• As the owner of a business or the host of an event that serves alcohol, you’ve undoubtedly heard the horror stories that come with being held legally responsible for the actions of intoxicated patrons.
  • A customer who has a little too much to drink isn’t just dangerous to himself and those around him; he’s also dangerous to your business and your livelihood.
  • If he causes harm to himself or someone else, your business could get sued for dram shop liability, and the costly court battles that follow could leave you bankrupt.
  • Liquor liability insurance will protect your business against lawsuits resulting from dram shop liability. All it takes is one incident to make your liquor liability coverage more than worth the cost.
  • Of course, just having liquor liability insurance isn’t the only step you need to take to protect your business.
  • There are a lot of inherent risks with selling alcohol, and it’s important that you take the necessary steps to protect your customers and your staff by preventing bad situations from happening in the first place.

Here are a few things liquor liability businesses can do to limit their liability:

Hire responsibly

  • You’re trusting your bartenders and servers to protect your business against lawsuits resulting from over-served, intoxicated patrons, so it’s important that you hire people you can truly trust for the job.
  • Make sure you do background checks and require references so you can make sure you aren’t hiring employees with past alcohol offenses or other red flags.

Train your employees properly

  • Proper training is essential to ensuring your employees follow the law and maintain a safe environment.
  • Some of the things you need to train your employees on include checking IDs and spotting fake IDs, measuring mixed drinks accurately, identifying intoxicated patrons and cutting them off, refusing to sell to minors, identifying situations with the potential to escalate, recording incidents, etc.

Offer options to keep patrons safe and sober

  • Your establishment should offer non-alcoholic drinks and food for those who don’t wish to drink and those who need to sober up.
  • It’s also important to be proactive in calling taxi service for customers who are too intoxicated to drive.

By following these simple tips, you can create a safer environment for patrons and employees, thereby reducing your liability and keeping your business protected against costly lawsuits.

Want to learn more about liquor liability insurance in Texas? Contact the experienced team at Food & Beverage Insurance Agency, offering liquor liability insurance in Houston, liquor liability insurance in Austin, and liquor liability insurance in Dallas. Learn more at www.MyBarandRestaurant.com.