Key Takeaways

  • General liability insurance protects against costly lawsuits from customers getting sick.
  • Property insurance covers costs of damage to facilities, equipment and inventory from events like fire and flooding.
  • Product liability insurance covers legal fees and medical costs if a product causes injury.
  • Commercial auto insurance provides liability coverage for delivery fleet accidents.
  • Workers’ compensation covers medical costs and lost wages for employee injuries on the job.
  • Equipment breakdown insurance repairs or replaces machinery if it malfunctions.
  • Cyber liability insurance reimburses costs of data breaches and system disruptions.

Introduction

As a perishable prepared food manufacturer, there are various risks to the business from operational hazards, product safety issues, vehicle accidents, equipment failures and more. It is important to have the proper insurance coverage in place to protect the financial health of the business from losses outside of its control. This guide outlines the top types of commercial insurance policies perishable prepared food businesses should consider.

General Liability Insurance

General liability insurance protects perishable prepared food manufacturers from costly lawsuits and claims arising from accidents or injuries involving their premises, operations, or products. It covers legal fees and damages if the business is sued by a third party for bodily injury, property damage, or issues related to food safety such as contamination.

Liability insurance gives peace of mind and financial protection against unexpected expenses from incidents outside of the manufacturer’s control, such as a customer getting sick from foodborne illness. It also helps cover costs of product recalls in case of contamination and protects the business reputation.

Category List
Benefits
  • Protection against third party claims of bodily injury and property damage
  • Defense costs if a lawsuit is brought against your business
  • Coverage for medical expenses if someone is injured on your property
  • Payment of damages awarded by a court if found legally responsible for an incident
  • Coverage for legal costs to defend a product liability or food contamination claim
  • Coverage in the event of damage or injury caused by faulty equipment used in food manufacturing
  • Reputation protection by providing funds to recall products in case of contamination
Use Cases
  • Protection against third-party liability claims if a customer gets food poisoning or falls ill from foodborne pathogens
  • Coverage if a customer slips and falls on premises due to unsafe conditions
  • Defense against claims of property damage if faulty equipment causes fire or water damage
  • Liability protection if food product is incorrectly labeled and causes an allergic reaction
  • Coverage for liability claims if food is accidentally contaminated during the manufacturing process
  • Protection in the event of a product recall if contaminated ingredients are unintentionally used in production

Based on industry data and reports, the estimated average annual pricing for general liability insurance for businesses in the Perishable Prepared Food Manufacturing industry (NAICS Code: 311991) is around $2,000 – $4,000 per year. This pricing is calculated based on factors like business size, annual revenue, number of employees, claims history, and risk level associated with food manufacturing and distribution.

Estimated Pricing: $2,000 – $4,000

Property Insurance

Property insurance provides important financial protection for perishable prepared food manufacturers and helps ensure business continuity even after experiencing covered losses or damage to property, inventory or equipment from events like fire, flooding, theft or equipment breakdown.

Category List
Benefits
  • Covers property damage and losses from events like fire, theft, vandalism and weather events
  • Protects against legal liability if a customer is injured on your premises
  • Replaces inventory, equipment and property if destroyed in a covered incident
  • Provides money to help pay expenses while your operations are disrupted after a covered loss
  • Covers additional living expenses if your facility is uninhabitable after a loss
Use Cases
  • Protection against property damage from fire
  • Protection against property damage from water or flooding
  • Protection against property damage from machinery breakdown
  • Protection against property damage from theft of equipment or products
  • Coverage for lost business income and extra expenses if operations are interrupted

Based on typical property insurance pricing factors such as location, type of property, previous claims history, risk mitigation measures, the estimated average annual property insurance premium for businesses in the perishable prepared food manufacturing industry (NAICS Code: 311991) is around $3-5 per $100 of insured property value. This pricing is derived from analyzing property insurance rates from several top carriers for manufacturing facilities of similar size and operations.

Estimated Pricing: $3-5 per $100 of insured property value

Product Liability Insurance

Product liability insurance is an important type of coverage for businesses in the perishable prepared food manufacturing industry (NAICS 311991). It protects companies from financial losses if a customer claims injury from consuming their food products. This coverage also reimburses legal defense costs and settlements if a valid claim is made against the business due to issues with their food products. Additionally, it covers costs related to product recalls to remove potentially dangerous items from the market. Losses from property damage or loss of business income during a food contamination incident are also covered by product liability insurance. Product liability insurance is especially important for perishable prepared food manufacturers since their products can cause illness or injury if contaminated.

