High-volume quick-service kitchens run banks of deep fryers and drive-thru equipment that fry and reheat constantly, which concentrates both the fire load and the equipment-breakdown exposure on the property policy. UL 300 hood suppression, current NFPA 96 exhaust cleaning, and a spoilage grant on the walk-in carry more weight here than the raw building limit.
Restaurant property insurance
Pays to repair or replace your own kitchen equipment, tenant build-out, furniture, and on-premises food stock after a covered loss like a grease fire, theft, or burst pipe.
Why Coverwatch
- Markets for kitchens with fryers
- Programs that will write full-service kitchens with deep fryers, char-broilers, and hood systems, the exact cooking exposure a standard carrier surcharges or declines outright.
- Replacement-cost and agreed value
- 60+ markets put head to head on whether a loss rebuilds the line in full, on a replacement-cost and agreed-value basis, so a total kitchen loss is not cut by depreciation or a coinsurance penalty.
- Equipment breakdown and spoilage
- We add the endorsements the base form leaves out, so a compressor that fails and the walk-in of stock it spoils are both paid, not just a fire or a break-in.
For restaurant
- What it covers
- The build-out you funded, your cooking and kitchen equipment, and the food stock on the premises, after a covered loss like fire, theft, or water.
- What it doesn't
- The income you lose while the doors are closed, and the landlord's building shell if you lease your space.
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What does restaurant property insurance cover?
Restaurant property insurance covers your own kitchen equipment, tenant improvements, furniture, and on-premises food stock against fire, theft, and other covered perils, and pays to repair or replace them after a loss. It does not cover lost income while you are closed, customer injury, or the landlord's building shell.
Why restaurant property insurance protects the kitchen you built out
A restaurant is a kitchen full of expensive equipment inside a space the tenant paid to build.
You own the build-out, not the shell
The landlord insures the four walls and the roof. The hood, the gas line, the walk-in, the tile.
The cooking line concentrates the value and the fire risk
Ranges, fryers, ovens, and refrigeration are the most expensive things you own and the most likely to start a loss.
Stock spoils fast when the power or the cooler fails
Food inventory is perishable and constantly turning. A refrigeration breakdown or a power interruption over a weekend can spoil a walk-in of stock before…
How we get you covered
We take commercial property for restaurant to 60+ markets, build it to fit your contracts, and keep your certificates compliant.
Read your risk
We map what could actually go wrong in your operation, where a claim would come from, and who would bring it.
Shop 60+ markets
We take your risk to the carriers that know your class and make them compete on price and terms.
Build the endorsements
We add the endorsement wording that decides whether the policy responds to a claim, beyond the base form.
Keep you compliant
We handle the COIs, additional-insured certs, and renewals, so you are never the one chasing paperwork.
Get a quoteFlat fee, no markup on your premium.
What's covered, and what isn't
In the policy
Cooking and kitchen equipment
Ranges, deep fryers, ovens, grills, walk-in coolers and freezers, dishwashers, prep tables.
Tenant improvements and betterments
The build-out you funded inside a leased space, the hood and exhaust system, gas and plumbing runs, tile, walls, lighting, bar, and dining-room finishes.
On-premises food stock and inventory
Raw ingredients, prepped food, dry goods, beverages, wine, and liquor held on site to sell are covered as business personal property.
Furniture, fixtures, and signage
Dining tables, chairs, booths, point-of-sale terminals, decor, and interior and exterior signage are covered contents.
Equipment breakdown and spoilage
A companion grant for the failures the base property form excludes.
Not in the policy
Lost income while you are closed
The revenue you cannot earn while the kitchen is rebuilt after a fire, and the payroll and rent that keep running, are not physical damage to your property.
Covered by Business Interruption
Injury to a customer or guest
A diner who slips on a wet floor, is burned by a spilled dish, or is hurt in the dining room has a claim against you, not damage to your own property.
Covered by General Liability
Injury to your own employees
A line cook burned at the fryer or a server who slips in the kitchen is an on-the-job injury, statutorily excluded from the property policy.
Covered by Workers Compensation
Flood and earthquake
Rising water, storm surge, and earth movement are excluded from every standard commercial property form.
Covered by Earthquake
The landlord's building shell
The structure, roof, and exterior walls of a leased space belong to the landlord, and a loss to the shell is settled on the landlord's property policy.
Get a quoteGet a policy built for restaurant.
Claims commercial property pays
The same kitchen produces very different property losses. These are the first-party property claims restaurants actually file, with the typical cost to repair or replace each.
ScenarioHow the claim happensTypical cost
Grease fire in the fryer and hood system
Grease ignites at the fryer or on the char-broiler and flame runs up into the hood and exhaust duct.
