Bar Owners: Make certain your policy does not Exclude Assault and Battery!

You own a great establishment with good food, but the bulk of revenue comes from Alcohol sales.  That’s why you stay open until 1:30 a.m. or maybe even maintain a 3:00 a.m. liquor license.

You need to make certain you have Assault and Battery (A&B) Coverage for your business.  Due to the industry you are in (higher potential to fight exposure), there is a very good chance coverage is excluded by your current General Liability policy.

The premium difference is typically not too significant, but enough to give pause.  So a common retort is, “I train my staff well.” 

The simple answer to that is anybody can lose their cool if they have to get involved with a belligerent patron. 

But let’s go even deeper – the Assault and Battery exclusion is so broad that it does not provide coverage for any type of Assault and Battery.  Here’s a few examples: 

• A patron hits your doorman, your employee strikes back in self defense and you are sued for the actions of your employee .  You win the suit, but the defense costs are significant as is the time away from your business – No Coverage 
• Two patrons get into a fight over a girl.  One patron ends up in the hospital.  His Attorney sues you since the patron that beat him up doesn’t have a nickel to his name.  The Attorney alleges that your establishment didn’t provide a safe environment for his client – No Coverage

These are just a couple examples.   If you are a Bar Owner, you can probably give me 20 more scenarios. 

Make certain you have A&B Coverage for your Restaurant/Bar – you’ve built or are building a great business that could get shutdown by an Uninsured Claim.  let the Insurance Company handle the exposure for you.

Just in our agency we’ve seen quite a few A&B related claims.  Tragically, one fight resulted in a death when one of the combatants fell to the ground, got kicked in the neck and his carotid artery got ruptured.

Which leads me to my next point – if you want to fight, do it in a controlled environment with 2 inch foam pad beneath your feet and other protective gear.  If you’re a tough guy you shouldn’t be out looking for a fight in the first place.  Or maybe you’re the average guy out for a fun night and some guy really pisses you off.  It may be hard, but just walk away. Street fights have a huge potential to end disastrously – even if you win.

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