Best Food Truck Business Insurance

NEXT leads our rankings for food truck business insurance with a score of 4.82 out of 5. The company earned top marks for coverage options, competitive rates and quality service. The Hartford and Simply Business also offer strong options for food truck owners seeking comprehensive protection for their mobile food business.

Note: We based all scores on a food truck business with two employees across professional liability, general liability, workers' comp and BOP policies.

NEXT offers the most affordable food truck business insurance at $71 monthly or $854 annually. The company ranks first for general liability, workers' compensation and business owner's policies. For professional liability coverage, food truck owners should consider The Hartford, which offers cheaper rates at $52 monthly compared to NEXT's $55.

NEXT offers the cheapest general liability insurance for food truck owners at $73 monthly or $874 annually. This saves mobile food vendors $68 per month compared to the $141 industry average, cutting costs by nearly 50%. Food truck businesses can redirect these savings toward equipment upgrades, inventory or marketing while maintaining essential liability protection.

Food truck operators find the most affordable workers' compensation through NEXT at $43 monthly or $514 annually. NEXT undercuts the $46 industry average by $3 per month, saving mobile food businesses $34 yearly. The Hartford, Thimble and Progressive Commercial offer competitive alternatives with rates starting at $44 monthly for food truck owners with employees.

Professional liability rates average $59 monthly across providers, but The Hartford cuts that cost to just $52 per month or $629 annually for food truck owners. That makes The Hartford the cheapest professional liability insurance option, saving mobile food vendors $84 yearly. NEXT offers competitive alternative coverage at $55 monthly for food truck businesses seeking errors and omissions protection.

Business owner's policies for food trucks average $207 monthly, but NEXT has the most affordable BOP insurance at $112 monthly or $1,339 annually. That's a 46% reduction from industry averages. Simply Business offering the next-best option for food truck operators at $115 monthly.

Food truck business insurance costs are as follows for the four most popular coverage types:

• General Liability: $141 on average per month, ranging from $104 to $166, depending on the state
• Workers' Comp: $46 on average per month, ranging from $40 to $53, depending on the state
• Professional Liability (E&O): $59 on average per month, ranging from $51 to $69, depending on the state
• BOP Insurance: $207 on average per month, ranging from $150 to $244, depending on the state

Commercial auto and general liability insurance form the core required coverage for food truck vendors, with workers' compensation mandated in most states if you have employees. Additional policies like commercial property, inland marine and business interruption insurance protect against equipment damage, spoilage and income loss during unexpected closures.

• Commercial Auto Insurance: Required by law when your truck hits public roads between farmers markets, festivals and catering gigs. Covers collision damage when you misjudge clearance under low awnings, liability when you accidentally back into vendor tents and comprehensive protection if someone breaks in overnight to steal equipment.
• Workers' Compensation Insurance: Mandated in almost every state if you hire prep cooks or service staff. Pays medical bills and lost wages when employees suffer grease burns at the fryer, slice fingers while prepping ingredients or slip on wet floors during cleanup.
• General Liability Insurance: Protects when customers trip over your generator cords, claim food poisoning from your tacos or spill hot coffee and blame your service window height. Festival organizers and parking lot owners require $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate before issuing permits.
• Inland Marine Insurance: Covers portable equipment like generators, propane tanks, prep tables and non-attached cooking tools that move between locations. Your commercial auto policy only protects equipment bolted to the truck, leaving portable items vulnerable to theft or damage during transport and setup.
• Business Interruption Insurance: Replaces lost income when your refrigerator dies mid-festival, propane leaks force you to close or your generator quits during your busiest lunch rush. Covers daily revenue losses plus ongoing expenses like truck payments and commissary kitchen fees.
• Commercial Property Insurance: Protects inventory, ingredients and supplies stored at your commissary kitchen or warehouse location. Covers losses from fire, theft or water damage at your fixed business locations separate from the mobile truck.
• Food Spoilage Coverage: Reimburses you when power failures spoil your prepped ingredients, refrigeration breakdowns ruin your inventory or equipment malfunctions destroy tomorrow's specialty items. A single weekend festival spoilage can cost $1,000 to $3,000 in lost product.
• Liquor Liability Insurance: Required if you sell beer at craft festivals, wine pairings at food events or specialty cocktails from your mobile bar. Protects your business when intoxicated customers start fights, damage property or cause accidents after leaving your service window.

Follow this step-by-step method for getting business insurance that balances affordability with comprehensive protection for your food truck.

Food truck owners need commercial auto, general liability, workers' compensation and inland marine coverage to protect their mobile food businesses from daily risks. NEXT leads our rankings with a 4.82 MoneyGeek score, offering the most affordable rates at $71 monthly while delivering top marks for coverage options and customer service. Compare quotes from multiple providers to find the right balance of protection and cost for your operation.

We answer frequently asked questions about food truck business insurance:

We selected the best business insurer for food truck businesses based on the following criteria:

• Affordability (50% of score): The lower a company's costs compared to the competition based on our base profile for four core coverage types, the better the company performs.
• Customer service (30% of score): We scored providers on overall customer satisfaction using industry studies, customer review forum ratings and public forum sentiment analysis from sites like Reddit.
• Coverage (15% of score): We scored business insurance providers for this category based on the flexibility, payment and actual coverage options.
• Financial stability (5% of score): Using financial stability industry ratings from companies like AM Best and Moody's, we created an overall rating to judge how likely companies are to pay out claims compared to the competition.

All pricing in this article is based on the following base profile to represent the vast majority of small businesses in all states:

• Three-person business with two employees
• Coverage: $1 million per occurrence and $2 million total per year for all but BOP, which includes the same coverage plus $5,000 of business property coverage
• $150,000 in payroll
• $300,000 annual revenue