It depends on what was taken and who was hurt. Stolen cash is generally not covered by a standard property policy or business owners policy unless you’ve added money and securities or commercial crime coverage. Damage to your building and equipment during a holdup is usually a property claim, injured employees go to workers’ compensation, and injured guests go to general liability.
Restaurants handle cash, stay open late and often have one manager closing alone — facts that underwriters notice as much as robbers do. This page walks through how a robbery claim actually splits across your policies, where the standard forms stop, and what to confirm before you need it.
How a holdup claim splits across your policies
The cash. Under the ISO commercial property form, money and securities are listed as property not covered. The ISO businessowners policy offers money and securities as an optional coverage, and some carriers’ restaurant packages include a modest amount. The fuller answer is a commercial crime policy, whose insuring agreements include theft of money and securities inside the premises, robbery or safe burglary of other property, and money outside the premises while in the care of a messenger — such as a manager carrying the deposit to the bank.
The building and equipment. A smashed office door, a pried-open safe or a damaged register is generally covered by your property policy, subject to its deductible. Theft of liquor, food stock or equipment is also generally a property claim under the Special form, subject to its theft exclusions.
The people. An employee hurt during a holdup is a workers’ compensation claim. A guest who is injured, or who later sues alleging inadequate security, is a general liability claim — but some restaurant GL policies exclude or sublimit assault and battery, which can shrink or remove that coverage. The outcome depends on your policy wording; see our page on assault claims and liquor liability.
Exclusions and conditions that decide a robbery claim
Employee involvement. The premises insuring agreements in a crime policy exclude theft by your own employees. If a staged robbery turns out to involve staff, the claim moves to the separate employee theft insuring agreement, which needs its own limit.
Inventory shortages. Loss that can only be proven by an inventory count or a profit-and-loss comparison is generally excluded. Keep daily cash reconciliations, drop logs and video so the loss can be shown directly.
Protective requirements. Some money coverages are conditioned on a locked safe, a drop safe, a time-lock or a working central-station alarm. If a required device wasn’t in use, coverage can be reduced or denied, depending on the wording.
Notice and proof. Crime forms require prompt notice, a police report when you believe a law was broken, and a sworn proof of loss within a set number of days. Missing those deadlines is an avoidable way to lose a valid claim.
Two robbery scenarios and how they resolve
Scenario 1: the closing-time safe robbery. At closing, two armed men force the manager of a fast-casual restaurant in Atlanta to open the office safe. They take the day’s receipts and the change bank, and one shoves a dishwasher who breaks his arm. With a crime policy that includes inside-the-premises money coverage, the stolen cash is paid up to that limit, less the deductible. The dishwasher’s injury is a workers’ comp claim. The damaged office door is a property claim. Without crime or money coverage, the cash loss stays with the owner.
Scenario 2: the bank deposit walk. An assistant manager in Philadelphia is robbed at gunpoint while walking the nightly deposit to a bank two blocks away. Inside-the-premises coverage doesn’t reach this loss; the outside-the-premises agreement for money in a messenger’s care does. If police later learn the assistant manager tipped off the robbers, the claim shifts to employee theft coverage instead.
Robbery and cash-handling coverage checklist
- Inside-the-premises money and securities — set the limit against your highest cash day, including holiday weekends.
- Outside-the-premises (messenger) coverage — for bank deposits, cash pickups and catering collections.
- Employee theft — a separate insuring agreement for skimming and staged thefts.
- Safe, alarm and cash-handling conditions — confirm any protective device requirements and follow them nightly.
- Assault and battery coverage on your GL — check for exclusions or sublimits that affect guest injury claims.
- Workers’ compensation — covers staff injured during a holdup.
- Property deductible and glass — break-in damage and broken storefront glass.
- Cyber and social engineering — fraudulent transfers are not robbery and need separate coverage.
Frequently asked questions
Is stolen cash covered by a restaurant BOP?
Only if money and securities coverage has been added or the carrier’s restaurant form includes it. The standard property section treats money as property not covered.
What’s the difference between robbery and burglary for insurance purposes?
Robbery generally means taking property from a person by force or threat; safe burglary means taking property from a locked safe with visible signs of forced entry. Crime forms define both precisely, and coverage can differ.
Is an overnight break-in handled the same way?
Damage and stolen equipment usually fall under property, while cash taken from the safe needs crime coverage. See vandalism and break-ins.
Do I need a police report to file a crime claim?
Generally yes. Crime policies require notifying police when you believe a law was broken, along with prompt notice to the carrier and a sworn proof of loss.
Want your cash limits, messenger coverage and employee theft limits checked against how your restaurant actually handles money? 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.