$25K–$500K
Refrigeration breakdown spoils the walk-in
A compressor or motor on a walk-in cooler or freezer fails from an internal fault, and the food stock inside spoils before it is caught.
$10K–$150K
Burst pipe floods the dining room and kitchen
A supply line or a pipe above the ceiling ruptures over a weekend and water destroys flooring, drywall, the build-out, and stock before anyone arrives.
$15K–$250K
Break-in and theft of kitchen equipment
Burglars force entry overnight and take point-of-sale terminals, portable equipment, liquor stock, and anything sellable.
$5K–$75K
Ranges are typical repair, replacement, and spoilage bands for these claim types, not a quote. Actual exposure depends on the value of your equipment and build-out, your limits, and your valuation basis.
Get a quoteGet covered before a claim lands.
What restaurant buyers are required to carry
The limits contracts and statutes set for this line, and what moves your premium and terms.
What buyers require
- Commercial lease
- Improvements at full replacement cost
- Landlord loss payee
- Evidence of property, named
- Franchisor build-out requirement
- Full build-out value
- Equipment or SBA loan
- Replacement cost, lender named
A standard restaurant lease requires the tenant to insure the build-out and improvements they funded to full replacement cost, and to carry property coverage in force before the space is occupied and the kitchen is built out.
The landlord requires evidence of the tenant's property coverage on a certificate and is often named as loss payee on the improvements and betterments, so a loss check on the build-out is applied to restore the leased space.
A franchise agreement sets a minimum property limit on the franchised build-out, equipment package, and signage, and requires replacement-cost valuation so a rebuilt location matches the current brand standard.
A loan against the cooking equipment or the build-out requires property coverage on the pledged collateral at full replacement cost, with the lender named as loss payee, plus separate flood coverage if the location sits in a flood zone.
What sets your cost and terms
- Total insured value of equipment and build-out
- Premium tracks the combined value of the cooking line, refrigeration, furniture, fixtures, stock, and tenant improvements you insure.
- Construction and protection class
- The building's construction type, its distance to a fire hydrant and station, and whether it has sprinklers set the protection class an underwriter rates.
- Hood suppression compliance and cooking type
- Whether the kitchen runs a UL 300 wet-chemical suppression system on the hood, keeps up the NFPA 96 exhaust cleaning schedule.
- Prior fire and loss history
- A record of grease fires, water losses, or theft claims sets the rate and can push the required deductible up.
How this changes by restaurant segment
The policy is the same product; the exposure, the limit, and the exclusions to watch shift by segment.
Fine dining puts an expensive build-out and specialty equipment on the property schedule, from a custom kitchen line to high-end dining-room finishes. A deep wine and liquor inventory raises both the stock limit and the spoilage exposure, and replacement-cost valuation with agreed value keeps a total loss from being cut by depreciation or coinsurance.
A multi-unit group is usually written on a blanket property limit so values can shift between locations without tripping the coinsurance penalty at any one site. The build-out, equipment, and stock at every location sit under one schedule, and agreed value across the blanket keeps a fire at a single unit paying in full.
Endorsements that close the gaps
The base form is the start. These add-ons are where the policy gets built to fit restaurant.
Equipment breakdown
Adds coverage for sudden mechanical or electrical failure of refrigeration, compressors, ovens, and HVAC, the breakdowns the base property form excludes.
Spoilage and food contamination
Covers perishable stock lost to a refrigeration breakdown or a power interruption, and contamination that renders food unfit to serve.
Ordinance or law
CP 04 05Pays the added cost to rebuild the kitchen and build-out to current code after a covered loss.
Agreed value
Suspends the coinsurance clause for the policy term once you and the insurer agree on the insured value of the equipment and build-out up front.
By the numbers
The form numbers, fire statistics, and kitchen fire-safety standards that surface when a restaurant is underwritten for property coverage or asked for proof by a lease, lender, or franchisor.
- Base form behind restaurant property coverage
- ISO CP 00 10
- Restaurant fires per year
- About 7,410 per year
- Share of fires from cooking equipment
- About 61%
- Fire-suppression standard for kitchens
- UL 300 wet chemical
- Exhaust cleaning standard
- NFPA 96, every 6 months
A restaurant's property coverage is written on the standard ISO building and personal property coverage form. The business personal property side insures the cooking equipment, fixtures, and stock, and a separate improvements-and-betterments limit insures the build-out a tenant funds inside a leased space.
Fire departments respond to an estimated average of 7,410 structure fires per year in eating and drinking establishments, causing roughly $165 million in direct property damage annually, which is why the cooking line drives the property rate.
