Pub and bar insurance
You serve the public from lunchtime through into the night. If a customer is hurt, or someone's property is damaged, and they hold you responsible, we cover what you owe them.
Public liability from €7.55 per month, with cover limits up to €6.5 million per claim.
Business insurance, done differently.
Fully online business insurance in Ireland.
A few questions and you're covered.
No lock-in, no long contracts.
Excess from €0, up to €6.5 million of cover.
Why take out business insurance as a pub or bar?
A room full of customers, a service running at pace, and neighbours on the other side of the wall. Here is why dedicated cover matters:
A customer is hurt on your premises. A slip on a wet floor by the bar, a cut from broken glass, or furniture that gives way.
Something you served makes people ill. A supplier's error, a break in the cold chain, or a mislabelled dish, and it can affect several customers at once. Takeaway orders included.
You damage property that isn't yours. A neighbouring unit, your landlord's building, or a venue at an outside booking.
What is Public Liability insurance?
If a customer, a neighbour or a landlord holds you responsible for injuring them or damaging their property, public liability insurance covers what you owe them, up to your cover limit.
What does it cover?
Injury or property damage caused to others in the course of running your pub or bar. You choose a cover limit of €1.25 million, €2.5 million or €6.5 million per claim, with twice that amount available across a policy year. Optional cover can be added: employers' liability (€13 million per claim) if you have staff, and third-party objects and sites (€5,000 per claim) for property belonging to someone else while it is in your care.
Cover that fits your business
You describe your activities fully at sign-up, and your cover matches what you actually do: bar and table service, food and takeaway, on your own premises or at a booking.
Is it mandatory?
Public liability isn't required by law in Ireland. However, many landlords, venue owners and local authorities require proof of cover before you can trade, and a corporate client booking a private function will often ask for a certificate. Cover starts from €7.55 per month.
Who needs it?
Any pub, bar or similar venue serving customers in person, whether they sit in, stand at the bar or take their order away.
What does our insurance cover for pubs and bars?
Our cover is built around public liability, with 2 optional covers you can add to match your situation.
Public liability: responds if a customer or another third party suffers an injury, or their property is damaged, in the course of your business. It takes care of your defence costs and any compensation due. You choose a cover limit of €1.25 million, €2.5 million or €6.5 million per claim, with twice that across a policy year.
Employers' liability (optional): if you employ bar, floor or kitchen staff, this covers your liability as an employer, with a limit of €13 million per claim. It is not compulsory in Ireland.
Third-party objects and sites (optional): covers damage to premises or items belonging to someone else while they are in your care, up to €5,000 per claim.
What you pay towards a claim: your excess. If your turnover is up to €500,000, you can choose €0, €250, €500, €1,000 or €2,500. Above that the options are €500, €1,000 or €2,500.
Who can apply: pubs and bars with turnover up to €10 million and up to 30 people.
What's covered
Serving food: in the bar, and takeaway orders.
Your premises: if a customer trips on the step or slips at the bar, you're covered.
Travelling for the business: a supplier visit or a trade show. If you knock something over while you're there, you're covered.
Optional: employers' liability if you employ staff (€13 million per claim)
Optional: third-party objects and sites, for property in your care (€5,000 per claim)
Items customers leave in your care, such as a coat in the cloakroom. Covered only if you add third-party objects and sites, up to €5,000 per claim.
Cover and exclusions shown are indicative and non-contractual. Only the terms of your policy apply.
Claim examples for pubs and bars
Several guests at a private function fall ill after a food service and hold your business responsible for the compensation and their medical costs.
A customer slips on a wet floor by the bar and fractures a wrist.
A fire that starts in your kitchen spreads into the unit next door, and your neighbour claims against you for the damage to their property.
Several guests at a private function fall ill after a food service and hold your business responsible for the compensation and their medical costs.
A customer slips on a wet floor by the bar and fractures a wrist.
A fire that starts in your kitchen spreads into the unit next door, and your neighbour claims against you for the damage to their property.
Examples are for illustrative purposes only. Compensation depends on the exact circumstances of the claim. No rights can be derived from these examples.
Your business insurance with Insify SmartGuide
Taking out insurance can be quick. Making sure you have the right cover is another matter. With Insify SmartGuide, you don't sign a contract blindly. You ask all your questions, and get clear, immediate and personalised answers, before you take out a policy.
Are you covered if you accidentally damage a client's equipment while working?
What excess should you choose?
Are you protected in the event of a dispute with a client?
Insify SmartGuide guides you step by step to understand what's covered, what isn't, and why. In just a few clicks, you build insurance that's truly tailored to your business, with complete confidence. Try Insify SmartGuide. Understand your insurance before you need it.
How to choose the right insurance as a pub or bar owner?
