Commercial insurance companies in the UK are not the greatest friends of the licensed trade industry. What we mean is that they are not keen to provide pub insurance quotes and cover, because there is an increased likelihood of a claim, compared to say, shop insurance.
That is not to say that an insurer can underwrite pubs, wine bars and even nightclubs without making money. The key is to be selective in the types of business you insure.
Pub and bar insurance do tend to have higher public liability claims. This is partly due to the “ambulance chaser” solicitors that give a member of the public an option to sue a pub if they injured themselves on the premises. Unfortunately, even if the customer is 100% at fault, this does not prevent claims being made.
As pubs do tend to deal in cash they are more susceptible to hold ups and break ins, but this only tends to be in the inner city areas.
So, an insurer can make money from licensed trade insurance if they are sensible with their prices and selective with the risks they take.
Essentially, insurers do want these types of risks but only certain insurers. We hear from many pubs who have been insured for years and years with XYZ insurance company as their broker does not have any alternative insurers. Then they come to us and we have saved some pubs over 30% from their annual premium. It is simply a case of speaking to a business insurance broker that has more than one insurer in their panel.