I have a bar/restaurant insured whose liquor/beer sales exceed the food. Standard markets won’t Liquor Liability unless receipts of beer/liquor are no more than 15% of the total receipts. I have proposed Liquor Liability to them stand alone and they think the premium is too high so they reject it each year. Bartenders are trained, but there is always the possibility that someone is overserved and then an accident can happen. It is a pretty dangerous game to play in today’s world.
I wouldn’t give them a choice. When I quote something like that, I present it as a package deal, all or nothing. If they don’t like my package price, they can go to the agent’s down the street and present them with their EO claim.
Mark, I wasn’t going to forego writing their coverage just because they didn’t accept Liquor Liability. I did document the discussion and rejection and followed up with a letter of the offer. The insured knows he doesn’t have it and has been operating for 15 years this way. He is choosing to accept the risk and it is his business.
Our legislature has been kind enough to provide legal protection by statute. I see liquor liability (in Louisiana) as over insurance and potentially unethical. You read the law and let me know what you think:
La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §9:2800.1
A. The legislature finds and declares that the consumption of intoxicating beverages, rather than the sale or serving or furnishing of such beverages, is the proximate cause of any injury, including death and property damage, inflicted by an intoxicated person upon himself or upon another person.
B. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, no person holding a permit under either Chapter 1 or Chapter 2 of Title 26 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, nor any agent, servant, or employee of such a person, who sells or serves intoxicating beverages of either high or low alcoholic content to a person over the age for the lawful purchase thereof, shall be liable to such person or to any other person or to the estate, successors, or survivors of either for any injury suffered off the premises, including wrongful death and property damage, because of the intoxication of the person to whom the intoxicating beverages were sold or served.
D. The insurer of the intoxicated person shall be primarily liable with respect to injuries suffered by third persons.
E. The limitation of liability provided by this section shall not apply to any person who causes or contributes to the consumption of alcoholic beverages by force or by falsely representing that a beverage contains no alcohol.
Hmm, must be a slow day at the office to comment on a story that is almost a year old. I like Louisiana’s law. It somewhat absolves the establishment of responsibility since it is really the drinkers problem if they over indulge. Also, bartenders never know for sure how much they have had before they get there. Some people are better at masking their condition than others.
What the states need to do is make it a requirement of every bartender and server of alcohol to be Alcohol Awareness Trained. I have a bar tending school in California, and every one of my students must have completed the Alcohol Awareness Training or they cannot use the Job Placement Service. If the government wont spet in and make it mandatory, the the Insurance companies should schedule their rates based on risk factors, and one high risk is the difference of an employee being AA trained or not.
I have a bar/restaurant insured whose liquor/beer sales exceed the food. Standard markets won’t Liquor Liability unless receipts of beer/liquor are no more than 15% of the total receipts. I have proposed Liquor Liability to them stand alone and they think the premium is too high so they reject it each year. Bartenders are trained, but there is always the possibility that someone is overserved and then an accident can happen. It is a pretty dangerous game to play in today’s world.
Agreed. Document each rejection.
I wouldn’t give them a choice. When I quote something like that, I present it as a package deal, all or nothing. If they don’t like my package price, they can go to the agent’s down the street and present them with their EO claim.
Agreed, Mark. It’s not worth the small commission to put your agency at risk.
Mark, I wasn’t going to forego writing their coverage just because they didn’t accept Liquor Liability. I did document the discussion and rejection and followed up with a letter of the offer. The insured knows he doesn’t have it and has been operating for 15 years this way. He is choosing to accept the risk and it is his business.
Our legislature has been kind enough to provide legal protection by statute. I see liquor liability (in Louisiana) as over insurance and potentially unethical. You read the law and let me know what you think:
La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §9:2800.1
A. The legislature finds and declares that the consumption of intoxicating beverages, rather than the sale or serving or furnishing of such beverages, is the proximate cause of any injury, including death and property damage, inflicted by an intoxicated person upon himself or upon another person.
B. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, no person holding a permit under either Chapter 1 or Chapter 2 of Title 26 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, nor any agent, servant, or employee of such a person, who sells or serves intoxicating beverages of either high or low alcoholic content to a person over the age for the lawful purchase thereof, shall be liable to such person or to any other person or to the estate, successors, or survivors of either for any injury suffered off the premises, including wrongful death and property damage, because of the intoxication of the person to whom the intoxicating beverages were sold or served.
D. The insurer of the intoxicated person shall be primarily liable with respect to injuries suffered by third persons.
E. The limitation of liability provided by this section shall not apply to any person who causes or contributes to the consumption of alcoholic beverages by force or by falsely representing that a beverage contains no alcohol.
Hmm, must be a slow day at the office to comment on a story that is almost a year old. I like Louisiana’s law. It somewhat absolves the establishment of responsibility since it is really the drinkers problem if they over indulge. Also, bartenders never know for sure how much they have had before they get there. Some people are better at masking their condition than others.
What the states need to do is make it a requirement of every bartender and server of alcohol to be Alcohol Awareness Trained. I have a bar tending school in California, and every one of my students must have completed the Alcohol Awareness Training or they cannot use the Job Placement Service. If the government wont spet in and make it mandatory, the the Insurance companies should schedule their rates based on risk factors, and one high risk is the difference of an employee being AA trained or not.
Most carriers will require servers to be TIPS (or other similar type) trained in order to provide coverage.
I found this article to be very beneficial as a business owner, very interesting insights.