Catering lorry cover
Catering lorry insurance for kitchens that travel to the crowd
Mobile kitchens, location catering units and festival bars on lorry chassis. One short form reaches brokers who handle catering vehicles.
- Events, festivals and film sets
- Kitchen fit-out and stock
- Seasonal or year-round
Quick answer
Catering lorry insurance is cover for a heavy goods vehicle fitted out as a mobile kitchen or bar, protecting it on the road and, depending on the policy, while it is parked and trading. The motor side deals with driving to and from pitches. The kitchen equipment, gas, food stock and the risk of serving the public are often arranged as extra sections or alongside, with public and product liability (opens in a new tab) usually needed before an organiser will let the unit on site.
Catering lorry cover at a glance
- Much of the risk sits in the parked hours, when burners, fryers and gas cylinders are in use beside a queue of customers.
- The kitchen fit-out can be worth more than the chassis underneath it, so its value is often agreed separately.
- Event organisers and film production companies commonly want to see liability certificates before a pitch is confirmed.
- Food poisoning and allergen claims fall under product liability, which is not part of a motor policy.
- Seasonal traders may be able to reduce cover over the quiet months while keeping fire and theft in place.
What catering lorry insurance covers
A catering truck mixes a road vehicle, a commercial kitchen and a small shop. Cover is usually built in layers, and the gaps tend to appear where one layer stops and the next begins.
Types of catering lorry and what insurers look at
Size, layout and the kind of cooking all shape how an insurer sees a mobile kitchen. A bar serving drinks from a drop-down counter is rated differently from a unit running deep fryers for a film crew.
| Catering lorry | Typical work | What insurers look at |
|---|---|---|
| Rigid with a full kitchen body | Festivals, shows and sporting events feeding the public | Cooking methods, gas set-up, fire equipment and value of the fit-out |
| Location catering unit | Film and TV crews fed on set, often with a separate dining vehicle | Remote sites, early starts, staff numbers and production contract terms |
| Mobile bar lorry | Drinks served from a side-opening hatch at festivals and private events | Stock value, cash handling, crowd size and alcohol-related incidents |
| Artic-drawn kitchen trailer | Large events and site canteens with an expanding kitchen body | Trailer value, the tractor unit used, set-up on uneven ground |
Lorries that carry race cars or horses alongside a living area have their own pages: race transporter insurance and horsebox lorry insurance. Many smaller kitchens start life as a converted box rigid or former horsebox, and 7.5 tonne lorry insurance covers that weight class in general.
Own goods, haulage and catering lorries
A catering truck carries its own kitchen, stock and staff kit, not freight for customers. That normally places it in the own goods bracket for motor purposes, with the trading side handled separately.
On the move
Driving to a festival or a film location with your own equipment and food on board is usually declared as business use for carriage of own goods. Our own goods HGV insurance page explains that class in more depth.
Parked and trading
Once the unit is open, the risks shift to the kitchen, the gas, the stock and the customers. Insurers vary on whether that sits within the vehicle policy or needs separate trading cover.
Which class of use fits a catering lorry driven to events?
- NoSocial, domestic and pleasureNot suitable once the unit is used for trading, even occasionally.
- YesCarriage of own goodsYour own kitchen equipment, food and drink taken to pitches.
- NoHaulage, or hire and rewardRarely relevant, unless the lorry also carries goods for other people.
Paperwork organisers and brokers often request
Catering businesses in the UK are usually registered with their local council as food businesses, and event organisers commonly ask for food hygiene ratings, gas safety certificates from a registered engineer, electrical checks and liability certificates. Brokers may ask for some of the same documents, along with operator licence details where the vehicle needs one, when you begin a catering lorry quote (opens in a new tab).
What affects the price of catering lorry insurance
Premiums reflect both the miles driven and the hours spent cooking, and for many catering units the trading hours carry more weight.
In the kitchen
Open flames, hot oil, gas cylinders, generators running close to the unit and crowds pressing against the counter.
On the road
A tall, heavy body packed with fixed equipment, loose items that need securing, and late-night drives home after an event.
- Type of cookingDeep frying and charcoal grilling are viewed differently from a drinks bar or a unit reheating prepared food.
- Value of the fit-outA bespoke stainless kitchen can be costly to replace, so the sum insured usually reflects the full fit-out.
- Gas and fire precautionsRecent gas checks, extinguishers, fire blankets and suppression systems can all count in your favour.
