Yes — in most cases a restaurant’s commercial general liability (GL) policy covers claims that a customer got sick from your food, including their medical bills, lost wages and your legal defense. The key condition is that the claim is for bodily injury to someone else; product recalls, discarded inventory, health department closures and any communicable disease exclusion sit outside that promise.
This page is for restaurant, cafe, caterer and food truck owners who want a straight answer before a claim happens, and for anyone comparing policies who wants to know exactly where foodborne illness coverage lives. Below we cover which policy responds, what the standard ISO forms leave out, two realistic claim scenarios, and what to confirm on your own declarations page and endorsements.
Which policy pays when a guest says your food made them sick
Foodborne illness is bodily injury, so it falls under Coverage A (Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability) of the standard ISO commercial general liability form, CG 00 01. Food eaten in your dining room is generally treated as a premises-and-operations exposure. Food taken home, delivered or served at a catered event usually falls under the products-completed operations hazard, which carries its own aggregate limit. Either way, the policy pays the sums you become legally obligated to pay and, just as important, defends you. Defense is often the largest part of a food illness claim, because causation is frequently disputed.
Medical payments coverage (Coverage C) can also pay a guest’s reasonable medical expenses without anyone proving fault, which sometimes settles a minor complaint before it becomes a lawsuit. Coverage C generally excludes injuries within the products-completed operations hazard, so a takeout customer who gets sick at home may not qualify for it even though Coverage A would still respond to a liability claim.
Where standard forms stop: exclusions and conditions to know
Product recall. The CGL excludes the cost of recalling, withdrawing or disposing of your product. If a supplier’s ingredient is recalled and you pull menu items and throw out stock, GL does not reimburse that expense.
Your own lost income. GL covers liability to others, not your own losses. A health department closure after an outbreak usually isn’t covered by standard business income either, because there is no direct physical damage to property. That gap is what a food contamination endorsement is designed to fill.
Communicable disease exclusions. Some carriers attach a communicable disease exclusion such as ISO’s CG 21 32. Because certain foodborne illnesses, like norovirus and hepatitis A, can also spread person to person, whether that exclusion affects a food illness claim depends on your policy wording. Ask to see the exact endorsement.
Employee illness and contracts. A sick employee is a workers’ compensation matter, not a GL claim. And hold-harmless promises you signed with a landlord, franchisor or catering client only transfer to your insurer to the extent your policy’s insured contract and additional insured wording allows. Whether punitive damages are insurable also varies by state.
Two food illness claims, start to finish
Scenario 1: the brunch outbreak. A neighborhood brunch spot serves hollandaise at a busy Sunday service. Over the next few days several guests report stomach illness and one is hospitalized. The hospitalized guest’s attorney sends a demand letter alleging undercooked eggs. The GL carrier appoints defense counsel, reviews temperature logs, prep records and supplier invoices, and, if liability is established, pays a settlement up to the per-occurrence limit. Meanwhile the local health department closes the kitchen for several days pending inspection. That lost revenue is not a GL claim; it would only be recovered under a contamination shutdown endorsement.
Scenario 2: the catered lunch. A caterer delivers boxed lunches to a corporate office, and a dozen employees get sick that afternoon. Because the food was eaten away from the caterer’s premises, the claims fall under the products-completed operations hazard. The client’s contract required the caterer to name the client as an additional insured. If the caterer’s policy includes products-completed operations coverage without a sublimit and carries a blanket additional insured endorsement, the defense and claims for both the caterer and the client should route through that GL. If several illnesses trace to one batch, how the policy defines an occurrence affects how limits and deductibles apply.
What to check on your own policy
- Products-completed operations aggregate — confirm it is included and not excluded or sublimited, especially if you offer takeout, delivery or catering.
- Communicable disease exclusion — look for CG 21 32 or a carrier version and ask how it would treat a foodborne outbreak.
- Food contamination or contamination shutdown endorsement — covers your lost income, cleanup and discarded stock after a health department order.
- Medical payments limit — a no-fault limit can resolve small complaints quickly and keep them from growing.
- Additional insured endorsements — landlords, delivery platforms, franchisors and catering clients commonly require them.
- Occurrence definition and aggregate limits — one bad batch can produce many claimants.
- Umbrella or excess liability — a serious hospitalization can exceed primary limits; confirm the umbrella follows form over products claims.
Frequently asked questions
Is product liability a separate policy for restaurants?
For most restaurants, no. Product liability is the products-completed operations part of your GL. A standalone product liability policy is more common for food manufacturers or restaurants that sell packaged goods through retailers. See general liability vs. product liability.
Will my GL respond if the illness came from a supplier’s ingredient?
Generally yes: if a guest sues you, your GL defends you even when the root cause was a supplier. Your carrier may then pursue the supplier, which is why lot numbers, invoices and vendor certificates of insurance matter.
Does general liability cover a customer’s allergic reaction?
An allergic reaction is bodily injury and is generally handled like other food-related injury claims under GL, subject to the same exclusions. Documented allergen procedures help with both defense and underwriting. More on allergic reaction claims.
How long does a guest have to file a food poisoning claim?
That is set by each state’s statute of limitations for personal injury, not by your policy. Report any illness complaint to your agent promptly, since policies require notice of an occurrence as soon as practicable.
Not sure whether your policy includes products-completed operations coverage or a contamination endorsement? Send it to us for a review. 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.