Criteria to compare:
The cover offered: check that the policy matches how you actually trade. Bar service, table service, food service, takeaway and off-site bookings are different risks, and every one of them needs to be declared. Damage cover concerns property belonging to other people, such as a neighbouring unit or a venue you work in.
The price: compare premiums, but read what sits behind an unusually low one. A policy that excludes part of how you trade is not competitive, whatever it costs.
The excess: find out what stays at your own expense when a claim happens, because it changes both your premium and what a small claim is actually worth to you.
The exclusions: read the exclusions list before you buy and check it against everything you actually do. A service you have not declared is not covered, so describe the full operation at sign-up, including anything that started recently.
The service: an accident can happen at any moment. Choose an insurer that is easy to reach and understands food and drink service. At Insify, our online support team knows the specifics of your work.
Mistakes to avoid: don't settle for a generic business policy that was never written with a bar counter and a service floor in mind, and don't leave a side of the business undeclared because it only started recently. To secure your business today, discover our public liability insurance.
More than 40,000 entrepreneurs trust us
When I had to make a claim, I was amazed how quickly and efficiently it was handled. Within a few days I had a resolution.
Very friendly, quick and thorough. It gives me real confidence in taking out the cover. The company feels genuinely transparent, exactly what I look for. You don't find that often.
Very friendly, quick and thorough. It gives me real confidence in taking out the cover. The company feels genuinely transparent, exactly what I look for. You don't find that often.
When I had to make a claim, I was amazed how quickly and efficiently it was handled. Within a few days I had a resolution.
The cover itself was sorted quickly, and when I later needed support I got that fast too.
Very friendly, quick and thorough. It gives me real confidence in taking out the cover. The company feels genuinely transparent, exactly what I look for. You don't find that often.
When I had to make a claim, I was amazed how quickly and efficiently it was handled. Within a few days I had a resolution.
The cover itself was sorted quickly, and when I later needed support I got that fast too.
Answers to your questions about our insurance for pubs and bars
Public liability cover starts from €7.55 per month with Insify. What you actually pay depends on your turnover, how many people you employ, the cover limit you pick and the excess you accept. A small bar with no employees sits near the bottom of the range, and a larger room with staff and function bookings sits higher. You can see your own price online in a few minutes, and adjust the cover limit and excess to see how each one moves the premium. There is no long-term contract, so you can cancel anytime.
Public liability isn't required by law in Ireland. In practice the people who let you trade usually insist on it. Landlords make it a condition of the lease. Venue owners ask for proof before an event. Local authorities ask when you apply for street furniture or outdoor seating. And a corporate client booking a private function will often want a certificate. With customers on your premises every day, you'll be asked for it sooner rather than later.
Yes, that's the core of what it does. If a customer is injured on your premises through something your business did or failed to do, and they hold you responsible, public liability covers the compensation up to the cover limit you choose. A slip on a wet floor by the bar and a cut from broken glass are both third-party injury claims. You pay your excess and the policy covers the rest. It doesn't cover injury to your own staff. A claim brought by an employee needs employers' liability, which you can add.
If you employ anyone, including part-time and casual bar, floor and kitchen staff, employers' liability is the cover that answers a claim from an employee injured at work. It is an optional addition to your public liability policy rather than a separate product, and it covers up to €13 million per claim. It is not compulsory in Ireland, unlike some other markets. A bar counter and a kitchen concentrate exactly the hazards these claims come from: heat, glass, wet floors and long shifts under pressure. Public liability on its own will not respond to an employee's claim, so if you have anyone on the payroll this is the first thing to add.
The excess is the part of a claim you pay yourself. If a claim settles at €6,000 and your excess is €500, you pay €500 and Insify pays €5,500. If your turnover is up to €500,000, you can choose €0, €250, €500, €1,000 or €2,500. Above that the options are €500, €1,000 or €2,500. A higher excess usually lowers your monthly premium, but it leaves more out of pocket when something happens. A lower excess costs a little more each month and limits surprises.
Property belonging to someone else while it is in your care is covered by third-party objects and sites, which you can add as an optional cover of up to €5,000 per claim. Damage to a customer's property that is not in your care, for example a jacket they are wearing when a drink is spilled on it, is an ordinary third-party property claim under public liability. If cloakroom storage or holding customers' belongings is a regular part of how you operate, say so at sign-up so the cover matches.
No. Public liability covers injury and damage you cause to other people and their property, not damage to things you own. Cover for your own fit-out, bar and kitchen equipment, stock and premises is not part of what Insify offers in Ireland today, so you would need to arrange that separately.
Takeaway food service is one of the activities included, and cover extends to the use of land, buildings or premises for your insured activity, so working a booking away from your own room is within scope once you have declared it. Participation in or execution of business trips is included as well. The important thing is to tell us when the way you trade changes.