Caterers in Georgia typically need general liability with products-completed operations, liquor liability if your staff serve alcohol at events, commercial auto or hired and non-owned auto for vehicles hauling food and equipment, and workers’ compensation once three or more people are regularly employed. Inland marine coverage for chafers, tents and gear taken off-site closes a gap that many standard restaurant policies leave open.
This page is for wedding and event caterers, corporate drop-off services, barbecue pitmasters working festivals, and restaurants with a growing catering arm. Catering moves your business out of a controlled kitchen and into barns, ballrooms, backyards and office parks, and your insurance has to travel with it.
Georgia rules a caterer meets at every venue
Food service in Georgia is permitted through county health departments under the Department of Public Health’s Rules 511-6-1, and those rules require at least one supervisory employee to be a certified food safety manager. Temporary events are treated differently, so confirm how your county handles off-site service.
Alcohol is where catering gets complicated. Selling alcohol requires a local license and then a state license from the Department of Revenue’s Alcohol & Tobacco Division. Whether your arrangement relies on your own license, the venue’s, or a host who buys the alcohol is something to confirm with the Department of Revenue and the local jurisdiction. Either way, O.C.G.A. 51-1-40 applies to anyone who sells, furnishes or serves alcohol, so your bartenders can create liability if they knowingly serve someone under 21 or someone noticeably intoxicated, knowing that guest will soon drive.
Vehicles you own must carry at least Georgia’s 25/50/25 liability minimum (in thousands of dollars). Venue contracts routinely ask for higher limits, additional insured status and a waiver of subrogation.
What goes wrong at off-site events
Consider an outdoor wedding in July where the buffet runs long and a tray of chicken salad sits in the sun; by Monday several guests report stomach illness. Or a chafing fuel can tips during a corporate lunch and burns a guest’s forearm. A server underestimates how many glasses of champagne a groomsman had before he leaves for the drive home.
Your own people get hurt too: a cook wrenches a back lifting a loaded insulated carrier into the van, or a server slips on a wet kitchen floor at an unfamiliar venue. And equipment disappears or breaks: rented china dropped during teardown, a trailer of chafers stolen from a lot overnight, or a delivery van that rear-ends another car on the way to a rehearsal dinner.
Catering coverage checklist
- General liability — guest injuries at venues you do not control, including trips over cords and serving stations.
- Products-completed operations — foodborne illness claims that surface days after the event ends.
- Liquor liability — bartending services and any event where your team pours; host liquor alone may not fit if you sell or serve.
- Commercial auto — owned vans and box trucks hauling food, staff and equipment.
- Hired and non-owned auto — staff driving personal cars to deliver trays or pick up supplies.
- Inland marine — chafers, warmers, tents and portable bars in transit and at venues.
- Workers’ compensation — lifting, burns and slips across many different kitchens.
- Spoilage — food lost when refrigeration fails before a big event.
- Umbrella liability — higher limits demanded by hotels, universities and corporate campuses.
Factors in a caterer’s premium
Carriers price catering on annual revenue, the mix of drop-off versus full-service events, typical guest counts, how often alcohol is served and by whom, the vehicles you use, whether you cook on-site with open flame, and your claims history.
You can strengthen your submission with temperature logs for every event, a written alcohol service policy with a set last call, drink tickets or wristbands for age checks, driver records for anyone behind the wheel, and a habit of reading venue contracts before you sign them.
Getting event-ready certificates without delays
Provident Financial Group compares offers from multiple carriers quoted through our agency using one application, side by side. After you bind, we issue live certificates of insurance with the venue listed as additional insured, often the same day. Call (866) 964-6660 when a planner needs one fast.
Frequently asked questions
Does my restaurant policy cover catering jobs off-site?
Sometimes, with limits. Many restaurant policies restrict off-premises operations, equipment away from the building and liquor served elsewhere, so review the forms before you book outside events.
Who is liable if a wedding guest drinks too much at an event we cater?
If your staff served the guest, Georgia’s statute can apply to your business when the guest was underage or noticeably intoxicated and your team knew the guest would soon drive.
Why do venues ask to be named as additional insured?
It lets the venue claim under your liability policy if a guest sues them over something your team did. Most hotels and event spaces will not let you load in without it.
What auto coverage does a catering van need?
A commercial auto policy meeting at least Georgia’s 25/50/25 minimum, with higher limits commonly required by contracts. Hired and non-owned auto covers staff using their own cars.
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