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There’s a lot to think about when you're running a pub, whether it’s a gastropub, a traditional drinkers’ bar, or a party venue.
And one item on your to-do list should be making sure you've got the right pub insurance in place to protect you, your business and, most importantly, your customers.
Unless your pub is run entirely by you and your family members, you’ll need employers’ liability insurance to cover your staff – it’s the law.
But it’s not just your employees you have to worry about. Serving the public comes with a range of potential risks, especially when there’s alcohol involved. Pub insurance covers a wide range of cover that could help shield you from those risks.
For example, depending on the policy you choose, pub and bar insurance cover could protect you from a big financial burden if:
Someone brings a claim against you after slipping in the bar and getting injured
Someone gets sick from food or drink you’ve served them
There’s a break-in and your stock is stolen
A burst pipe damages the pub contents
A kitchen fire means you have to close up the pub for a while to make repairs.
Running a pub can be a precarious business. There were less than 39,000 pubs left in England and Wales at the end of 2024 – a record low.
With rising costs causing many pubs to shut over the past decade, pub insurance may feel like another thing you can’t afford. But it could help protect you from bigger, game-ending costs down the line.
There are a few types of insurance for pubs to consider, depending on your circumstances. These include:
Employers’ liability insurance could cover you if one of your employees becomes ill or is injured as a result of working for you.
If you employ one or more people, it’s a legal requirement to have employers’ liability insurance with at least £5 million worth of cover. You could be fined £2,500 every day you’re not properly insured.
The exception is if your employees are all immediate family members. But even if this is the case, you may still want cover for your loved ones.
Although it isn’t required by law, it’s a good idea to protect yourself against claims from the public when you have a business that revolves around people.
Public liability insurance could protect you if someone has an accident, gets injured or their property is damaged on your premises. It could also protect you if you serve up something that makes someone ill.
If a customer slipped on a wet floor and broke their arm, for example, you’d be liable as it’s your responsibility to make sure your property is safe. Public liability insurance could cover the cost of any legal fees or compensation.
Commercial buildings insurance is designed to cover any damage to the pub building itself. It can cover the structure of the building and any permanent fixtures or fittings from risks such as fire, storms and flooding.
If you’re a tenant, that may not be your responsibility, as it’s typically down to the owner to sort out buildings insurance.
If you own the pub, you should work out how much it would cost to rebuild the property, should the need arise, and take out buildings insurance for that amount.
Remember, you don’t need to insure the building for its market value, or how much you paid for it, either of which might be a larger sum than the rebuild cost.
Business contents insurance can cover everything inside your pub against risks including theft, vandalism and fire or flood damage.
Insurance providers may describe it as covering everything that would fall out if you turned the pub upside down – for example, glasses, furniture and kitchen appliances.
Fixtures such as toilets and kitchen cabinets usually come under your buildings insurance.
For a pub, stock insurance covers you for all the items you sell, including wines, beers, spirits, and food. This is likely to have significant cash value.
Deterioration of stock insurance – often an add-on to standard stock insurance – could cover you from financial loss if something out of your control caused your stock to be ruined.
This might be, for example, if you lose power or your fridge breaks down, meaning fresh food is left at an unsafe temperature and has to be thrown away.
For a pub, losing your liquor licence is a tough thing to come back from.
Loss of licence insurance can cover lost earnings and help keep you afloat if you’re unable to trade.
But it only applies if you lose your licence through no fault of your own.
This might be, for example, if your local council revoked your licence because of complaints about noise or disorder that weren’t your fault. You wouldn’t be covered, however, if you lost your licence for doing something illegal like selling alcohol to underage drinkers.
Check the terms of the policy to be clear about what you might be covered for.
Business interruption insurance can cover lost income if you’re unable to trade because of theft or damage to your pub’s contents, structure or stock. It typically applies to damage caused by fire, flooding and storms.
It could compensate you for lost profits, and perhaps even help with paying your staff wages, or replacing stock or equipment. But policies vary, so read the terms carefully to make sure you know what is and isn't covered.
You might need this if your pub regularly hosts live entertainment and events. With more people on site, extra equipment and potentially later opening hours, the risks are seen as being greater.
