Restaurant insurance in Singapore: what an F&B package covers

What a restaurant insurance package contains

Insurers sell F&B cover as a fixed menu of sections. Two published examples show the shape. One insurer's restaurant plan carries S$75,000 all risks on contents, S$500,000 public liability, a S$50,000 food and beverage extension, S$3,000 money and S$20,000 consequential loss, for S$407.66 a year including GST. Its Plan B raises contents to S$150,000 and liability to S$1 million for S$587.51.

A second insurer's basic restaurant cover is S$477.17 a year before GST. The figures are published 2026 rates, shown as examples and not as a quotation. The broker tests each fixed limit against the outlet. A S$75,000 contents limit does not rebuild a S$400,000 fit-out.

Public liability and food poisoning claims

Public liability pays when a customer or passer-by is injured or their property damaged through the restaurant's negligence. A fall on a wet floor, a burn from a hot plate, a dropped tray on a laptop.

Food poisoning is treated separately. Standard public liability wordings restrict or exclude claims from products sold. The food and beverage extension, sometimes labelled products liability, restores cover for illness caused by food served. In the published package above it carries its own S$50,000 limit, one tenth of the liability limit. A single outbreak affecting 20 diners can exhaust it.

The Singapore Food Agency can direct a recall. The business must remove affected products from every distribution point within 48 hours. Recall costs are not part of a standard package and need a product recall extension. See public liability versus product liability for how the 2 covers divide.

Deterioration of stock and fire

Non-residential premises fires rose 13.5% to 471 in 2025, and electrical faults caused 43.5% of them. A restaurant kitchen is a concentration of heat, oil and wiring. The all risks section pays for fire damage to contents, subject to the excess and to the sum insured being adequate.

Deterioration of stock cover is a separate optional section. It pays for chilled and frozen stock spoiled after a power failure or a refrigeration breakdown. In the published package it is S$35.97 a year for S$1,000, with S$11.99 for each additional S$500 up to S$5,000. The limit is small relative to a walk-in chiller full of seafood. The broker asks for the peak stock value before setting it.

Consequential loss, also called business interruption, pays gross profit while the outlet is closed after an insured event. Published packages carry a 3-day excess and a fixed limit. A kitchen fire can close an outlet for 6 weeks. The limit, not the excess, is the test.

Money insurance for a cafe or restaurant

Money cover pays for cash stolen in transit to the bank, on the premises during business hours, from a locked safe after hours, or from locked drawers. Published limits run from S$1,000 for drawers to S$5,000 for safes and transit.

The limit applies per loss. A cafe banking S$8,000 on a Monday after a weekend of cash sales is uninsured for S$3,000 of it under a S$5,000 limit. Daily banking or a lower cash float is the fix, and an underwriter will ask about both.

Money cover also carries conditions. Cash after hours must be in a locked safe of the type declared, and transit cover usually requires the cash to be accompanied by an employee of a stated age. Theft by an employee is not a money claim at all. It falls under fidelity guarantee, which packaged policies offer as an optional section at a small per-head rate.

WICA for F&B staff

Work injury compensation insurance is compulsory for every employee doing manual work, whatever they earn, and for every non-manual employee earning S$2,600 a month or less. In a restaurant that means chefs, cooks, waiters, bartenders, kitchen hands, cleaners and delivery riders. Managers and cashiers are covered if their pay falls under the threshold.

Published per-head rates in one package in 2026: S$35.97 for non-manual staff earning up to S$30,000 a year, S$95.92 for manual staff at the same earnings band, and S$239.80 for a delivery driver earning up to S$50,000.

Worked example, using those published rates. An outlet with 8 kitchen and service staff, 3 non-manual staff under the threshold and 1 delivery rider pays 8 × S$95.92 + 3 × S$35.97 + S$239.80 = S$1,115.07 a year for WICA. Added to the S$587.51 Plan B package, the annual outlay is S$1,702.58 including GST. The example uses one insurer's published rates and is not a quotation.

The Accommodation and Food Services sector recorded 58 workplace fatal and major injuries in 2025. See is WICA compulsory for office staff for the threshold rules.

Eligibility, exclusions and loadings

Packaged policies are built for standard risks. The published terms exclude or refer:

• Nightclubs, discotheques and karaoke lounges.
• Pubs and bars, which are referred for individual underwriting or carry a higher base premium.
• Premises not of brick, tile or concrete construction, and pre-war shophouses.
• Premises shared with another business or sublet.
• Catering on board vessels or off-site activity beyond delivery and catering.

Loadings and discounts also follow published rules. One insurer applies a 15% loading for light industrial areas and pre-war shophouses. Another gives 5% off for a mall location and 10% to 15% off for chains of 3 or more outlets. Sums insured must be set at full replacement value, with no deduction for wear and tear. Under-insurance reduces every claim in proportion.

What moves the price beyond the package

A package premium is a starting point. The broker's submission changes it through:

• Fit-out and equipment value, which sets the all risks sum insured.
• Seating capacity and turnover, which drive the liability rate.
• Headcount by occupation, which drives WICA.
• Cooking method: open flame, charcoal and deep fryers rate higher than induction.
• Location and construction, including the loadings above.
• Claims history for 3 to 5 years.

A chain of 5 outlets with a central kitchen may outgrow the package altogether and move to an individually rated commercial policy with higher limits. That is a design decision the broker makes with the owner, not a form to fill. The test is whether any single fixed limit in the package is below the realistic loss.

Frequently asked questions

Does public liability cover a food poisoning claim?

Only if the policy carries a food and beverage or products liability extension. Standard public liability excludes illness from products sold. The extension usually has its own, lower limit, so the number matters as much as the presence of the section.

Is spoiled stock after a power failure covered?

Not under all risks. It needs the deterioration of stock section, which pays for chilled and frozen stock lost after a power failure or refrigeration breakdown. Published limits are small, so the sum insured should match peak stock value.

Which staff must be on WICA in a restaurant?

Everyone doing manual work, regardless of pay: chefs, cooks, service staff, cleaners and riders. Non-manual staff earning S$2,600 a month or less must also be covered. Staff above the threshold in non-manual roles can be added voluntarily.

Does the package cover a hawker stall or only shop units?

Published packages have a food stall plan for kiosks, counters and stalls in food courts, hawker centres and markets. Limits are lower, and one insurer applies 15% co-insurance to all risks losses on stall plans. Stalls with public access after hours are rated separately.

Sources

• Liberty Insurance Singapore: CafeCare
• Etiqa: Business Owners Super Suite, pub and restaurant brochure
• MOM: Work injury compensation insurance
• MSE: Written reply on product recall and enforcement
• SCDF: Annual statistics on EMS, fire and enforcement 2025/annual-statistics/scdf-annual-statistics-on-ems-fire-enforcement-2025.pdf)
• MOM: Workplace Safety and Health Report 2025