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Restaurants FAQ

The Blitz Insurance Restaurant Program offers broad, flexible E&S coverage for general liability, liquor liability, and property on a wide variety of restaurants and adjacent food services across 47 states.

Blitz has partnered with Origin Specialty Underwriters (OSU) to provide liquor liability coverage within the restaurants program. Liquor liability coverage provides protection in the event a business is held legally responsible for injuries or property damage caused by an intoxicated person.

About the Coverage

Are the property, general liability and liquor liability all included in one policy?

No, the property and general liability will be issued on Sierra Specialty Paper. The Liquor Liability will be issued by Origin Specialty Underwriters on Trisura Specialty Insurance Company paper. However, the entire process, quote through bind, is conducted in the Blitz platform and supported by Blitz underwriters and Broker Success team.

Does Blitz write monoline liquor liability coverage?

No, the liquor liability coverage must be written in conjunction with restaurant general liability coverage.

What limit of liquor liability does Blitz offer through the restaurant program?

The liquor liability limits will always match the CGL limits. Blitz currently offers $1M Occurrence/$1M Aggregate or $1M Occurrence/$2M Aggregate.

About the Appetite

Are new venture restaurants eligible for the restaurant program?

Yes, however, the liquor liability coverage will refer to Origin Specialty Underwriters, our liquor liability coverage partner, for underwriting if the restaurant has been in business for less than three years.

Can you insure a restaurant if it offers delivery service?

Yes, Blitz can insure the restaurant; however, the delivery exposure will be excluded.

Does Blitz exclude certain business hours of operation in the restaurant program?

Yes, restaurants open after midnight and/or before 5am are excluded from the program.

Is there a liquor receipts percentage requirement in the program?

Blitz can insure restaurants and adjacent business with liquor sales up to 50% currently.

What is the minimum earned premium on the restaurant package and liquor liability policies?

The minimum earned premium on the restaurant package and liquor liability is 25%.

What types of cooking or food preparation are ineligible?

None of the following can be present:

The use of nitrogen, including liquid nitrogen or nitrogen gas
Tableside cooking, including the use of open flames, flammable liquids, flambé, portable gas burners, butane torches, hibachi or teppanyaki grills, fondue pots, alcohol burners, portable induction cooktops, electric griddles or skillets, or similar heating devices, in the preparation or service of food near the customer
Communal tabletop cooking, including but not limited to, Hibachi, fondue, Chinese Hot Pot or Korean Barbecue
Any other fire-related hazard associated with tableside food preparation, service, and/or demonstrations, including serving flaming food or beverages
Unattended cooking by any means overnight or at other times when the business is closed
Open pit barbecues, structures containing or covering open pit barbecues, pit houses, and smokehouses that are less than 10 feet away from buildings or less than 20 feet away from any tree canopies

What type of cooking safeguards are required in the restaurant program?

The risk is required to comply with all requirements of National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standard 96 for Ventilation Control and Fire Protection of Commercial Cooking Operations, including but not limited to:

The design and installation of all commercial kitchen ventilation systems must be to current code
A UL-300 compliant wet-chemical automatic extinguishing system must be installed and cover all surfaces of grills, ranges, deep fryers and broilers. The extinguishing system must be serviced semi-annually
Exhaust hood filters must be cleaned weekly. Exhaust hood vents and ducts must be cleaned at least semi-annually for standard cooking operations or in accordance to NFPA table 11.4
UL-300 compliant portable fire extinguishers must be available in the kitchen and serviced annually
All gas equipment and fryers must be equipped with automatic shut off for high temperature
Minimum clearance between the hood and duct and combustible materials must be maintained
Grease containment devices must be cleaned out when the grease trap is ¼ full or at least every 3 months

Will Blitz write a Franchise restaurant?

No, Blitz will not insure franchise restaurants at this time.

What types of entertainment or amusement devices are acceptable?

The following is a list of entertainment and/or amusement devices covered by the restaurants program.

Karaoke
DJ
Live music for customers while dining
Dance Floor
Trivia Nights
Comedy Acts
Dinner Theater
Cooking classes or instructional cooking
Magicians, Clowns, Facepainting
Caricature or other artists
Psychics, Fortune Tellers
Painting parties or other art classes
Cat cafe
Arcade games, pin ball or video games (Max of 10)
Small coin-operated kiddie rides (Max of 2)
Dart Boards (Max of 10)
Small playgrounds or play areas for children (Max of 1)
Pool Tables (Max of 4)
Slot Machines or Video Poker (Max of 10)

About Servicing

Are restaurants subject to inspection?

