Bodily Injury
Bodily Injury is physical harm, illness, disease, or death sustained by a person, covered by your general liability insurance when it occurs at or because of your restaurant's operations.
What You Need to Know
This is the core of what your general liability insurance protects against — everything from a customer slipping on a wet floor to someone getting food poisoning from your kitchen.
What qualifies as bodily injury:
- Slip, trip, and fall injuries — wet floors, uneven surfaces, poor lighting
- Burns and cuts — hot food spills, kitchen equipment, broken glass
- Illness and disease — food poisoning, foodborne illness, allergic reactions
- Death — wrongful death and survival actions
Coverage pays medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, disability payments, legal defense, and any settlement or judgment. It does not cover employee injuries (that's workers' compensation), intentional acts, or auto accidents (covered under commercial auto).
Why It Matters for Restaurant Owners
Bodily injury claims represent the majority of lawsuits against restaurants. A single serious injury can result in hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering damages.
Coverage limits explained:
- Per-occurrence limit — maximum paid for a single incident (typically $1 million)
- Aggregate limit — maximum paid for all incidents during the policy year (typically $2 million)
If a claim exceeds your limits, you're personally liable for the difference. The premium difference between $1M and $2M per-occurrence limits is typically only $500-$1,500 annually — a minimal cost compared to the risk of being underinsured for a catastrophic claim.
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