Liquor Liability Insurance in New Hampshire

NH Liquor liability InsuranceWhat is Liquor Liability Insurance?

Businesses that sell alcohol in New Hampshire may be sued and found held financially liable for incidents involving their intoxicated patrons. Liquor liability insurance is one way businesses can help protect themselves from covered lawsuits related to such incidents.

Liquor liability insurance is a specialized commercial liability insurance. Like most liability coverages, liquor liability usually helps pay legal defense fees, settlements, and judgments arising from covered claims. 

What New Hampshire Businesses Need a Liquor Liability Policy?

Any business in New Hampshire that sells or serves alcohol should have a liquor liability policy.  This includes bars, restaurants, convenience stores, and caterers.  Businesses that don’t purchase coverage could be dangerously exposed to claims arising from alcohol-induced incidents as General liability insurance policies frequently exclude such incidents from their coverages.

NH liquor liability

What Sorts of Claims Do Liquor Liability Policies Cover?

As with other insurance policies, the exact incidents that any liquor liability policy covers are determined by that policy’s terms, conditions, and exclusions. Businesses should review the terms of any policy they’re considering with an experienced insurance agent to ensure they understand the protections that specific policy provides.

Nevertheless, there are several common incidents that many liquor liability policies include within their coverages. Some of the more widely covered incidents are:

  • Physical assaults involving one or more intoxicated patron

  • Sexual assaults involving one or more intoxicated patrons

  • Falls and similar accidents resulting in injuries to an intoxicated patron

  • DUI and DWI car accidents caused by an intoxicated patron

When a policy provides coverage for these or other incidents, the policy doesn’t necessarily absolve the intoxicated individual of any criminal consequence or financial responsibility. The policy normally only provides the business with financial help for covered costs that it faces due to the incident.

Do Businesses That Have Liquor Liability Policies Need to Check Patrons’ IDs?

Carrying a liquor liability policy doesn’t eliminate a business’s responsibility to ensure that no one who’s underage is sold or served alcohol, and many policies even exclude incidents involving underage patrons from their coverage. For these reasons, businesses should check patron IDs regardless of whether they have a liquor liability policy.

How Can Businesses in New Hampshire Get Liquor Liability Insurance?

For help finding liquor liability insurance that can provide your New Hampshire business with good protection, contact the independent insurance agents at HPM Insurance. Because our agents are independent, they’re able to show you policy options from multiple insurance companies so that you can select the best available one for your business regardless of what insurer offers it.