Mobile Caterers Insurance from £6.80/month

Mobile caterers take their kitchen to someone else's venue, so liability must follow them and organisers often ask for proof. LPG cylinders and fryers in vans add fire risk, while equipment in transit can be stolen. Declare event types, guest numbers and whether you cook on site or deliver.

Cover this trade usually needs

Cover	Why it matters	Typical limit
Public and products liability	Events and venues	£5m often required
Equipment in transit	Kit moved between venues	Replacement value
Vehicle and trailer	Catering van or trailer	Motor policy
Employers' liability	Event staff	£10m

Key risks

• An LPG leak at a wedding.
• Food poisoning at a corporate event.
• Equipment stolen from a van.
• Staff injured setting up.

Regulations and licences

• LPG equipment should be checked by a Gas Safe engineer.
• Food business registration is needed.
• Venues may require risk assessments.

What we check before quoting

• We check event types and guest numbers.
• We check LPG use.
• We value equipment.
• We check staff numbers.

Gaps we see most often

• Equipment not covered in transit.
• LPG not declared.
• Event limits too low.

Limits clients and contracts usually ask for

• Public liability of £5m.
• Employers' liability at £10m.

Key facts and sources

• Since 1 October 2021, food prepacked for direct sale in England must carry a full ingredients list with allergens emphasised (Natasha's Law). legislation.gov.uk — Food Information (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2019

Define the venue interface and service handover

Prepare an event handover sheet naming the venue contact, access times, power supply, cold storage and the person responsible for clearing equipment. Record whether your team controls the kitchen or shares it with venue staff. Keep photographs of hired workspaces and equipment condition at arrival. Give the broker the service agreement as well as the event description, because a wedding caterer can assume responsibility for property and timings well beyond supplying the food itself.

Distinguish cooking and serving throughout an event from delivering trays that the customer reheats or serves. Agree the point at which temperature control and supervision pass to another person, and provide written handling instructions where appropriate. For hired crockery, refrigeration or ovens, retain the hire contract and collection record. These distinctions help explain both food custody and equipment responsibility when an event involves several suppliers, venue employees and a client expecting one caterer to coordinate the entire service.

After a complaint, retain the final guest count, menu changes, dispatch temperatures, arrival times and service chronology. Separate alleged illness from dissatisfaction with timing, presentation or quantities. Record replacement ingredients, emergency equipment hire, customer refunds and any venue damage individually. Ask the broker about notification before promising to reimburse the entire event bill; a contractual service dispute, an allegation of injury and physical damage to hired property involve different evidence and may engage different sections or no section.

Review the placement before adding unattended deliveries, destination events or responsibility for venue equipment. The FSA incident guidance applies to England, Wales and Northern Ireland and explains withdrawal, recall and traceability processes; Scotland has its own food authority. It is not an event cancellation policy. Use its incident framework for supplier and batch records, while discussing separately the treatment of service guarantees, damage to property in your custody, hired equipment and expenditure incurred to rescue an event after operational disruption.

FSA: food incidents, withdrawals and recalls guidance, England, Wales and Northern Ireland

Common questions

Do I need £5m cover?

Many venues and organisers ask for it.

Is my kit covered in the van?

Only with transit cover.

Does LPG matter?

Yes, it must be declared.

Are temporary staff covered?

Employers' liability usually applies.