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I'm a bit perplexed on how Travelers Insurance can say that they insure and protect restaurants...but then they say that they will NOT insure a restaurant that has any form of a Happy Hour. I'm being completely serious - I just got off the line with my underwriter and I have an account that has a HH which includes NO alcohol, it's purely food discounts. Even so, they "passed" on accepting to write it.
Tell me, is there honestly a single restaurant in the US that doesn't have a HH in this economy?? I would imagine that as a restauranteur, you would try anything that is tasteful to entice patrons to dine.
I understand that Travelers may not want the drinking exposure to increase due to low prices cocktails and other alcoholic beverages...but to exclude coverage to a restaurant that only discounts their food items seems a bit draconian to me. I was fully willing to place this restaurant with Travelers, which has been in business for 16 years, loss free.
It looks like I will have to give it to an insurance company that actually understands the hospitality world - a carrier that understands the restauranteur...someone like, perhaps, Liberty Northwest / Mutual...or even The Hartford, who has turned their restaurant division up a few notches (which I like to think I had something to do with that) haha...persistence always prevails!
I'm not saying that Travelers is going to deny any claims that arise from their currently insured restaurants just because they have a HH...I'm simply stating that for new business, it seems that they are strongly shying away from it. If you know anyone who owns a restaurant, they owe it to themselves to seek consultation from a broker that knows and understands the industry - pass along my information to them so that they can be fully educated on their covered exposures.
