BROKLY

Insurance for bars — what to carry, and what it costs

Published 2026-06-11 · by Brokly

Direct answer: insurance for bars and taverns starts with workers’ comp — required in nearly all states — with 4 more coverages matched to the trade below. For a typical bar that’s ≈$190 to ≈$2.3k/yr depending on the state (filed rates $0.49–$3.11/$100 payroll, 2024).
Pick your state — the statute, modeled costs, and the full coverage guide ↓

What bars and taverns carry — at a glance

Workers’ comp is governed state by state — pick your state in the table below for the statute and the modeled cost. The rest is the trade’s exposure map.

Workers' compensation

Covers medical care and part of lost wages when bartenders, barbacks, and door staff get hurt on the job.

Typically covers

  • Medical bills for a work injury, at rates the state sets
  • Part of the injured employee's lost wages
  • The employer too: covered employees generally can't sue over the injury

Typically doesn’t

  • Injuries outside work
  • Independent contractors, in most states
  • Lawsuits that get around the can't-sue trade-off — that's the employer's liability part of the same policy
Required in nearly all states≈$650/yrtypical bar · median stateCosts by state →
Liquor liability

For a bar, alcohol service is the business itself — and nine states condition the on-premises liquor license on proof of this coverage or an approved equivalent.

Typically covers

  • Claims from injuries caused by a patron you served
  • Legal defense in dram-shop suits — lawsuits over alcohol you served
  • The proof of coverage many on-premises liquor licenses require

Typically doesn’t

  • Ordinary slip-and-fall claims — that's general liability
  • Fines or license penalties for serving violations, typically
  • Businesses that don't sell alcohol — host situations usually fall under general liability
Required if…When it's required →
General liability

Patron injuries on your premises — slips, falls, and the scuffle that reaches a bystander — become claims against the business.

Typically covers

  • Injuries to customers, visitors, and other third parties
  • Damage your operations cause to someone else's property
  • Legal defense for covered claims

Typically doesn’t

  • Your employees' injuries — that's workers' compensation
  • Mistakes in professional advice or design — that's professional liability
  • Redoing your own faulty workmanship itself
Worth a lookWhat it covers →
Commercial property

Your build-out, furnishings, and bar stock — and the income lost while the doors stay closed.

Typically covers

  • Your building if you own it, and improvements if you lease
  • Equipment, fixtures, furniture, and inventory inside
  • The common causes of loss — fire among them

Typically doesn’t

  • Flood and earthquake on standard forms — separate policies
  • Property in transit — that's inland marine coverage
  • The income you lose while closed — that's business interruption coverage
Worth a lookWhat it covers →
Cyber insurance

Card payments and open tabs run through the POS all night — cyber coverage answers when those systems or that card data are compromised.

Typically covers

  • The fallout of a hack or data breach — notifying customers, restoring data and systems
  • Claims from customers whose data was exposed
  • Often the income lost while systems are down

Typically doesn’t

  • Physical damage to property — that's commercial property
  • Tricked-into-wiring-money losses on many forms — social-engineering coverage is its own add-on
  • Breaches at your vendors, unless the policy extends to them
Worth a lookWhat it covers →

Exact terms live in the policy — these are the typical boundaries.

Sources: NAIC — Small Business Insurance (retrieved 2026-06-11) · Massachusetts General Laws c.138 §12 — on-premises licenses (liquor legal liability proof) (as of current General Laws, retrieved 2026-06-11) · Texas Department of Insurance — Commercial general liability insurance (retrieved 2026-06-11) · Texas Department of Insurance — Commercial property insurance guide (retrieved 2026-06-11) · NAIC — Cybersecurity topic (as of last updated 2024-05-09, retrieved 2026-06-11)

Workers’ compLiquor liability · benchmark comingGeneral liability · benchmark comingCommercial property · benchmark comingCyber insurance · benchmark coming

What workers’ comp costs a typical bar

Modeled annual premium for each state’s most common bar size, from that state’s own filed rate and observed payroll. All 51 states: rates & costs →

Least expensive states

Most expensive states

Modeled — not quotes: each figure prices that state’s most common bar size band from the state’s own observed payroll (CBP 2023), so dollar order can differ from rate rank.

Pick your state — what’s required there, and what it costs

Every linked state has the full guide: what the law requires there, the coverages that fit, and modeled costs — built from 32,610 bars and taverns across 28 states (CBP 2023).

† state-fund jurisdiction — workers’ comp is purchased through the state, not a private market. Unlinked states lack a published rate or a defensible business-size cohort.

Sources: Oregon DCBS workers' compensation premium rate ranking study, June 2025 (calendar-year 2024 rates) (as of calendar year 2024, retrieved 2026-06-04) · US Census County Business Patterns 2023, state file (Drinking places, alcoholic beverages (NAICS 722410)) (as of 2023, retrieved 2026-06-05)

Frequently asked questions

What work does class 9084 cover?

Bars and taverns fall under NCCI class 9084 (Bar, Lounge, Tavern) — establishments serving alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption; restaurants (classes 9082 and 9083) are rated separately.

Why does my state matter so much?

Workers’ comp is state law — the employee threshold that triggers it, the rates, and the market structure all differ by state. That’s why every state above gets its own guide.

Someone asked me for a certificate of insurance — what is it?

The one-page proof your coverage exists — landlords, general contractors, and client contracts ask for it routinely, and it’s often the reason bars and taverns buy insurance in the first place. Certificate of insurance, explained →

Stay informed

We’ll notify you when we’re ready to benchmark your coverage.

No spam — one email.