Yes, any restaurant that meets the following criteria will be subject to inspection within 30-60 days of binding.

Any risks classified as “Restaurants – With Cooking, 0542” with a TIV of $1M.
Any risk classified as “Restaurants – With Cooking, 0542” and building age over 75 years old and TIV over $500,000. The inspection is required to verify if building updates or renovations are adequate for cooking occupancy
Any risk with open pit barbeques or wood fired smokers regardless of TIV
Any risk with any entertainment or amusement devices
Any risk with liquor liability coverage and liquor sales over 15% of total sales

Will Restaurants be auditable?

Yes, restaurant policies will be auditable. Information regarding the Blitz Insurance audit process can be found in our Audit FAQ.

About Cancellation/Reinstatement

What happens if a policy cancels for non-payment?

Reinstatement requirements for policies cancelled for non-payment are determined by the number of days the policy has lapsed.

Lapse of 14 days or less: Requires a signed No Known Loss Letter (NKLL) listing both policies, covering the cancellation date through the date payment is made. Coverage cannot be reinstated until the payment clears and posts and the signed NKLL is on file
Lapse over 14 days but less than 30 days: Reinstatement requires underwriter review of both policies and a detailed written explanation for the delay.

About Surplus Lines

Since these are two separate carriers, DD forms will be needed for each policy.

About Liquor Liability Coverage

Why is this offered as a second policy?

Blitz remains committed to delivering a competitive, comprehensive suite of small commercial insurance products. For coverage requiring specialized underwriting expertise, such as liquor liability, partnering with a dedicated specialist allows us to provide the best possible solution for our insureds. Through our partnership with Origin Specialty, insureds gain access to a best-in-class liquor liability product while continuing to enjoy the fast, seamless quote-and-bind experience they expect from Blitz.

What limits will be offered?

The liquor liability limits will always match the CGL limits. Blitz currently offers $1M Occurrence/$1M Aggregate or $1M Occurrence/$2M Aggregate.

What classes are eligible?

All restaurant classes are eligible EXCEPT for food trucks and caterers.

What state restrictions are there?

Liquor is available in all states Blitz writes in EXCEPT AK, PA, SC, and WV.

What are some underwriting requirements that would result in declination?

Some issues that may result in liquor declination include previous claims activity, lack of liquor license, alcohol delivery, and locations near college campuses. Please note, this is not an all-encompassing list of declination reasons.

If the liquor liability is declined, does that mean the CGL is as well?

No. Origin Specialty and Blitz both maintain their own separate underwriting requirements. While there is overlap between the 2 programs, they are not entirely the same. It is certainly possible that Blitz offers the CGL while Origin declines to offer liquor liability coverage. In the event that Blitz declines to offer a CGL policy, there will not be the option to provide a monoline liquor liability policy through the Blitz platform.

What are some underwriting requirements that would result in escalation?

Some things that may result in liquor escalation include less experienced ownership, free drinks/promotions, and premium thresholds. Please note, this is not an all-encompassing list of escalation reasons.

Is there a Service Level Agreement if the policy needs to be manually reviewed?

Origin Specialty has agreed to review any referrals within 24 hours.

Why are there different additional insureds for the CGL and the liquor liability?

Origin Specialty and Blitz have different appetites for additional insureds. While Blitz will allow blanket additional insureds in many instances, Origin only allows AI’s to be one or both of the following:

Managers or lessors of the premises
State or governmental agencies

As a result, there may be different additional insureds on the CGL vs. the liquor liability policy.

What forms are used?

Origin Specialty uses a combination of ISO forms as well as a handful of their own proprietary forms. Some proprietary forms will be attached to all policies while others are state specific.

Are there any key exclusions or coverage features?

The Origin Liquor policy closely mirrors other non-admitted liquor liability products in the market. All Origin Liquor Liability policies sold through Blitz will automatically carry a Primary and Non-contributory clause. Additionally, the Origin Liquor Liability policy does not allow for waiver of subrogation.

Who services the policy?

Blitz will service the liquor liability policy, just like we would the property or CGL.

Who handles claims?

Origin Specialty handles all claims through its experienced in-house claims team, which specializes in liquor liability claims.

What happens to the liquor policy if I want to cancel the CGL?

The liquor liability policy must have the supporting CGL policy in order to remain in force. In the event the CGL is canceled for any reason (non-payment, underwriting reason, etc.) the liquor liability policy will also be terminated.

What happens to the CGL policy if I want to cancel the liquor policy?

You may retain the CGL policy if the liquor policy is canceled.