A Fire at the Commissary — Why Liability Alone Was Not Enough

The call comes early: there has been a fire at the commissary where your cart is kept. The stock is gone. Replacing it runs to $25,000.

General liability does not respond to this. It is third-party cover — it answers when someone else is hurt or someone else's property is damaged. Your own equipment and your own stock sit outside it entirely.

The cover that does respond

Damage to your own cart, kiosk, smoker, generator and stock is usually written as inland marine, sometimes as business personal property. It is a separate purchase from liability, and it is the one vendors most often discover they do not have at the worst possible moment.

Two details worth knowing:

• Equipment cover of this kind is generally written on a twelve-month basis. The daily and short-term options that exist for liability do not extend to it.
• If you travel, confirm that your stock and equipment are covered off the premises. A policy that only responds at a fixed address is little use to a business whose whole point is moving.

Ask for both

When you request a quote, ask for liability and equipment together, and be specific about what needs listing: the cart or kiosk itself, and the miscellaneous equipment that travels with it. Those are frequently rated separately, and equipment left off the schedule is equipment that is not covered.

Business income is worth raising in the same conversation. A fire that destroys your stock also stops your trading, and the lost weeks are their own loss.