | Sometimes offered | Loss of value if the premises licence is lost |
| Money and glass | Often optional | Takings, the safe, windows and signs |
| Buildings | If you are responsible | Check what the lease asks of you |
Living above the pub? Your own belongings in the accommodation may need cover on the pub policy or a separate one. Tell the insurer who lives there.
Exclusions
What Pub Insurance Does Not Include
Gradual damage, undeclared activities, fire claims where kitchen conditions were not met, and losses beyond the limits on the schedule.
Wear, tear and gradual damage
Maintenance and slow deterioration are not insured events.
Undeclared events
Live music, sport screenings or late licences the insurer was not told about.
Unmet kitchen conditions
A fire claim can be affected if duct cleaning conditions were not met.
Theft without forced entry
Some policies pay theft only after forcible entry or exit.
Cash above the limits
Takings beyond the money limit, or left outside a safe overnight.
Stock spoilage
Unless a deterioration of stock section is included.
Types
Which Pubs Can Be Covered?
A wide range of licensed premises, from a village local to a busy town bar. Food, rooms and entertainment each change the terms.
Traditional locals
Wet-led pubs where drink is the main trade.
Gastropubs
Food-led, with a full kitchen to describe.
Pubs with rooms
Letting bedrooms brings guests to insure for.
Music and sports pubs
Entertainment and larger crowds.
Bars and wine bars
Town centre venues, often with later hours.
Micropubs
Small premises, often a former shop.
Mainly a restaurant or café? Property cover for food-led premises is in our restaurant and café property guide.
Who it is for
Who Needs Pub Insurance
Anyone running a pub, whether they own the freehold, hold a tenancy or lease from a pub company, or manage it for someone else.
Freehold owners
Insuring the building as well as the business.
Tenants and leaseholders
Where the agreement decides who insures the building.
Limited companies
Insured in the company’s name.
Couples and families
Running the pub and often living above it.
New licensees
Taking on a pub for the first time.
Pubs with letting rooms
Offering bed and breakfast as well.
Freehold or tenanted
Freehold Pubs vs Tenanted and Leased Pubs
The main difference is who insures the building. A freeholder does. On a tenancy or lease, some pub companies insure it and recharge the cost, but the agreement decides.
| Freehold | Tenanted or leased | |
|---|---|---|
| The building | You insure it | Sometimes the pub company; the lease decides |
| Contents and stock | You insure them | You insure them |
| Liability | You insure it | You insure it |
| Lost trading | Optional section | Optional section |
Two kinds of liability. Public liability is for customers and the public; employers’ liability is for staff. Our guide to public vs employers’ liability sets them side by side.
Cost
What Pub Insurance Is Priced On
The turnover, the staff, the kitchen, the opening hours and entertainment, the location, the security and the claims history. We do not print average premiums.
Why the trade leads
Turnover, staff numbers and whether the pub serves food drive the liability side of the price. A food-led pub with a busy kitchen is rated differently from a wet-led local.
Why the nights matter too
Late opening, live music, sport and door staff all feed the rate and can bring conditions.
What the quote is rated on
The main factors
- Turnover and staffDrink, food and roomsBase
- The kitchenCooking and fire protectionRate
- Hours and eventsLate licence and entertainmentRate
- Location and securityCrime, flood, alarmRate
- HistoryPast claimsAdjust
Flood exposure
Flood Re is for homes, not pubs, so flood terms are set by the insurer.
The building
Older and listed pubs can cost more to rebuild.
Cash handling
Higher money limits and more cash on site can change the price.
Kitchen and nights
The Kitchen and Late-Night Conditions That Decide a Pub Claim
Pub claims often turn on whether conditions about the kitchen, the building at closing and the activities declared were met. Four come up again and again.
Keep the extraction ducts cleaned
Where a pub cooks, some policies require the extraction system to be cleaned by a specialist at set intervals, with records kept.
Look after the fryers and fire kit
Thermostats, fire blankets, extinguishers and any suppression system maintained, and fryers turned off at close.
Lock up and set the alarm
Where the schedule names an alarm or cash limits, a theft while they were not followed may not be paid in full.
Declare events and later hours
Live music, sport screenings, private hire and a later licence change the risk. Tell the insurer first.
Quote checklist
What You Will Be Asked for a Pub Insurance Quote
Six things shape the quote: the premises, the trade, the kitchen, the hours and events, the security, and the claims history.
The premises
Address, construction, and whether you own, rent or lease.
The trade
Turnover split between drink, food and rooms, and staff.
The kitchen
What you cook and the fire protection in place.
Hours and events
Opening hours, entertainment and door staff.
Security
Alarm, locks, CCTV and any safe.
Claims history
Recent claims and any past refusals of cover.
Comparing
Checking Pub Insurance Quotes Side by Side
Four areas decide whether a policy suits the pub: stock, kitchen and security terms, business interruption, and liability and extras. None of them is the price.
Contents and stock
- The stock limit and any seasonal increase
- Deterioration of stock
- Cover for the licensee’s own belongings
Kitchen and security terms
- Duct cleaning conditions
- Alarm and cash conditions
- Whether theft needs forced entry
Business interruption
- The indemnity period
- Loss of licence cover
- Cover if access is blocked
Liability and extras
- The public and products liability limit
- Employers’ liability
- Glass, money and legal expenses
Read the kitchen conditions before you buy. They can matter more to a fire claim than the limit. Unfamiliar terms are explained in our plain English jargon guide.
Cutting costs
How to Reduce the Cost of Pub Insurance
The levers are fire safety in the kitchen, good security, accurate figures, and the excess. We publish no savings figures.
