Pub, Hotel and Tavern Insurance
Specialist insurance for pubs, hotels and taverns across Australia, including regional, alpine and hard-to-place venues.
Call Us: 1300 900 207
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Complete the form to request a FREE QUOTE. Call us at 1300 900 207 for immediate response.
Insurance for Pubs, Hotels and Taverns
Pub insurance protects licensed venues against the risks of serving alcohol and food to large crowds: patron injuries, liquor-related claims, damage to the building and fit-out, theft of cash and stock, gaming room losses and lost trade if the venue has to close. Most pubs combine these covers in one specialist hotel and pub package, written for how licensed venues actually trade.
Why Publicans Use a Broker
Few insurers write pubs, and those that do are selective. Some specialist pub insurers won’t cover timber hotels, venues in northern Australia or pubs in small regional towns. We place pubs that others decline, including alpine hotels above the snow line, and compare policy wordings so your liquor, gaming and patron liability is properly covered.
Our Partners
Venues We Insure
We arrange cover for licensed venues of every size, from country pubs to multi-venue hotel groups:
- Country and regional pubs: including venues in small towns that many insurers decline.
- City and suburban hotels: with bistros, beer gardens, function rooms and late trading.
- Taverns: with bottle shops, sports bars and gaming rooms.
- Pubs with accommodation: rooms upstairs or a motel wing alongside the bar.
- Alpine and remote hotels: including venues above the snow line.
- Timber and heritage hotels: older buildings that need specialist property cover.
Your trading hours, gaming, accommodation and building construction all shape the cover you need and which insurers will quote, so tell us about all of them upfront.
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What Does Pub Insurance Cover?
Public and Products Liability
Covers your legal liability if a patron or visitor is injured at your venue, such as a fall on the stairs or in the beer garden, or becomes ill from food or drink you served. Specialist pub wordings also cover your liability when one patron assaults another and the injured person claims you failed to prevent it, and when staff use reasonable force to protect people or property.
Liquor Liability
Covers claims arising from the sale or serving of alcohol, such as an intoxicated patron injuring themselves or someone else. We arrange pub cover on specialist hotel wordings with liquor liability built in.
Property Damage
Covers the building (if you own it), bars, cellar, fit-out, furniture, kitchen equipment and stock against fire, storm, malicious damage and accidental damage. Pubs carry a high fire load, with commercial kitchens and large quantities of alcohol and furnishings. The Insurance Council of Australia has reported a pub fire roughly every fortnight nationally, which has pushed premiums up, so the sum insured needs to reflect the full rebuild cost.
Business Interruption
Replaces lost gross profit and pays ongoing costs such as wages if insured damage closes or limits your venue. For a pub, that includes lost bar, bistro, gaming and accommodation income.
Burglary, Theft and Money
Covers stolen stock after a break-in, including high-value liquor and tobacco, plus cash stolen from the premises, from the safe or in transit to the bank. We set your money limits to match the cash you hold for gaming, the bar and the bottle shop.
Machinery Breakdown and Stock Spoilage
Covers breakdown of cool rooms, beer systems, refrigeration, air conditioning and kitchen equipment, plus the stock that spoils when refrigeration fails.
Glass
Covers broken windows, glass doors, bar glass and shopfronts, plus temporary boarding-up while the glass is replaced.
Guests' Property
For pubs with accommodation, covers your liability for guests’ property under innkeepers’ and licensing laws.
Request a Pub Insurance Quote
For immediate response please give us a call.
Our team continues to work remotely but you are welcome to arrange an appointment with one of our consultants.
Get a FREE QUOTE
Complete the form to request a FREE QUOTE. Call us at 1300 900 207 for immediate response.
Gaming Rooms and TAB Facilities
Gaming machines and TAB equipment bring specific insurance questions:
- Who owns the equipment: gaming machines you own are insured as high-value contents. Where machines are leased or supplied by a gaming operator, we confirm who insures them, so there’s no gap and no double-up.
- Equipment in your care: liability policies limit cover for other people’s property in your care, and specialist pub wordings lift that limit for gaming and TAB equipment. One specialist pub wording, for example, covers TAB and gaming operator equipment in your care up to $1 million, well above its general limit for other people’s property.
- Cash: gaming rooms hold far more cash than a standard business pack expects, so we set a money limit to match.
- Lost gaming income: we include gaming revenue in your business interruption cover.
Pubs with Accommodation
Accommodation has to be declared to be covered, so we include it from the start. Rooms add guests’ property liability, overnight occupancy and extra fire risk, and a specialist hotel and pub package insures the bar, bistro, gaming and accommodation together.
Venues that are mainly accommodation, such as motels and resorts, are covered by our motel insurance page.
Hard-to-Place Pubs and Hotels
Many insurers restrict the pubs they’ll write, and the Insurance Council of Australia has described regional pubs as a growing problem to insure. One remote outback timber pub reported being refused by three insurers. Common reasons a venue gets declined or loaded include:
- Timber or heritage construction: older timber hotels carry more fire risk.
- Northern Australia: cyclone exposure means some specialist insurers won’t write venues in the north.
