Free fact finder · Australia
Restaurants and cafés insurance fact finder
Every question the hospitality forms ask, from cooking and alcohol to fire protection and cash handling, asked once in plain English. Built from Pen's bistro restaurant and cooking forms and the hospitality liability forms from Arch, Axis and One Underwriting.
- No login needed
- Fillable PDF with your logo
- 157 questions
- Written for AU rules
What it asks
The questions underwriters ask, in plain English.
Each one comes with a line saying why it's asked, so your client answers fully the first time.
- 1Do you cook over charcoal or wood (for example a charcoal grill, wood-fired oven or barbecue)?Hot coals left overnight start fires after closing.
- 2When you close, are the coals put out, taken off the premises or covered with a steel lid?Insurers want to know embers can't flare up once staff go home.
- 3Are the hoods and exhaust ducts cleaned at least every six months by a specialist contractor?Grease builds up inside ducts and lets a small kitchen fire spread through the building.
- 4Do you cater for functions away from your own premises?Off-site catering brings in liability at venues you don't control.
- 5What days and hours are you open to customers?Late-night trading carries a higher risk of assaults and accidents.
- 6Do you have a written routine for cleaning the premises and checking for spills and breakages?A written routine, followed and recorded, is the best defence to a slip claim.
The business
Entity, people, turnover by state for stamp duty and how long the owners have run a food business.
Kitchen and cooking
Charcoal and wood-fired cooking, fryer cut-offs, duct cleaning and food safety qualifications.
Alcohol and entertainment
Liquor licence history, responsible service, dancing, security staff and trading hours.
Premises and protection
Capacity, neighbours, the building, fire protection, bollards and cash handling.
Claims and cover
Past claims, current insurer, what to insure and the limit a lease or permit sets.
How it works
- 1
Open it and try it
Answer it on the page as your client would. Follow-up questions appear as you go. Nothing is saved.
No login
- 2
Send it, or download the PDF
Send your client a link to answer by form or chat, with reminders sent for you. Or download a fillable PDF with your logo.
PDF free, no email
- 3
Fill the insurers' forms
When your client answers, one click starts each insurer's form with their answers in, and drafts a needs summary for you to finish.
Free 14-day trial
Minimum cover
What sets the limit
We know of no law that sets a minimum public liability limit for restaurants or cafés in Australia.
- Leases
- Shopping centre and retail leases usually set the public liability limit a tenant must hold. Check the lease.
- Councils
- Footpath dining permits and council-owned premises often require a set limit, with the council named on the policy.
- Contracts
- Catering and function contracts may set their own limit. Check each one.
A summary, not advice. Check every lease, permit and contract before setting a limit.
Free tool or a free trial
The fact finder is free. A trial does the forms.
Free, no login
Everything you need to use it.
- The whole fact finder, answered as your client would
- How much of each insurer's form it fills
- Fillable PDF with your firm's logo
With a 14-day free trial
Your client answers once. No card needed.
- Send it as a link: answered by form or chat, with reminders
- Upload a PDF your client filled in and the answers are read in
- Start each insurer's form with your client's answers in
- A first draft of the client's needs summary
- Next year, your client only confirms what changed
Before you ask
Questions about the restaurants and cafés fact finder.
- Is the restaurants and cafés fact finder really free?
- Yes. Answer it on the page as your client would, then download it as a fillable PDF with your logo. There's no login and no email. Sending it to a client as a link comes with a free 14-day trial.
- Which insurers' forms does it fill?
- Pen's bistro restaurant proposal, property cooking questionnaire and hospitality property proposal, with the hospitality liability forms from Arch, Axis and One Underwriting. It also fills the general public liability, property, cyber and management liability forms. The page shows how much of each one it fills.
- Is there a minimum public liability limit for restaurants?
- Not in law. A shopping centre or retail lease, a council footpath dining permit or a catering contract usually sets it. The fact finder asks your client which ones apply.
- Does it cover cafés that serve alcohol?
- Yes. If your client serves alcohol, it asks about responsible service, liquor licence history, dancing and security staff. A café that doesn't serve alcohol skips those questions.
Ask once. Fill every form.
Open the fact finder, try it as your client and download the fillable PDF. No login needed.
Open the fact finder