Restaurant Insurance – Equipment Breakdown Coverage Revisited

In the past I have blogged about equipment breakdown coverage for restaurants and I have discussed one of the more obvious reasons for needing it – breakdown of heating or air conditioning systems. However, with rapid technological changes in the restaurant industry, there are new areas of concern that give new weight to the value of carefully considering adding this protection to your restaurant insurance policy.

Specifically, I want you to think of the new technologies that you may have added to your restaurant in the past 5 years that you now rely on for smooth day to day operations. Which of these could you do without for an extended period of time? How much would it cost you to replace lost income due to the breakdown of this equipment? For instance, many restaurants now use sophisticated, computer based cash registers that integrate with point of sale software systems. What losses would you face if this system broke down? Could you stay open?

Another area of consideration for your equipment breakdown coverage is your commercial grade sound system if you have one, or your inventory scanner system or even your time clock and payroll system that might be run from your computerized register. If these systems go down, your restaurant could be crippled and the lost revenue while you struggle to get your systems running again could be substantial.

All of these new electronic systems are at risk for power surges and electrical arcing. Unbudgeted losses from breakdown of these systems can be significant enough that for some restaurants equipment breakdown coverage should no longer be considered an optional coverage but rather a critical one. Take a moment to check your restaurant insurance policy and see if you have equipment breakdown coverage. After the systems break, it will be too late to go back then and add the coverage.

Restaurants are a unique kind of business and they present unique insurance challenges. If you own a restaurant then you should take the time to seek out an insurance agent who specializes in restaurant insurance. Don’t trust your protection to a generalist. You will likely save money and be better protected if you find an agent who understands restaurants and insures dozens or even hundreds of them.

Clinard Insurance Group, located in Winston Salem, NC is an independent insurance agency that specializes in restaurant insurance. We write insurance for more than one hundred restaurants in North Carolina and South Carolina. Our understanding of how each restaurant is different from the others has led us to create 5 distinct restaurant insurance programs. We have a fine dining restaurant insurance program, a casual dining restaurant insurance program, a fast food restaurant insurance program, a bar and grill and tavern insurance program and a specialized insurance program for catering companies. If we can help you with your restaurant insurance needs, or if you simply need a professional second opinion on any restaurant insurance issues, please feel free to call us, toll free, at 877-687-7557 or visit us on the web at www.TheRestaurantInsuranceStore.com.

You can find the original source material for this article at www.RestaurantInsuranceGuy.com.

Restaurant Insurance – UL 300 System Part 2

In part one of this two part series we discussed ways to identify if your current system is a UL 300 system or not. If you have discovered that you are using an older system, then what should you do about it? Well our advice is to replace your old system with a new one that is UL 300 approved.

Before we get to the replacement question, here is a list of situations where most local governments will require the use of a UL 300 system.

Use of vegetable based oils in frying.

Any addition or change or any appliance from the original installation.

Any change to the hood or duct system.

The suppression system can no longer be maintained as required for 6 month maintenance due to the lack of available replacement parts or the servicing company refusing to service the out of date unit.

In addition, it is important to note that all dry chemical units are non-compliant as are the following wet chemical units unless modifications have been made:

Ansul R-102, all sizes 1988- 1995,

Ansul Steel tanks (red in color), all sizes 1988 – 2001,

Kidde Aqua Blue, all sizes 1988 – 1995,

Range Guard, all sizes 1977 – 1995.

Many of these UL 300 wet units can be upgraded, but the difference in cost between a new one and a retrofitted one is rarely more than 15% so most restaurants opt for the new system.

One last note about changing your system: If you do so, please remove any dry chemical fire extinguisher from the kitchen area as their interaction with the UL 300 liquid agents will serve to spread the fire rather than extinguish it. NFPA 10 requires that only K rate fire extinguishers be kept in your kitchen area.

In part 1 of this blog I mentioned that you there are ways to have someone else pay for the cost of replacing your old, noncompliant system with a newer UL 300 system. So how does that work? It’s simple really. There are many insurance companies out there that understand the value of the UL 300 system and as such will provide huge discounts for restaurants utilizing this newer system. We have seen these discounts more than pay for the upgrade of systems in our work. If your agent isn’t currently giving you the full discounts for your UL 300 system, you should choose an insurance company that values this safety feature and is willing to cut your insurance costs because you have it installed.

Clinard Insurance Group, Inc., is an independent insurance agency, located in Winston Salem, NC. We specialize in helping all kinds of restaurants all across NC and SC. If you need help with your restaurant insurance questions, or if you would like to see how much money you can save with our specialized restaurant insurance programs, please call us, toll free, at 877-687-7557 or visit us on the web at www.TheRestaurantInsuranceStore.com. We have several specialized insurance programs for the different types of restaurants out there so we should be able to find a solution that best suits your needs. Our special programs include our fine dining insurance package, our casual dining insurance package, our fast food insurance package, our bar and grill insurance package and our special insurance program for caterers.

The source information for this article was pulled from articles found at www.RestaurantInsuranceGuy.com.

Restaurant Insurance – UL 300 System And Your Restaurant – Part 1

Older fire suppression systems for restaurants may no longer be enough to extinguish restaurant fires today. That is because of new cooking media and newer cooking methodologies that can generate higher temperatures and lower flash points. This 2 part series will look at the new UL300 standards and help you understand what you have now and what you may want in the future.

So what is UL300? UL 300 is the standard for testing of fire extinguishing systems for protection of restaurant cooking areas. Underwriters Laboratories, Inc, referred to as UL, is an independent, not for profit product safety testing and certification organization. How do you know if your current system is UL 300? According to Underwriters Laboratories, the only way to know is to check that the model number on your fire suppression system is UL 300 compliant. If so, then you must verify that all components have been installed as specified by the manufacturer’s manual.

The best place to start is to look for the UL300 label on the systems extinguishing chemical tank. Another indicator is the type of discharge nozzle located over each cooking surface. All UL 300 compliant systems use a wet extinguishing agent. Discharge nozzles for the older, dry chemical systems are fairly large, usually around 2 inches in diameter. Wet system nozzles are narrow, typically ¾ inch to 1 inch in diameter and are typically covered with red, orange or yellow plastic caps to keep them clean.

You may have to ask the fire protection company that is offering the ongoing service and inspections on your system. You can identify them by finding the service record tag. This tag is normally attached to the manual pull box for the system.

Here are some red flag indicators that your system is not UL 300 compliant:

Installed prior to 11/21/1994.

No UL label on the cylinder.

Dry chemical extinguishing media.

Dry chemical discharge nozzles – large size – 2 inches in diameter

System uses water spray to protect appliances.

System uses a single nozzle to protect multiple appliances or multiple cooking surfaces.

So what if your current system is not UL 300 compliant? In that case I would recommend that you replace it with a UL 300 system. In part 2 of this 2 part series I will show you how to go about that and how to get someone else to pay for it.

Clinard Insurance Group, located in Winston Salem, NC, is an insurance agency that specializes in insuring restaurants all across North Carolina and South Carolina. If you have a restaurant in NC or SC and would like our help answering your restaurant insurance questions, please call us, toll free at 877-687-7557 or visit us on the web at www.TheRestaurantInsuranceStore.com. We know that not every restaurant is the same, so we have developed 5 specialized restaurant programs to meet your specific needs. We have a fine dining restaurant insurance plan, a casual dining restaurant insurance plan, a fast food restaurant insurance plan, a bar and grill and tavern insurance plan and a special insurance program for caterers.

The source information for this article was pulled from other articles which can be found at www.RestaurantInsuranceGuy.com.