- Small regional towns: some specialist insurers decline pubs in towns below a certain population.
- Alpine locations: remote access, snow and bushfire exposure limit the market for hotels above the snow line.
- Claims history or late trading: previous claims, incidents or very late trading hours.
Coverscope places these venues regularly through specialist underwriters and Lloyd’s markets.
How Much Does Pub Insurance Cost?
As a guide, liability cover for a pub starts from around $4,500 a year. A full package with property, business interruption, gaming and money cover costs more. The main factors are:
- Trading hours and capacity: late trading and large crowds increase the liability premium.
- Gaming and accommodation: both add to the cover you need.
- Construction and location: timber buildings, northern, alpine and regional venues cost more and have fewer insurers.
- Security and incident history: crowd control, CCTV and previous claims.
- Building value and turnover: they set the size of the property and business interruption covers.
Pub Insurance Gaps We Cover
| Common gap | What can happen | How we cover it |
|---|---|---|
| Patron assault | A general business pack limits or excludes assault claims | We place pubs on specialist wordings that cover patron assaults |
| Liquor liability | Claims arising from serving alcohol aren’t covered | We arrange cover with liquor liability included |
| Undeclared changes | Live music, dancing, late events, a new beer garden or accommodation weren’t declared, and the insurer disputes a claim | We record your entertainment, trading hours and accommodation upfront, and update your policy when they change |
| Gaming equipment | Leased machines or operator equipment aren’t covered, or are covered twice | We confirm who insures each machine and its value |
| Cash on premises | Your money limit is far below the cash you hold | We set money limits for the safe, gaming and transit |
| Accommodation | Guests’ property and rooms aren’t covered | We declare and insure your rooms with the rest of the venue |
| Theft by staff | Employee theft is limited or excluded | We add fidelity or crime cover where you need it |
| Sum insured too low | An underinsurance clause reduces your claim | We check your rebuild value against current costs. See our guide to the average clause |
Pub Insurance FAQs
Does pub insurance cover a fight between patrons?
Yes, under a specialist pub policy. It covers your liability when a patron is assaulted by another patron and claims you failed to prevent it. It also covers injuries caused by staff using reasonable force to protect people or property. It doesn’t cover assaults committed by you or at your direction. General business packs can be narrower, which is why a specialist wording matters.
Does pub insurance cover gaming machines?
Yes, when they’re declared. Gaming machines you own are insured as part of your contents, and we include gaming income in your business interruption cover. For leased or operator-supplied machines, we confirm who insures them, and we set a separate money limit for gaming cash.
Do I need to tell my insurer about live music or late events?
Yes. Live music, DJs, dancing, late-night events, new beer gardens and added accommodation all change your risk, and pub insurers ask about them in detail. Policies require you to tell the insurer about changes like these. In one NSW Supreme Court case, a Sydney hotel’s liability insurer refused a claim on the basis that the hotel hadn’t disclosed nightclub-style trading. Its policy treated a venue with regular dancing set up for permanent dancing as a nightclub, which was excluded unless declared. The insurer lost on the evidence, but the dispute shows why it pays to declare dancing and entertainment upfront.
What liability limit does a pub need?
Most pubs carry $10 million or $20 million. Specialist pub underwriters offer limits up to $50 million for larger venues. Your lease, council permits for outdoor areas and the size of your venue all affect the limit you need.
Is my pub too remote or too old to insure?
In most cases, no. Timber hotels, alpine venues, northern pubs and venues in small regional towns are declined by many mainstream insurers. We place these through specialist underwriters and Lloyd’s markets.
What Pub Insurance Generally Doesn't Cover
- Assaults committed by you or at your direction: only assaults by patrons, and reasonable force by staff, are covered.
- Breaches of law: policies require you to comply with all applicable laws, including your liquor licence conditions.
- Employee injuries: covered by workers’ compensation, which is compulsory and arranged separately.
- Wear and tear: gradual deterioration and lack of maintenance.
- Flood: unless it’s added to the policy.
- Cyber attacks: these need a separate cyber policy.
- Vehicles on public roads: courtesy buses and delivery vehicles need motor and CTP insurance.
Why Publicans Choose Coverscope
- Access to specialist pub and hotel underwriters and Lloyd’s markets through the Steadfast network
- Experience placing hard-to-insure venues, including alpine hotels above the snow line, timber hotels and regional pubs
- Policy wordings compared for liquor, gaming and patron liability, not just price
- Claims support from lodgement through to settlement
Call 1300 900 207 or request a quote online, and we’ll compare specialist pub insurers for you.
See our hospitality insurance page for cover for restaurants, cafés, bars and nightclubs.
Get in Touch
Simply fill in the form below and we’ll be in touch shortly, or feel free to call and tell us about your specific requirements.
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Suite 10B, Level 10, 2 Corporate Court, Bundall QLD 4217
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PO Box 7005, Mount Crosby QLD 4306
Our team continues to work remotely but you are welcome to arrange an appointment with one of our consultants.
Please complete the form to submit an enquiry.
