Every event asks for a certificate.
General liability that includes food illness claims, liquor liability, auto, equipment and workers' comp, with certificates for every venue that asks.
By Sam Alishahi · CA Insurance License #4348151 · Reviewed November 2026 · En español · How this page is researched
Coverage that travels to the event
Caterers work in someone else's venue, serve food to large groups and often pour alcohol. Venues require a certificate naming them as additional insured before you set up.
I build catering coverage around your events: liability for guests and venues, liquor liability if you serve, and coverage for the vans and equipment that go with you.
- General liabilityGuest injuries, venue damage and food illness.
- Liquor liabilityWhen you serve alcohol.
- Commercial autoVans and trucks to and from events.
- EquipmentChafers, ovens and rentals on the road.
What underwriters will ask
Having these ready means I can go to market on the first call. The quote form asks for the same things, and anything you don’t know yet can wait.
- Business: entity, years in business and kitchen.
- Events: number per year and largest size.
- Alcohol: whether and how you serve it.
- Vehicles: business or personal.
- Revenue and payroll: annual figures.
- History: current policies and claims.
California's catering operation and host facility permits
In California a catering operation is food service run by a permanent food facility approved for food preparation, where food is served or limited preparation is done away from its permitted location. That means a contracted off-site event, or working alongside a host facility with direct food sales (Health and Safety Code 113739.1). Self-serve takeout or delivery doesn't count, nor does a facility at a community event. Section 114328 then requires:
- A permitted home base. You operate from a permitted food facility able to support the service, and all food is stored and prepared there before an off-site event.
- Written procedures first. Before you cater, you submit standard operating procedures to the enforcement agency. They cover transport, the food served and on-site prep, holding potentially hazardous food, cleaning and refuse, and handwashing.
- Limited prep on site. At the event you're limited to the tasks in section 113818, such as heating, assembling and portioning, and only with agency approval.
- Nothing stored at home. Food, beverages, equipment and utensils can't be kept in a private home when you aren't catering.
- Restrooms and water. Approved toilets and handwashing within 200 feet, or as the agency approves, and potable water on site or brought along.
A host facility is located in a brewery, winery, commercial building or another location the local agency approves. Whoever runs it needs its own permit from the enforcement agency, on top of the caterer's, and the application lists the caterers it will support. It may support a catering operation for up to four hours in any one 12-hour period unless the agency approves otherwise (sections 113806.1 and 114328.1). Outside California, catering permits vary by state and county; ask the local health department.
The permit holder and kitchen address should match the named insured and location on your general liability application.
Food handler cards and a certified manager
California sets two levels of training for a caterer's crew.
- Food handler cards (section 113948). A food handler has to get a card within 30 days of hire and keep a valid one for the length of the job. Cards are valid for three years from issuance, even if the worker changes employers. Since January 1, 2012, only ANSI-accredited providers meeting ASTM E2659-09 issue them, and since 2021 the course must cover major food allergens and avoiding allergen cross-contamination. The employer keeps records showing each handler has a valid card and provides them to the local enforcement officer on request.
- Food safety certification (section 113947.1). A facility that prepares, handles or serves nonprepackaged potentially hazardous food needs at least one owner or employee who passed an approved, accredited exam. That person recertifies every five years, the certificate stays on file for inspection, and one certified person can't serve as the required certified person at a second facility. A new operation, a change of ownership, or losing the certified person starts a 60-day window to comply. A certificate holder isn't a food handler, so doesn't also need a card (section 113790).
- Person in charge (section 113947). The person in charge has to know the major food allergens and the symptoms they can cause, and educate staff, for example with a poster or job aid.
Event staffing is where these slip. Temp servers who store, plate or serve food are food handlers, and a new hire's 30-day clock runs from the hire date. Keep a roster with card dates. Payroll for those workers also drives your workers' compensation.
Catering insurance, answered
Does general liability cover food poisoning claims?
Products and completed operations coverage, part of most general liability policies, responds to claims from food you served. Confirm it isn't excluded.
Do I need liquor liability?
If you serve alcohol, yes. Venues usually require it on the certificate.
Is my personal car covered for catering?
Personal auto policies may exclude business use. Commercial or hired and non-owned auto fills the gap.
Can I get certificates quickly?
Yes. Once a policy is bound, certificates for venues usually go out the same day.
Does the certified food manager have to be at every catered event in California?
No. Health and Safety Code 113947.1 requires at least one certified owner or employee for the facility, but that person doesn't have to be present during all hours of operation. The person in charge on site still has to know the major food allergens under section 113947.
Do you offer catering insurance outside California?
Yes. Clients across the country send the same quote form. Sam Alishahi is licensed in all 50 states and Washington, DC and places policies there directly. The shopping across carriers works the same way. Rules, minimums and markets differ by state — see insurance requirements by state.
Official sources
- California Retail Food Code (CalCode), effective January 2026, Orange County Health Care Agency compilation
- Health and Safety Code 113739.1, catering operation defined
- Health and Safety Code 114328, catering operation
- Health and Safety Code 114328.1, host facility
- Health and Safety Code 113996, hot and cold holding
- Health and Safety Code 113948, food handler card
- Health and Safety Code 113947.1, food safety certification
- Health and Safety Code 113949.2, employee illness reporting
- 21 U.S.C. 343(q)(5)(H), chain menu labeling (Cornell LII)
- CDC, Norovirus outbreak basics
Send your event calendar. I'll shop it.
Events per year, revenue and whether you serve alcohol are enough to start.
Alishahi Insurance · Saman Alishahi, independent insurance broker, California License #4348151. General information, not a quote or a promise of coverage; coverage depends on underwriting and the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy actually issued. Some policies may be placed with nonadmitted (surplus lines) insurers, which are not members of the California Insurance Guarantee Association (CIGA).
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