I read in the press yesterday about a fire at the Harrogate branch of Prezzo, the Italian restaurant chain, which once again accentuates the need for adequate restaurant insurance. Whilst this fire will no doubt put only a minor dent in the chain’s pocket, what would you do if it was your restaurant and you didn’t have the backup of the income of another 200 plus branches?
The fire, which started in the kitchens of the restaurant due to a build up of fat in the ducting, rapidly spread damaging several of the flats above. The whole road was cordoned off and at one stage there were 90 firefighters working from 18 fire engines to try and tackle the blaze. The whole road is expected to be closed for at least two days whilst the building is shored up and the tenants of 14 housing association flats have had to be found temporary accommodation.
This is the second fire in one of Prezzo’s outlets recently. Three months ago they had a fire at their branch in Maldon, Essex, where oil from a deep fat fryer caught light causing major damage.
So what does this mean from an insurance perspective? Well, firstly Prezzo’s insurers will have to cough up for the building repair and refurbishment of the restaurant obviously, dependant on whether Prezzo had fulfilled their obligations under the insurance i.e. most restaurant insurance policies will stipulate that ducting has to be inspected by a qualified person every year. If this has not been done Prezzo are likely to have quite a hefty bill, but with a pre tax profit of over £18million (in 2011) I can’t foresee this being more than a hiccup for them.
Imagine though, as I said before, if the fire happened in your restaurant? If you didn’t have a comprehensive restaurant insurance package, a disaster like this would most likely be the end of your business. As well as the cover for the fire itself, it would be essential that you had business interruption insurance which covers your gross profit during the time which it takes to get the place fully back up to speed. Just because you can’t trade doesn’t mean the bills don’t have to get paid.
Fortunately, we have many specific restaurant insurance packages from a host of major insurers to cover every eventuality. So don’t get cooked, choose Comparecrazy for your restaurant insurance policy. Comparecrazy.com. The business insurance comparison site!
