Additional Insured Certificates: What Food Truck Vendors Need To Know

We often get calls and emails from new food trucks just weeks away from embarking on their new food truck operation and looking to secure insurance coverage. They know they need it, but often it is last on their very long to-do list. One topic they are usually unfamiliar with is the need for additional insured certificates. The reason? Most venues/events that a truck attends will require a certificate.

What Vendors Need To Know About Additional Insured Certificates

So what do you need to know? Well, first, we’ll define it.

In US insurance policies, an additional insured is a person or organization that enjoys the benefits of being insured under an insurance policy, in addition to whoever originally purchased the insurance policy. So, an additional insured is a term for a person, firm or other entity afforded the same protection under the insurance policy as the insured food truck.

So why are food truck required to attain these certificates? Essentially the venue or event is protecting themselves for Bodily Injury or Property Damage you may cause at the venue or event.

So venues/events will want to be named as an Additional Insured on a certificate.

Be careful! Some carriers charge $25-$100 per Additional Insured certificate. This can add up to a significant cost after twelve months. Unfortunately, insurance brokers that are not familiar with food truck operations often fail to mention the cost or even realize a truck would need many certificates.

Our hope is that either your potential broker…

places you with an admitted carrier that doesn’t charge for certificates or
offers you a blanket (unlimited) Additional Insured option that will add about $500 in premium for the year.

It is best to deal with an insurance broker that knows your business inside and out and can help guide you on insurance process for today’s needs and your future needs.

The Bottom Line

Take some time to check how your food truck insurance handles additional insured certificates. Find out if they treated under a blanket, which means each additional insured is added at no charge or do you have to pay each time you add someone. Without this knowledge, you may end up paying a lot for these unexpected costs. Especially if you do a lot of work on private property or attend a lot of food truck events.

Do you have any additional tips in regards to additional insured certificates? Share your thoughts on this topic on social media. Facebook | Twitter

By Richard Myrick|2018-05-12T08:31:23-04:00May 12, 2017|Insurance|

About the Author: Richard Myrick

Richard Myrick is an architect by degree (Lawrence Technological University, Southfield, Michigan) who began his career in real estate development and architectural planning. In September of 2010 he created Mobile Cuisine Magazine to fill an information void he found when he began researching how to start a mobile hotdog cart in Chicago. Richard found that there was no central repository of mobile street food information anywhere on the internet, and with that, the idea for MCM was born. Richard also wrote the "Running a Food Truck for Dummies" available in bookstores everywhere and Amazon. You can reach out to Richard by email at: [email protected].