Food trucks rely on many pieces of equipment to operate. From the generator to the grill to the hood to the blender to the compressor to the sink — you name it. If one of these items goes down, it could put you out of business until a repair or replacement is made.
Most standard business owner or package insurance policies cover equipment breakdown in some form. However, there are important things you should think about and ask your agent (or broker) before you have a loss and try to file a claim.
Does Your Equipment Breakdown Apply To Mobile Equipment?
A standard business owner policy will have a “designated premises” on the policy. This could be your commissary, home office or whatever business address you gave your agent/broker. Property losses typically have a limitation of coverage subject to 1,000 feet from such designated premises. Therefore, if your hood, or other vital equipment, fails at a venue or any off-site service, you probably won’t be covered.
Does Your Insurance Carrier Understand The Food Truck Business And Have Adjusters That Can Act Quickly So You Can Get Rolling Again?
The food truck business moves fast! If you have a carrier that doesn’t understand the type of time constraints you are under, it could spell disaster. Before buying insurance, ask if your insurance carrier has employee adjusters or third-party adjusters. Employee adjusters can typically act faster and better on your behalf. Asking in advance — if the adjusters are familiar with the food truck industry — will help you potentially avoid a delayed claims process.
Does Your Policy Cover The Loss Of Business Income Due To Equipment Breakdown?
This is a big deal! One of our most common losses is generator failure with the resulting loss of income while the generator is repaired or replaced. Not many — if any — carriers (except ours) can offer this. Be sure to ask your agent or broker for this coverage if it’s available. A repair could only cost a few hundred dollars, but losing a few days of work could mean thousands lost in revenue.
Looking to start your own food truck? Prestige Food Trucks can do wonders for you in that department.
Equipment breakdown is pretty comprehensive coverage, but you should be aware that no policy that we are aware of, even ours, will cover engine failure. Most food trucks are 10 years old (or older) with thousands of miles on them. Engine breakdown is a risk you run operating an aging food truck.
Also, wear and tear is not covered by equipment breakdown insurance. The loss must be sudden and accidental. This could be for malfunction, or something that causes the failure of your equipment…
A skilled adjuster can help determine the cause of loss. Insure My Food Truck works with a national, A-rated insurance carrier for its food truck program. They are familiar with our gourmet food truck clients and their operations. It’s best to be with a broker and carrier that knows your business.
For any questions that are equipment breakdown related or otherwise, please contact Insure My Food Truck.
Looking for financing to start or grow an existing food truck? JSL Financial has you covered.
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About the Author
You found me! My name is Denny Christner, founder of INSURE MY FOOD TRUCK (www.insuremyfoodtruck.com). Although I have been in insurance for 15 years, I'm nacho typical insurance agent. I focus on food businesses including mobile food vendors, caterers, restaurants and artisan food manufacturers. I LOVE food and the food community. Life is too short to not be passionate about life and your career! That's why you do what you do, right? My goal is to help protect, promote and grow your mobile food business. When not working tirelessly on protecting the food community I can be found enjoying the beautiful Bay Area with my family. See you in the streets!