Keep kitchen records
Duct cleaning and fire kit servicing, evidenced.
Improve the security
An alarm, CCTV and good locks can help the terms.
Bank takings often
Less cash on site can mean lower money limits.
Declare accurate figures
Turnover and stock values that match reality.
Train and record
Staff training and incident logs help at renewal.
Choose the excess deliberately
A higher excess is a lever, worth using only at a level the pub could absorb.
Glossary
Pub Insurance Terms Explained
The words that come up most on a pub schedule.
- Wet-led
- A pub where drink is the main trade.
- Contents
- Fixtures, fittings and equipment in the pub.
- Products liability
- Liability for injury caused by food or drink you serve.
- Business interruption
- Cover for income lost after insured damage.
- Indemnity period
- How long business interruption cover pays for.
- Loss of licence
- Cover for loss of value if the premises licence is lost.
- Deterioration of stock
- Cover for stock spoiled when cooling fails.
- Duct cleaning
- Specialist cleaning of the kitchen extraction system.
- Tied tenancy
- A pub let by a pub company that supplies the drink.
- Excess
- The part of each claim you pay yourself.
Why MyMoneyComparison.com
Why Compare Pub Insurance with MyMoneyComparison.com?
MyMoneyComparison.com is an FCA-authorised UK comparison service that introduces licensees and pub owners to specialist brokers. We do not sell insurance and we do not give advice: the broker you choose arranges the policy. Using us is free.
One form, one pub
Describe your pub once, instead of repeating yourself to each broker.
Advice given
We are an introducer, not a broker. We do not sell policies and we do not recommend one insurer or product over another. Read our editorial policy.
Authorised and regulated
MyMoneyComparison.com Ltd appears on the FCA register under FRN 916241.
Incorporated
A UK company since 2013. FCA authorisation is separate and later; the register carries its date.
FAQs
Pub Insurance FAQs
Answers on the building, the kitchen, events, rooms and lost trading.
What is pub insurance?
A combined policy for a pub business. It usually brings together contents and stock, public and products liability, and employers’ liability, with optional sections such as buildings, business interruption, loss of licence, money and glass.
Do I need pub insurance?
A full pub package is not a legal requirement, but employing staff usually brings a duty to hold employers’ liability cover, with some exceptions. Pub companies, landlords and lenders often ask for other cover too.
Who insures the building if I rent my pub?
On a tenancy or lease, some pub companies insure the building and recharge the cost, while other agreements make it the tenant’s duty. The agreement decides, so read it before you buy.
Does pub insurance cover food poisoning claims?
Products liability, which some policies include alongside public liability, covers claims that food or drink you served made someone ill, up to the limit on the schedule. Check that both appear on your policy.
Why does my insurer ask about duct cleaning?
Grease in kitchen extraction ducts is a known fire risk. Some insurers require the ducts to be cleaned by a specialist at set intervals, and a fire claim can be affected if that condition was not met.
Is my cellar stock covered if the cooling fails?
Only if the policy includes a deterioration of stock section, which some insurers offer as an option. It covers drink and food spoiled when cooling equipment breaks down or the power fails.
What is loss of licence cover?
Where it is offered, it covers the loss in value of your business if the premises licence is revoked or not renewed for reasons outside your control. Terms differ, so read what triggers it.
Does pub insurance cover live music and events?
It can, if you declare them. Live music, sport screenings, quiz nights and private hire change the risk, and undeclared activities can affect a claim. Tell the insurer before you add them.
Are my personal belongings covered if I live above the pub?
Not always. Some pub policies can include the licensee’s own belongings in the accommodation, and others leave it to a separate policy. Tell the insurer who lives on the premises.
Does pub insurance cover rooms I let to guests?
Only if you declare the letting. Guests bring their own liability and property risks, and some policies cover bed and breakfast rooms as part of the pub while others need an extension.
What is business interruption cover?
It pays for income lost while insured damage stops or slows trading, for up to the indemnity period you choose. It generally follows damage that the policy covers, so it will not pay for a quiet season.
Is the beer garden covered?
Public liability can extend to outdoor areas you control, and some policies cover garden furniture and equipment within contents. Check how outdoor items and areas are treated on the schedule.
Does pub insurance cover the takings?
Where money cover is included, it pays up to set limits, which differ for cash in a locked safe, cash on the premises during opening hours, and cash on the way to the bank.
Is theft by customers covered?
Policies differ. Some pay for theft only after forcible entry or exit, which leaves theft by people already on the premises outside the cover. Check how theft is defined on each quote.
Can a pub with a previous claim get cover?
It depends on the insurer, and past claims can affect the price and terms. Declaring claims history accurately keeps the cover sound, as undeclared claims can affect a later claim.
How do I compare pub insurance quotes?
Look beyond the price to the kitchen and security conditions, how theft is defined, the stock and money limits, the business interruption period, loss of licence cover and the excess.
Ready when you are
Get Quotes for Your Pub
Tell us what you need to insure. If you picked it at the top of this page it is already on the button below. Specialist UK brokers can then come back with quotes for your pub. Free to use, with no obligation to buy.
- Stock, liability and takings together
- Free to use, no obligation
- FCA authorised and regulated
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About this page
This page explains UK pub insurance: what it covers, what it leaves out, and how kitchen, security and late-night conditions shape a claim. It is general information rather than advice. Policies differ between insurers, so read your own documents and put the questions raised here to your insurer or broker.
How we approached this page
- Published UK pub and hospitality policies
- HSE guidance on employers’ liability cover
- The Flood Re eligibility criteria
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