- Where you tradeLarge festivals, film locations, private parties and regular street pitches each bring a different mix of crowd and theft risk.
- Overnight securityWhere the lorry is kept between events, and whether stock and cash stay on board, affect theft cover.
- Claims historyPrevious fires, food illness complaints and motor claims are all taken into account.
Cover that often sits alongside catering lorry insurance
The motor policy is only part of the picture for a mobile kitchen. These covers tend to fill the spaces around it.
Before you buy
Questions that come up on catering lorry cover
Catering policies differ most in how they treat the unit once it stops and starts cooking. These points are often settled with the broker before the season begins.
- Is the vehicle covered while trading?Or only while it is driven, with the parked and open hours left to another policy?
- Is the kitchen equipment insured for its full value?Fitted and loose equipment may be treated differently, and some items need listing.
- Are fires from cooking included?Some policies carry conditions on fryers, extraction cleaning or fire suppression.
- Does the policy cover stock spoiled by a breakdown?Refrigeration failure and lost trading days are not always part of standard cover.
- Are generators and serving equipment covered off the vehicle?Kit set up beside the lorry, such as gazebos, generators or seating, may sit outside a vehicle policy.
- Will the liability limit satisfy organisers?Festivals and production companies sometimes set their own minimum limits for traders.
- Can cover be reduced when the lorry is laid up?Seasonal traders may be able to keep fire and theft only over the winter.
- Who is allowed to drive the unit?Named drivers, licence categories and age limits vary between insurers.
How it works
How to get a catering lorry insurance quote
HGV Insure is an information site, not an insurer or a broker. We link you to MyMoneyComparison.com, a comparison service that can put catering vehicle operators in touch with specialist brokers.
- 1
The quote form
Get my catering lorry quote takes you to our partner, MyMoneyComparison.com.
- 2
Your catering lorry and the work
The form asks about the vehicle, its weight and body type, any operator licence and who drives. The broker can then go into the kitchen, the gas set-up and the events you work.
- 3
Options from a broker
A specialist broker contacts you with options, subject to insurers' acceptance criteria. There is no obligation to buy.
FAQs
Catering lorry insurance FAQs
What is catering lorry insurance?
It is cover for a lorry fitted out as a mobile kitchen, bar or catering unit. It combines motor insurance for the vehicle with cover for the kitchen, the stock and the trading risks, either within one policy or in sections arranged together. It is sometimes searched for as food truck insurance or mobile catering insurance.
Does my lorry insurance cover the kitchen equipment?
Not necessarily. Some insurers treat a permanent kitchen as part of the vehicle, while others only cover it when its value is declared or listed. Loose items such as urns, gazebos and generators are often left out of a motor policy altogether.
Do I need public liability to trade at events?
There is no general rule that applies to every trader, but event organisers, councils and production companies commonly expect it before they allow a catering unit on site. Product liability for illness caused by food is usually arranged at the same time. More on public liability (opens in a new tab).
Is a gas safety certificate needed for insurance?
Many insurers and organisers expect the LPG installation to be checked by a registered gas engineer, and some ask to see a recent certificate. Without one, a claim involving a gas fire or leak could be harder to settle.
Are film and TV location catering units insured differently?
Often, yes. Location caterers tend to work long hours on remote sites, feed large crews and may have contract terms with the production company that set out who is responsible for what. Those details are a point for the broker.
What licence do I need to drive a catering lorry?
It depends on the unit's maximum weight. A standard car licence covers vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes, a C1 entitlement covers those up to 7.5 tonnes, and anything heavier needs a category C licence. Some drivers who passed their car test before 1997 already hold C1. Insurers may also set their own age and experience limits for drivers.
Can I reduce cover over the winter?
Some insurers offer laid-up cover for seasonal traders, keeping fire and theft in place while the lorry is off the road. Driving or trading during that period would normally need full cover reinstated first.
Do catering lorries need an operator licence?
It depends on the vehicle and how it is used. Some catering vehicles fall outside operator licensing and others do not, so the position depends on the individual unit and its use.
Are staff and casual workers covered?
Injury to your own staff is handled by employers’ liability (opens in a new tab), which UK businesses with employees generally need. Casual and seasonal festival workers are usually treated as employees for this purpose.
Does HGV Insure sell catering lorry insurance?
No. HGV Insure is an information site and an affiliate of MyMoneyComparison.com, which matches operators with specialist brokers. When you start a quote you continue to MyMoneyComparison.com, and we may be paid a small commission if you are matched with and speak to a broker.
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