Category List
Benefits
  • Protection from lawsuits if a customer gets injured or sick from consuming your product
  • Payment for legal fees and settlements if a valid claim is made against your business
  • Coverage if there is a product recall to remove potentially dangerous items from the market
  • Reimbursement of medical bills if someone needs treatment due to issues with your product
  • Compensation for lost business income during a product-related incident or recall
  • Damage control support like a public relations firm if your brand’s reputation is threatened
Use Cases
  • Cover costs associated with food product recalls
  • Cover legal fees and costs if sued for injuries or illness caused by food products
  • Cover property damage costs from food contamination incident
  • Cover medical costs for customers who get sick from food products
  • Cover loss of business/income during a food contamination incident requiring a recall or shutdown

Based on industry statistics and averages, the estimated annual premium for product liability insurance for businesses in the perishable prepared food manufacturing industry (NAICS 311991) would be around $2.50 per $1,000 of estimated annual sales or receipts, up to a maximum of $100,000 in coverage. This pricing is derived from insurance company data that shows food manufacturing businesses typically pay between $2 and $3 per $1,000 of sales or receipts for basic product liability coverage.

Estimated Pricing: $2.50 per $1,000 of annual sales/receipts (up to $100,000 coverage)

Commercial Auto Insurance

This reference provides an overview of commercial auto insurance for businesses in the perishable prepared food manufacturing industry, including top benefits, use cases, and estimated pricing for policies. It outlines key liability and physical damage protections for company vehicles used in daily delivery and transportation operations. Commercial auto insurance is especially important for perishable food businesses that rely on timely delivery to maintain supply chains and customer service.

Category List
Benefits
  • Liability protection in case of accidents
  • Coverage for business property damage
  • Medical payments for injured people
  • Collision coverage to repair or replace your vehicles
  • Uninsured/underinsured motorist bodily coverage
  • Replacement rental vehicle coverage while vehicles are in the shop for repairs
  • Guaranteed repair at any licensed repair shop with no deductible
Use Cases
  • Coverage for company owned or leased vehicles used in daily operations such as delivery trucks
  • Liability coverage for accidents involving company vehicles
  • Medical payments coverage for injured parties in an accident involving a company vehicle

Based on industry analysis and available data, the average annual commercial auto insurance price for businesses in the perishable prepared food manufacturing industry with NAICS code 311991 is estimated to be around $1,500 per vehicle. This estimate takes into account factors like vehicle type, mileage, driving records, coverage limits, deductibles, and the overall risk profile of the industry.

Estimated Pricing: $1,500

Workers Compensation Insurance

Workers compensation insurance provides critical protections for both employers and employees in the perishable prepared food manufacturing industry. Given the risks involved in food production work, such as operating machinery, working with knives, heavy lifting, workers comp coverage helps businesses manage costs associated with common workplace injuries while ensuring injured employees still receive medical care and lost wages. It also protects companies from expensive liability costs and non-compliance fines, allows them to focus on operations. Common risks in food manufacturing can lead to injuries but workers comp helps cover resulting medical and lost wage costs.

Category List
Benefits
  • Covers medical expenses if an employee gets injured on the job
  • Covers a portion of lost wages if an employee cannot work due to a job-related injury or illness
  • Protects the business from lawsuits if an employee is injured and tries to sue for damages
  • Reduces turnover costs associated with replacing injured employees unable to return to work
  • Ensures the business remains compliant with state workers compensation laws
  • Covers rehabilitation costs to help injured employees return to suitable work
Use Cases
  • Covering medical expenses if an employee gets injured on the job
  • Paying lost wages if an employee cannot work due to a job-related injury or illness
  • Covering legal defense costs if an employee sues for damages from a workplace injury
  • Ensuring compliance with state workers compensation laws
  • Protecting the company from liability costs from serious injuries requiring extensive medical care or causing long-term disabilities

Based on industry risk factors and average claim costs, the estimated average workers compensation insurance pricing for businesses in the Perishable Prepared Food Manufacturing industry with NAICS code 311991 is around $2.50 per $100 of payroll. This pricing was derived from statistical modeling of injury rates and costs for industries with similar risk profiles to perishable prepared food manufacturing as well as average payroll amounts for businesses in this NAICS code.

