Preventing Liquor Liability Claims

Preventing Liquor Liability Claims

For any business that serves, sells, or distributes alcohol, Liquor Liability is a vital coverage to have. Liquor Liability provides coverage for third-party bodily injury and property damage claims such as assault and battery, and legal costs that arise from serving alcohol to a person who is intoxicated. 

Liquor stores, grocery stores, restaurants, bars and taverns, wineries, breweries, and caterers are examples of the types of businesses that should have liquor liability.  General Liability policies exclude coverage for liquor liability for any business that has alcohol sales.

Liquor liability does not cover property damage to your own business, slander, libel, or underage drinking incidents. 

Claim Prevention

Reducing your exposure to possible liquor liability claims is the best way to prevent having claims.  Establishing policies, procedures, and staff training are all ways to prevent claims from happening.

Here are some ways to limit your exposure to liquor liability claims for your business:

Written Policies and Procedures

A written manual of policies and procedures that are strictly enforced is important.  By creating a written manual, all rules are clearly stated and must be followed.  All employees must review and be familiar with it, and there should be a signature page acknowledging that they have received a copy and will abide by the rule.

Staff Training

Diligent staff training is important.  Some important aspects of staff training include:

·         What are the signs of alcohol impairment or intoxication

·         Local and State liquor laws

·         The importance of Checking IDs

·         How to recognize a fake ID

·         How to recognize when somebody may be buying for minors

·         Document every incident

·         Handling difficult situations and who to go to get help (security, manager, police, etc)

·         Measuring and Serving Drinks with consistency

·         When to Refuse Service

·         Following Policy

Consider using a training service to help educate and train your staff.  Three companies that have training programs are:

·         TAM – Techniques of Alcohol Management – TAM has online training for servers on how to handle situations that may arise while serving or selling alcohol

·         ServSafe – Their alcohol training program was created by the National Restaurant Association and has both online and in-person courses

·         TIPS – Training for Intervention Procedures – This online or in-person training course includes skills-based training for all employees, including hosts, valets, managers, and security for the prevention of drunk driving, underage drinking, and preventing intoxication

With these in place, businesses will greatly reduce their likelihood of any liquor liability claims.  With Liquor Liability in place, your business will have coverage in the event of any claim.  At Fixated Financial, we have multiple markets for Liquor Liability and can often include it as part of a Package policy.  We are a service-oriented Commercial Agency and would love to help you protect your business with top-rated insurance carriers and products.  

Photo by Kelly L