Delivery apps generally do not provide insurance for a restaurant’s food or premises. Instead, their merchant agreements typically place food-related risk on the restaurant: you are responsible for how food is prepared, labeled, and packaged, you agree to indemnify the platform for claims arising from your products, and some agreements ask you to carry general liability and show a certificate. Your own merchant agreement controls the details.
This page is for owners who sell through third-party marketplaces, run their own delivery, or both. Platform terms change often and vary by market and program, so we do not publish platform-specific requirements here. Instead, below is what these agreements commonly address, how to find your actual obligations, and the coverage that usually lines up with them.
What delivery marketplace merchant terms typically address
- Responsibility for the food. Agreements generally make the merchant responsible for food safety, allergen and ingredient information on the menu, packaging, and tamper-evident sealing.
- Indemnification. Most commercial agreements include a clause where the restaurant agrees to defend and indemnify the platform for claims tied to the restaurant’s products or conduct. That is a contractual promise your insurance may or may not fully cover, depending on the policy’s contractual liability wording.
- Insurance clauses. Some agreements require the merchant to maintain commercial general liability, including products coverage, and to provide a certificate on request. Some ask that the platform be added as an additional insured.
- Compliance with law. Merchants typically agree to follow health codes, permits, and alcohol laws, including age verification where alcohol delivery is allowed.
- Courier status. Marketplace couriers are commonly engaged by the platform rather than employed by the restaurant, and platforms describe their own courier coverage arrangements in their terms. That arrangement is not designed to insure your food or your premises.
How to find your real requirements, step by step
- Log in to each merchant portal and download the exact version of the agreement you accepted, plus any program addenda for self-delivery, pickup, or alcohol.
- Search the text for “insurance,” “indemnify,” “additional insured,” “certificate,” and “alcohol.”
- Write down any required coverage types, limits, or endorsements, and whether the obligation applies to all merchants or only certain programs.
- Check whether the platform must be named on your policy or simply wants a certificate on file.
- Send the relevant sections to your agent so the policy wording actually matches what you signed.
- Recheck when the platform announces updated terms, because acceptance is often automatic.
Marketplace couriers vs your own drivers: where the risk sits
When a platform courier picks up the order, the auto exposure is generally tied to the courier and the platform’s arrangements, not your policy, although restaurants can still be named in lawsuits. When your own staff deliver, whether the order came through an app or your website, the auto exposure becomes yours. Employees driving personal cars create a hired and non-owned auto exposure, and a vehicle titled to the business needs commercial auto. Our restaurant delivery insurance page and the delivery driver coverage gaps post go deeper.
Coverage checklist for restaurants selling through delivery apps
- General liability with products-completed operations — responds when a customer alleges your delivered food made them sick or contained an undisclosed allergen.
- Contractual liability wording — confirm your policy’s insured contract definition fits the indemnity you signed.
- Hired and non-owned auto — needed as soon as any employee delivers in a personal car.
- Commercial auto — required for delivery vehicles owned or leased by the business.
- Workers’ compensation — your own drivers are employees; a delivery crash is a workplace injury.
- Liquor liability — if alcohol goes out with delivery orders where state law allows, confirm the policy does not exclude off-premises sales.
- Cyber — tablets, integrations, and order data create exposure to fraud and data incidents. See restaurant cyber insurance.
Two examples
A New Jersey pizzeria on three apps. Most orders go out with marketplace couriers, but on busy nights two employees deliver nearby orders in their own cars. The owner’s general liability handles food claims, but the gap is hired and non-owned auto for those employee runs, which is added to the policy.
A California ghost kitchen with two virtual brands. All sales come through marketplaces. A customer reports a reaction to an allergen the online menu did not list, and the platform tenders the claim to the kitchen under the indemnity clause. Products coverage and accurate menu data are what protect this operator. More in ghost kitchen insurance.
Mistakes restaurants make with delivery agreements
- Assuming the platform’s courier coverage protects the restaurant.
- Signing an indemnity without checking that the policy covers contractual liability.
- Letting staff deliver without hired and non-owned auto in place.
- Adding alcohol to delivery menus without confirming state rules and liquor policy wording.
- Keeping outdated allergen information on third-party menus.
Matching your policy to your merchant agreements
Provident Financial Group reviews the insurance language in your merchant agreements, then compares multiple carriers on one application. If a platform asks for proof, we issue live certificates of insurance you can upload directly. Call (866) 964-6660.
Frequently asked questions
Does a delivery app’s insurance cover my restaurant?
Generally no. Platform coverage arrangements are built around couriers and the platform itself, not your food, premises, or employees.
Do I have to add the delivery platform as an additional insured?
Only if your agreement requires it. Read the insurance section of the version you accepted, and ask your agent to match it exactly.
Is food poisoning from a delivered order covered by general liability?
Typically it falls under products-completed operations within general liability, subject to your policy terms and exclusions.
Can my restaurant deliver alcohol through an app?
It depends on your state’s alcohol laws, your license, and the platform’s program. Confirm with your regulator and make sure your liquor liability policy covers off-premises sales.
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