Cooking equipment is involved in about 61% of restaurant structure fires, with deep fryers alone responsible for roughly 21%. The kitchen line that runs the restaurant is also the property most likely to start a total loss.
Commercial kitchens require a UL 300 listed wet-chemical suppression system on the hood and cooking line. Older dry-chemical systems no longer meet the standard, and a non-compliant system is a frequent reason a restaurant property risk is surcharged or declined.
NFPA 96, the standard for commercial cooking exhaust, requires automatic suppression on the hood, duct, and appliances and a certified hood-and-duct cleaning at least every six months. Underwriters expect the cleaning record because grease buildup is what lets a fryer fire spread.
Common questions
about commercial property for restaurant insurance
Restaurant property insurance covers the physical property a restaurant owns against covered perils like fire, theft, and water damage. That means the cooking line of ranges, fryers, ovens, and refrigeration, the tenant improvements and build-out you funded inside a leased space, the furniture, fixtures, and signage in the dining room, and the food stock and inventory on the premises. The policy pays to repair or replace those items after a covered loss, and a companion equipment-breakdown and spoilage grant pays when a cooler fails and the stock inside spoils. It does not cover lost income while you are closed, injury to a customer or an employee, flood or earthquake, or the landlord's building shell, which sit in the business interruption, general liability, workers compensation, and the landlord's own property lines respectively.
Yes. The hood, exhaust duct, and the wet-chemical fire-suppression system over the cooking line are part of the tenant improvements and equipment on your property policy, so a covered loss that damages them is paid to repair or replace. A grease fire is the classic example: flame runs up into the hood, discharges the suppression system, and damages the exhaust run and the build-out around it, and the property policy responds. The catch is compliance, not coverage. Underwriters expect a UL 300 wet-chemical system and a current NFPA 96 exhaust-cleaning schedule, because an older dry-chemical system or a grease-caked duct is far more likely to let a fire spread. A non-compliant system can trigger a surcharge, a higher deductible, or a decline, and after a loss the ordinance-or-law endorsement is what pays to bring the rebuilt hood up to current code.
Tenant improvements and betterments are the permanent build-out a restaurant tenant pays to install inside a leased space. When you sign a lease on a bare or second-generation space and spend to add a commercial kitchen, that hood and exhaust system, the gas and plumbing runs, the walk-in, the tile and flooring, the bar, the lighting, and the dining-room finishes are all improvements. The landlord owns and insures the building shell, the four walls and the roof, but the improvements you funded are yours. That distinction matters at claim time. If a fire guts the space, the landlord's property policy rebuilds the shell, and your policy, on a dedicated improvements-and-betterments limit, replaces everything you installed. Underinsuring that limit is a common and expensive mistake, because rebuilding a restaurant kitchen from a bare shell costs far more than operators expect.
Only if you add the right grants. The base commercial property form covers your food stock against fire, theft, and other named perils, but it does not pay when a refrigeration unit fails and the stock inside spoils. Two endorsements close that gap. Equipment breakdown covers the sudden mechanical or electrical failure of the compressor, motor, or panel on a walk-in cooler or freezer, and the companion spoilage grant covers the perishable inventory that failure ruins. Spoilage also responds to a power interruption that shuts the refrigeration down. For a restaurant this matters more than the hardware, because a walk-in full of spoiled protein and dairy can be worth more than the cost to fix the cooler. If those endorsements are missing from the policy, a dead compressor over a weekend is an uncovered loss.
It depends on the valuation basis set on the declarations page, and for a restaurant the difference is large. Replacement cost pays what it costs to replace the equipment and build-out today, with no deduction for age or wear, so a total kitchen loss re-equips the line at current prices. Actual cash value pays replacement cost minus depreciation, so a ten-year-old walk-in or a worn dining-room build-out settles for far less than it costs to replace. Most leases, lenders, and franchisors require replacement cost for exactly that reason, and it is the setting that decides whether a loss check actually reopens the restaurant. Pair replacement cost with an agreed-value endorsement and you also remove the coinsurance penalty, so a total loss on the cooking line and the build-out pays in full rather than being cut for underinsurance.
The tenant insures the build-out, and the landlord insures the shell. This is one of the most common points of confusion in a restaurant lease. The landlord's property policy covers the structure it owns, the exterior walls, the roof, and the base building systems, but it does not cover the commercial kitchen and finishes a tenant installs. When you spend to turn a bare space into a working restaurant, those tenant improvements and betterments are yours to insure on your own property policy, on a dedicated limit sized to the cost to rebuild them. The lease will usually require it, name the landlord as loss payee on the improvements, and ask for a certificate as evidence before you occupy. If you leave the improvements limit low or off the policy, a fire that destroys the space leaves the tenant funding the entire kitchen rebuild out of pocket.
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