Is insurance a legal requirement for a coffee roastery?

Employers' liability insurance is compulsory for most businesses with employees. Other covers are not legally required but are usually demanded by landlords, lenders and customers.

Does product liability cover a stone in a bag of coffee?

Product liability is designed for injury or damage caused by your product. Check the wording, the limit and any conditions such as using a destoner.

Will my home insurance cover roasting at home?

Usually not for a business activity. Tell your insurer and arrange business cover.

Insurance for a coffee roastery: what you need and why

One policy is compulsory as soon as you employ anyone; the rest are what your landlord, lender and wholesale customers will ask for. What each covers, and the roastery-specific questions insurers ask.

6 min read Updated October 9, 2026

Roasteries combine heat, fuel, combustible dust and chaff, and a product other people eat. Insurers know this. A complete, accurate proposal gets you cover that pays out; a vague one gets you a policy with exclusions you discover after a fire.

Compulsory: employers' liability

Under the Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969, most employers in Great Britain must hold employers' liability insurance from an authorized insurer, with cover of at least £5 million. It covers claims from employees injured or made ill at work. The Health and Safety Executive can fine a business for every day it is not insured. Sole traders with no employees, and some family businesses, are exempt; check the HSE guidance for your situation.

The covers a roastery usually needs

Cover	What it does	Who asks for it
Product liability	Claims that your coffee caused injury or illness, for example a stone that breaks a tooth	Wholesale customers, retailers, marketplaces
Public liability	Injury to visitors or damage to third-party property, including at markets and events	Landlords, event organizers, councils
Buildings or tenant's improvements	Damage to the unit, or to the fit-out you paid for	Landlord (check who insures what in the lease)
Contents and equipment	The roaster, afterburner, grinders, packing kit	Lenders and lessors
Stock	Green coffee, roasted stock and packaging, including seasonal peaks	You
Machinery breakdown	Sudden mechanical or electrical failure of the roaster and afterburner	You; lessors sometimes
Business interruption	Lost gross profit and extra costs after an insured event such as a fire	You
Goods in transit	Coffee lost or damaged in your own van or with a courier, above the carrier's limit	You
Cyber	Costs after a data breach of your online shop or customer records	You

Questions insurers ask roasteries

Have the answers ready

Roaster make, model, batch size and fuel; whether it has an afterburner
How often chaff collectors, cyclones and ducts are cleaned, and is it recorded
Whether the roaster is ever left unattended while hot
Fire extinguishers by type, and whether staff are trained
The flue route and what it passes through
Gas installation and servicing certificates
Annual turnover, the share sold wholesale and online, and any exports
Peak stock value of green coffee

Business interruption: get the period right

After a serious fire, replacing a roaster, rebuilding ducting and getting an afterburner reinstalled can take many months. Choose an indemnity period long enough to cover that, and agree how you would keep wholesale customers supplied meanwhile, for example through a contract roaster. Insurers look favorably on a written continuity plan.

Keep the evidence

Many fire claims turn on maintenance. Keep a dated log of chaff cleaning, duct cleaning and servicing. See the maintenance schedule guide. Batch logs also show you were present and the roast was within normal limits.

Where Roastnet helps

Questions roasters ask

Is insurance a legal requirement for a coffee roastery?: Employers' liability insurance is compulsory for most businesses with employees. Other covers are not legally required but are usually demanded by landlords, lenders and customers.
Does product liability cover a stone in a bag of coffee?: Product liability is designed for injury or damage caused by your product. Check the wording, the limit and any conditions such as using a destoner.
Will my home insurance cover roasting at home?: Usually not for a business activity. Tell your insurer and arrange business cover.

Official sources

Rules change. These sources were checked on October 9, 2026; always confirm the current position with the body that publishes them before you act.