Some insurance providers limit how many live events you can have at your pub in a week, so standard public liability insurance might not be enough.
It’s difficult to give a pub insurance average cost. That’s because every pub is different, and circumstances can vary wildly.
The price you might pay for public house insurance depends on several factors, including:
Where your pub is located
The size of your pub business
What you want your policy to cover
To give you an idea of costs, the majority of our customers were quoted less than £80 a year2 for their public liability insurance.
Meanwhile, the majority of our customers were quoted less than £252 a year3 for their buildings cover business insurance.
Compare quotes with us to see what it might cost to insure your pub.
It’s easy to compare business insurance quotes with Compare the Market. Just give us a few details about you and your business, including:
Your business postcode
The type of business you run
How many people you employ
Your claims history.
Your quotes will be listed by price and you’ll be able to compare based on the amount of cover you need.
Learn about cover for catering businesses, liability risks and running food-based services
Yes, you can buy optional cover to protect all money on the premises if it’s kept in a locked safe overnight, or if it’s in transit to the bank. Although most pubs now accept contactless payments, they typically still handle a lot of cash, so this cover could be useful.
Some policies may also protect you for losses if you have an ATM on site. But check the maximum amount of cash they could cover you for.
The excess you have to pay to claim on pub insurance can depend on the policy you choose and what you are claiming for. For example, there may be one excess for claims on your business contents cover and a different excess for claims on your public liability insurance.
There shouldn’t be any excess on your employers’ liability cover as this is a legal requirement.
It’s worth comparing a range of policies to see what the best pub insurance may be for you. And make sure you’d be able to afford the excess if you did need to make a claim.
Product liability cover could provide financial protection if you’re serving packaged food, such as bags of crisps and pork scratchings from your bar. It can cover you for legal fees and compensation if someone gets sick from a product you’ve sold.
Product liability cover may be included as part of your pub insurance public liability cover. Check the terms of any policy carefully before you buy to understand what is and isn’t covered.
One type of insurance targeted specifically at pub landlords is loss of licence cover. Of course, the pub couldn’t trade if you lost your licence. This insurance could cover you for some loss of earnings, if that ever happened because of reasons beyond your control.
Situations where this might apply include if your local council revoked your licence because of complaints about noise in the local area that wasn’t your fault. You wouldn’t be covered, however, if you lost your licence for selling alcohol to underage drinkers because that’s illegal.
Pub insurance is a collection of policies designed to protect you against specific risks to your business, so you might also want to consider:
Business interruption cover. Most pubs will be insured for damage to their buildings and contents from floods, fire or other unexpected disasters. But these policies often won’t cover you for lost revenue if you’re unable to trade. Business interruption insurance could provide you with funds to pay staff, refill stock and rebuild your business. But it almost certainly won’t cover you for coronavirus-related interruptions.
Deterioration of stock cover. If your fridge or freezer break down, this can help to recover the cost of any defrosted and spoiled food. Deterioration of stock insurance also covers you if your food stocks are ruined due to an electrical fault in the local area that shuts off your power supply. Additionally, this type of policy usually covers any food delivered after the incident that you’re unable to store safely.
Entertainment cover. You might need this if your pub regularly hosts live entertainment and events. With more people on site, extra equipment and potentially later opening hours, the risks are seen as being greater. Some insurance providers limit how many live events you can have at your pub in a week, so standard public liability insurance might not be enough.
Simply start a quote with us and we’ll help you find the most competitive prices for the different types of insurance you might need, for your pub.
Amy helps make sure you get the best value when choosing insurance. Thanks to more than four years’ experience at Compare the Market, she understands what people look for, working closely with insurance providers to offer you deals and services that are fair, easy to understand and right for your needs.
1 Based on Trustpilot ratings (July 2026).
2 51% of our customers were quoted less than £79.17 for their public liability business insurance in April-June 2026.
3 51% of our customers were quoted less than £251.51 for their building cover business insurance in April-June 2026.
What our expert says...
“Running a pub comes with its own unique set of challenges. And margins can be tight. It’s crucial to have the right policy in place to protect you, your business, your employees and your customers in case things go wrong.
“Remember to read the terms and conditions carefully to make sure you’re fully protected should there be any disruption to your business.”