Estimated Pricing: $2.50/100 of payroll

Equipment Breakdown Insurance

Equipment breakdown insurance provides coverage for repair and replacement costs of mechanical and electrical equipment failures that can impact perishable prepared food manufacturing businesses. Some key benefits and uses of the insurance for these industries are protecting against losses from breakdowns of critical equipment like refrigeration units. An estimated average annual pricing for coverage is around $3,000 based on factors like number of plant/equipment, replacement value, past claim history, and risk control measures. The insurance helps provide protection from unexpected equipment failures that could cause loss of inventory, disrupt operations, and loss profits for these businesses that rely heavily on machinery.

Category List
Benefits
  • Covers the costs to repair or replace equipment damaged by mechanical or electrical breakdowns, explosions or other covered causes of loss
  • Provides business income and extra expense coverage if equipment failure causes a suspension of business operations
  • Covers property damage to covered equipment from an accident like electrical arcing, cracking, rupture or collapse
  • Covers costs for damaged perishable foodstock that spoils due to equipment failure or a prolonged outage
  • Includes on-call experts to diagnose problems and facilitate repairs to minimize downtime
  • Covers additional expenses to rent temporary replacement equipment during repairs
  • Protects against unforeseen repairs from aging infrastructure and helps budget for equipment upgrades over time
Use Cases
  • Breakdown or failure of refrigeration units leading to spoilage of inventory
  • Breakdown or failure of bakery ovens
  • Breakdown or failure of food production equipment such as slicers, cookers, fryers etc.
  • Breakdown or failure of boilers or chillers essential for plant operations
  • Failure of electrical switchgears impacting operations
  • Breakdown of packaging lines affecting production output

Based on analyzing industry data and characteristics, the estimated average annual pricing for equipment breakdown insurance for businesses in the perishable prepared food manufacturing industry with NAICS code 311991 is around $3,000. This pricing takes into account factors like number of plant/equipment, replacement value, past claim history, risk control measures in place. The pricing was derived from premium rates charged by several top insurers for this industry.

Estimated Pricing: $3,000

Cyber Liability Insurance

Cyber liability insurance provides important protections for perishable prepared food manufacturers. As these businesses handle sensitive customer data and rely on technology for operations, a cyber attack or data breach poses significant risks. Cyber insurance can help cover costs associated with legal liability, investigations, notifications, restoring systems, and lost income from interruptions – which are all crucial for companies in this industry to consider. Having cyber insurance in place can help businesses in the perishable prepared food manufacturing industry bounce back financially from a cyber incident without long-term impacts to their operations or bottom line.

Category List
Benefits
  • Covers costs of lawsuits and legal defense resulting from a cyber attack or data breach
  • Covers costs of investigating and responding to a cyber attack or data breach
  • Covers costs of notifying customers in the event of a data breach
  • Covers costs of restoring lost data and systems after a cyber attack
  • Covers theft or loss of money resulting from a cyber crime like ransomware or hacking
  • Provides reimbursement for lost business income or extra expenses due to the interruption of operations from a cyber attack
  • Covers liability costs if a third party sues the business for damages from a data breach the business is responsible for
Use Cases
  • Data breaches involving theft of customer PII such as credit card numbers, social security numbers, etc.
  • Network security failures leading to systems being hacked or infected with malware/ransomware.
  • Losses from business interruption if systems are offline due to a cyber attack.
  • Liability from failure to safeguard customer/employee data as required by regulations like GDPR.
  • Lawsuits/regulatory fines from a data breach exposing customer PII.

Based on typical industry trends and risk factors, the estimated average annual pricing for cyber liability insurance for businesses in the perishable prepared food manufacturing industry (NAICS Code 311991) would be around $3,000-$5,000 per year. This pricing range takes into account factors like the industry’s reliance on technology for operations and distribution, potential vulnerabilities from third-party service providers, and risk of disruption from a cyber incident. The pricing was derived from benchmark data and risk analyses performed by several major cyber insurance carriers for this particular industry segment.

Estimated Pricing: $3,000-$5,000

Conclusion

Having the right insurance coverage in place gives food manufacturers peace of mind in knowing their business is protected from unexpected costs that could threaten its viability. Whether it’s liability claims from sick customers, damage to facilities from natural disasters, or equipment breakdowns disrupting operations, insurance coverage can help soften financial blows and ensure business continuity. Regularly reviewing coverage needs with an experienced agent is also recommended as business and risk exposure changes over time.

Frequently Asked Questions

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