| Broken Equipment Can Spoil A Restaurant's Business As grease built up on the blades, a restaurant's kitchen exhaust fan gradually became  unbalanced. The fan began to wobble and shake, but nobody in the busy kitchen took the time to have it serviced until the bearings burned out and destroyed the fan. A repair contractor was involved with bigger jobs and couldn't begin to fix the problem for at least a few days. With the kitchen hot and the ventilation poor, the restaurant was shut down until repairs were finally completed 15 days later.
What began as a minor problem caused a costly equipment breakdown. With the need to replace the old in-line exhaust hood fan with a newer rooftop fan and improve the duct work, the paid loss totaled $59,557; $21,033 in repair costs and $38,524 in lost food and drink sales. The restaurant's property insurance did not cover the claim. But the owner's insurance agent had included an equipment breakdown insurance policy. It paid for the damages and lost income.
With all the equipment it takes to provide food service, no restaurant, hotel, resort, or caterer should be without equipment breakdown coverage. In addition to stoves, ovens, grills, kettles, steamers and microwaves, there are hot water heaters and boilers, multiple refrigeration and freezer systems, air conditioning, heating systems and dishwashing equipment. Much of this equipment depends on electrical motors, pumps, compressors and mechanical parts that can break down without warning and lead to food spoilage, unexpected expenses and business interruption. [Read More]
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