Hendrickson Insurance
Hendrickson Insurance
Restaurant insurance in Florida is a package built around the lease: the general liability and umbrella limits the landlord wrote into it, the property policy with the cooking equipment, spoilage and business income a restaurant actually loses, liquor liability for any place that serves, and workers' compensation at the fourth employee. Hendrickson Insurance in Sarasota writes it for restaurants, bars, cafes and caterers from Port Charlotte to Tampa, and Dennis Hendrickson spent years on the landlord's side of those leases managing shopping centers. The coverage itself is explained on commercial general liability insurance in Florida; the leasing side is on strip mall and shopping center insurance.
Restaurant insurance in Florida, in one paragraph. General liability at $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate is the floor every landlord's lease sets, and most leases add an umbrella of $1,000,000 to $5,000,000 and name the landlord as additional insured. Liquor liability is its own coverage: under section 768.125 of the Florida Statutes a seller is not liable for an adult patron's intoxication, but is exposed for willfully and unlawfully serving a minor or knowingly serving a person habitually addicted, and the general liability policy excludes liquor claims either way. Property coverage needs the cooking equipment, the hood and suppression system, spoilage and business income written in; workers' compensation attaches at four employees under section 440.02. The application is here; Dennis reads it himself.
| Coverage | Typical limits | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| General liability | $1M / $2M | A guest hurt on the premises, food-borne illness claims, damage to the landlord's building. The lease sets the limits and the additional insured wording. |
| Liquor liability | $1M typical, lease may require more | Claims arising out of serving alcohol. Excluded from the GL policy. Section 768.125 limits the exposure to minors and habitually addicted patrons, and the claims still come. |
| Property | Replacement cost on contents and tenant improvements | Kitchen equipment, hood and suppression, furniture, the build-out you paid for. Spoilage and equipment breakdown are add-ons that pay after a power loss or a compressor failure. |
| Business income | 12 months, with extra expense | Rent and payroll while the kitchen is closed after a covered loss; a named storm shutdown counts only if the property policy covers the cause. |
| Workers' compensation | Statutory | Required at four employees for a non-construction business under section 440.02. |
| Umbrella | $1M to $5M | Over GL, liquor and auto; written into most shopping center and mixed-use leases. |
| Hired and non-owned auto | $1M | Delivery drivers and staff running errands in their own cars. |
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Two questions tell us whether we are the right fit. If we are, Dennis Hendrickson reads your application himself.
Get a restaurant quote →Restaurant searches reach this office from Sarasota, Port Charlotte, Bradenton, Venice and Tampa. The admitted market writes a cafe or a lunch restaurant with a clean record and a suppression system under contract; a full bar, a late closing, outdoor seating on the water or a loss moves the account to the wholesale market. On the Gulf Coast the property side carries a named storm deductible as a percentage of the contents and improvements value, and flood is a separate policy with a $500,000 NFIP cap on a non-residential tenant's contents and improvements; Helene and Milton closed waterfront restaurants from St. Petersburg to Venice in 2024, and business income only paid where the property policy covered the cause. See insurance in Sarasota, Port Charlotte and commercial flood insurance.
The longer explanation of liquor liability and the coverages owners miss is in restaurant and bar insurance in Florida.
Send it through the restaurant application or email the declarations and the lease to dennis@hendricksonins.com. Dennis Hendrickson reads every submission himself and responds the same business day in most cases.
If it serves alcohol, yes. The general liability policy excludes liquor claims. Section 768.125 of the Florida Statutes shields a seller from liability for an adult patron's intoxication but not for willfully and unlawfully serving a minor or knowingly serving a person habitually addicted to alcohol, and those are the claims that get filed. Most leases require it alongside the GL.
Typically $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate general liability, liquor liability at $1,000,000 where alcohol is served, an umbrella of $1,000,000 to $5,000,000, the landlord as additional insured, a waiver of subrogation and 30 days notice of cancellation. The lease controls; send its insurance section with the application.
At four or more employees, under section 440.02, for a non-construction business. Part-time counts. The owner's exemption, where available, does not cover the staff.
Business income pays for lost income after a covered property loss. Wind damage to the space is covered under the property policy with its named storm deductible; storm surge and flooding are excluded and need a separate flood policy. A shutdown with no physical damage to the premises is generally not covered.
Yes. Hendrickson Insurance writes restaurants and bars across the Gulf Coast and statewide, in the admitted market for standard accounts and the wholesale market for full bars, late closings and accounts with losses. Dennis Hendrickson reads the lease and the application himself.
Apply online or call 941-957-2796. Have your current dec pages, loss runs and the certificate or lease requirements ready.
Dennis Hendrickson changed a New Jersey state tennis rule at 17 and played four years of Division I tennis at UNC Charlotte. Today he writes both the commercial and the personal insurance for Gulf Coast owners himself, and he works a renewal or a claim the way he played: nothing conceded, no point given away.
When you apply, he answers. Every application goes straight to Dennis. He reads it himself and responds the same business day in most cases, always within 48 hours.
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