Protecting homes away from home
Guest injury in the lobby, restaurant, or grounds.
Hospitality general liability responds when a guest is hurt on the property — a slip in the lobby, a fall in the dining room, or an incident on the grounds. Illinois hotels and inns start here, then layer the coverages that a standard office policy never contemplated.
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The base hospitality policy is the printed form. An endorsement is a taped-on change — adding coverage, taking it away, or renaming who is insured. Optional coverages ride along with the policy. Separate policies sit beside it.
Form names and availability vary by carrier. This is a map of add-ons we commonly shop in Illinois — not a promise that every company offers every item.
Base policy
Hospitality policy
Hover an add-on to read it, then click to pin it here — a review list for your next conversation with an advisor.
Send this list to an advisor →We’ll open the contact form for this coverage so an advisor can help you decide which add-ons belong on the policy.
For your guests, your hotel, motel, inn, or bed and breakfast is a home away from home. For you, it is your livelihood. Having the proper hospitality insurance coverage to protect your business means taking care of what's yours, as well as your guests and their belongings.
We typically start hospitality quotes with general liability and workers compensation, then add inland marine, an umbrella, or a certificate of insurance workflow that matches your contracts.
One of the big differences between insuring a hospitality business and other businesses is the need for innkeepers' legal liability insurance. You have an obligation under the law to keep your guests' belongings secure, safe, and in some cases, you can be held responsible for loss or damage. What's more, because the legal requirements can vary from state to state, your insurance needs can be complex.
If your hospitality business also includes a restaurant or bar, a liquor liability policy is a must-have. Offering valet services, either for the restaurant or guests lodging with you, creates another risk factor that requires attention. Airport and local shuttles are also popular amenities, but they also carry their own specialized coverage needs.
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The same hospitality policy add-ons from the explorer above, listed out. Form names and availability vary by carrier.
Endorsement
Landlord, franchisor, or venue named on liability.
Hospitality leases and franchise agreements are endorsement-heavy. Additional insured, waiver of subrogation, and primary wording need to match the contract — and they live on the policy, not just the certificate. We read the insurance exhibit instead of guessing.
Endorsement
Restores some liability the form otherwise excludes.
Many hospitality liability forms exclude assault and battery. A limited buyback can restore coverage with a sublimit, often with security warranties. Nightclubs need a harder look; hotels and restaurants still see parking-lot and bar-area claims.
Separate policy
Guest data, reservation systems, and payment cards.
Property management systems and POS terminals hold guest data. Cyber is almost always a separate policy or a dedicated endorsement with its own application. A hotel Wi-Fi incident is not a fire claim.
Endorsement
Theft of money or property by an employee.
Front-desk cash, banquet deposits, and inventory walk out the door more often than break-ins. Employee dishonesty is a crime endorsement (or a crime policy), not general liability. Limits should reflect how much cash and liquor sit on site.
Endorsement
Sudden mechanical or electrical failure of building systems.
Boilers, HVAC, and kitchen equipment fail in ways property insurance treats as mechanical breakdown, not a named peril. Equipment breakdown (boiler and machinery) is the buyback. Hotels feel this on chillers; restaurants feel it on the hood and coolers.
Endorsement
Limited extra expense after a food-borne illness event.
Food contamination coverage can help with lost income, extra advertising, and medical testing after a documented contamination incident. It is not a substitute for kitchen procedures or health-department compliance. Carriers underwrite it tightly.
Endorsement
Guests’ cars in your care in a lot or garage.
Valet is bailee exposure. Garagekeepers covers customers’ vehicles for collision, comprehensive, or specified perils while in your custody. CGL will not repair a guest’s car you parked into a pillar.
Endorsement
Liability for rented vans and employees running errands.
Airport shuttles, banquet van rentals, and managers in personal cars create auto liability the GL form does not cover. Hired and non-owned auto is the usual endorsement on a BOP or package. A true shuttle fleet may need commercial auto instead.
Endorsement
Guest property in rooms, checked bags, or safe-deposit.
Hotels and inns have a special duty to guest belongings. Innkeepers legal liability is not the same as your building coverage. State statutes can cap or expand that duty. If you run lodging in the western suburbs, this endorsement is part of the hospitality conversation, not a luxury.
Separate policy
Dram-shop coverage — usually its own policy, not a GL extra.
General liability typically excludes liquor. Hotels and restaurants that serve alcohol need liquor liability, often a separate policy. Host liquor for incidental serving is not the same as selling drinks. Illinois dram-shop exposure is the reason we split this out.
Learn more →Endorsement
Code upgrades after a partial loss to an older lodging building.
Older motor lodges and downtown inns often need sprinkler, accessibility, or electrical upgrades after a fire. Ordinance or law coverage is how you pay for that increment. The base building limit rebuilds what was there, not what the village now requires.
Endorsement
Food loss after a refrigeration or power failure.
A walk-in that dies on a July weekend is a spoilage claim, not a typical property fire claim. Spoilage endorsements set a limit and often require working refrigeration maintenance. Restaurants attached to hotels use this as much as standalone kitchens.
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