Yes, a grease fire in your hood and exhaust duct is generally covered by your commercial property policy, because fire is a covered cause of loss. The key condition: many restaurant policies include a protective safeguards endorsement requiring an automatic hood suppression system kept in working order, and a missed service or unreported impairment can reduce or even eliminate fire coverage.
Kitchen exhaust fires start when grease-laden vapor condenses in filters, hoods and ductwork and a flare-up ignites it. That’s why property underwriters ask detailed questions about suppression systems and cleaning schedules, and why adjusters ask for service tags and cleaning reports within days of a fire.
Which coverage pays for a hood fire
Commercial property. Fire and smoke damage to the building (if you own it or your lease makes you responsible), your tenant improvements, cooking equipment, furniture and inventory are covered under your property policy or the property section of a business owners policy, subject to the deductible. A fire that escapes the cooking surface and ignites grease in the hood or duct is generally treated as a covered fire loss.
Business income and extra expense. A kitchen fire can close a restaurant for weeks. Business income pays lost net income and continuing expenses during repairs; extra expense can pay for temporary equipment or an off-site kitchen to keep catering or delivery running.
General liability. If you rent, your GL includes a separate limit for damage to premises rented to you, which responds when you’re liable for fire damage to the landlord’s building. Check that limit on your declarations page, because it is often small relative to the cost of a commercial kitchen fire. Injuries to guests from a fire fall under the main GL limits.
Suppression and cleaning conditions that decide the claim
Protective safeguards endorsement. The ISO version, CP 04 11, lists required safeguards — for restaurants, typically an automatic extinguishing system over cooking surfaces. It states the insurer won’t pay for fire loss if, before the fire, you knew of an impairment and failed to notify the insurer, or failed to maintain a listed safeguard in complete working order. Some carrier versions are stricter. How a lapse is treated depends on your policy wording and state law.
Suppression system standards. Carriers commonly require a wet chemical system that meets UL 300, serviced by a qualified contractor on the schedule your fire code requires, commonly every six months, with fusible links replaced as specified. Keep every service tag and report.
Hood and duct cleaning. NFPA 96, the fire code standard most jurisdictions adopt for commercial kitchen exhaust, ties inspection and cleaning frequency to cooking volume and fuel type: solid-fuel and high-volume operations clean most often. Many carriers make professional cleaning on that schedule an underwriting requirement, and some write it into the policy as a condition. Routine cleaning, worn filters and fan belts are maintenance, not insured losses.
Two hood fire scenarios
Scenario 1: the smoker flare-up. A barbecue restaurant in Wichita has a flare-up that ignites grease in the duct above its charbroiler. The suppression system discharges, but fire reaches the duct chase before it’s out. The adjuster asks for suppression service tags and hood cleaning reports, and both are current. The property policy pays for the damaged ductwork, ceiling, equipment and smoke cleanup, and business income covers the weeks of lost sales, less the deductible.
Scenario 2: the overdue service. A high-volume fast-food restaurant in Fort Lauderdale skipped its last semiannual suppression service, and its duct cleaning was months overdue. A fryer fire spreads through the exhaust. Because the policy’s protective safeguards endorsement required the system to be maintained in complete working order, the carrier reserves its rights and investigates whether the lapse bars the claim. Even if coverage is ultimately confirmed, the dispute delays repairs and reopening.
Hood fire readiness checklist
- Protective safeguards endorsement — read exactly which safeguards are listed and what the conditions say.
- Suppression service records — every semiannual tag and report, stored off-site or in the cloud.
- Cleaning frequency — matched to your cooking volume and fuel, with dated contractor reports.
- Impairment notice — call your agent before cooking with a system out of service.
- Solid-fuel cooking disclosed — wood-fired ovens and smokers draw extra underwriting questions.
- Contractor certificates — your hood cleaner and suppression vendor should carry liability coverage.
- Damage to premises rented to you — a limit that realistically covers a kitchen fire in the landlord’s building.
- Business income and tenant improvements — sized for a full kitchen rebuild; see tenant improvements and betterments.
Frequently asked questions
Will my fire claim be denied if hood cleaning was overdue?
Not automatically, but it can be contested. If your policy has a protective safeguards endorsement or a cleaning condition, a lapse gives the carrier grounds to dispute the claim; the result depends on your policy wording and state law.
Who pays if the hood cleaning company caused the fire?
Your property insurer typically pays your claim first and may then pursue the contractor’s liability insurer. Keep the contractor’s certificate on file, and check before signing any contract that waives your insurer’s recovery rights.
Do insurers require a UL 300 suppression system?
Most restaurant carriers require an automatic wet chemical system meeting UL 300 over equipment that produces grease-laden vapor, and older dry chemical systems can be a problem at underwriting.
Does a fire that stays inside the hood still count as a claim?
Generally yes: a fire that damages the hood, filters or duct is a covered fire loss, subject to your deductible. Whether filing makes sense depends on the damage compared with that deductible.
Want a second look at your suppression and cleaning conditions before an adjuster reads them? Provident Financial Group is an independent agency: you complete one application, we compare multiple carriers side by side, and you get live certificates of insurance to share with landlords and venues. Call (866) 964-6660 or Get Multiple Quotes within minutes.