A food borne illness outbreak/food contamination event can disrupt a restaurant’s operations within hours, even when contamination is only suspected, never confirmed. Lost customer traffic, emergency staffing, facility cleaning, and marketing recovery costs accumulate quickly. A standard P&C/GL policy does not address these losses because there is no physical damage. This coverage gap is what Trade Name Restoration® (TNR®) insurance was built to fill.
Developed in 1998 by Professional Liability Insurance Services, Inc.® (PLIS®, Inc.), TNR is the longest-running food borne illness/contamination business interruption insurance program in the market, with the highest market limits of $120M per trade name, nearly double the $50M capacity typical among competing programs.
What Does TNR® Cover?
TNR is a specialty business interruption policy. It addresses the revenue and expense losses that follow a food borne illness/contamination event. It does not cover bodily injury claims, defense costs, judgments, or property damage, as those fall under a standard P&C/GL policy.
The TNR policy responds to:
- Food borne illness outbreaks, accidental or malicious, actual or alleged
- Suspected or alleged contamination accusations, even when not confirmed
- Social Media Postings of Willful Contamination
- Supplier-caused outbreaks affecting insured locations
- Extortion threats involving malicious contamination made by third parties
- Events triggered through the Trade Name Trigger® feature
When a covered event occurs, the policy reimburses:
- Lost business income – restaurant recovery up to pre-loss earnings for up to 18 months, with no waiting period and no loss threshold
- Extra expenses – crisis management, employee incident expenses, temporary staffing, emergency travel costs, employee continuing wages during testing, and facility cleaning costs
- Rehabilitative marketing expenses – community campaigns, promotions, and social media recovery, up to 100% for up to 18 months
- Inoculations, vaccinations, and testing costs – covered outside the main policy limits, with no deductible
The Trade Name Trigger® — A Unique Feature
The Trade Name Trigger® can activate coverage at an insured location the very first time a food borne illness event occurs at any other location operating under the same trade name, no prior history at the insured location itself is required. Because the trigger extends across every location sharing that trade name, revenue impact at one insured location tied to an event at any uninsured location under the same brand is enough for coverage to respond. This is a critical protection feature for franchise systems and multi-location operators.
What TNR Does Not Cover?
The TNR policy does not provide:
- Bodily injury coverage or medical cost reimbursement for guests or employees
- Legal defense costs or judgments
- Property damage or physical loss coverage, except as outlined under the Restaurant Equipment Expenses Endorsement, if purchased
- Relocation expenses or temporary operations assistance
- Workers’ compensation or general liability coverage
These remain the responsibility of a separate P&C/GL policy.
Crisis Recovery Support Through SRM®
TNR® policyholders are connected to Specialty Risk Management, Inc.® (SRM®) as the designated crisis management partner. SRM services are provided at no additional charge and include:
- Unlimited pre-incident loss control phone and email consultations, covering early warning identification, preventive action planning, outbreak response preparation, and more
- 24/7/365 active crisis response during an incident, including health department interaction, media response, customer hotline, marketing recovery, and more
Crisis management services are provided in addition to policy limits, with no deductible. The policy also allows up to $300,000 in crisis management expenses in the event Underwriters find no coverage for a specific incident.
Who Is TNR Right For?
TNR business interruption coverage is available to restaurants, hospitality businesses, franchisors, franchisees, and stand-alone food service concepts. Market capacity reaches up to $120 million per trade name, with no minimum premium requirements and no appointment obligations.
For food service businesses, a standard commercial insurance program does not address the revenue exposure created by a food borne illness/contamination event. TNR fills that gap with a policy structure built specifically for this industry.
To learn more, visit plisinc.com. To begin the quoting process, an underwriter needs three things: revenues, number of locations, and the trade name(s).
PLIS®, Inc. designs specialty insurance programs, including PLIS Trade Name Restoration coverage, that address risks other carriers often overlook or limit.
This content is an aid to understanding only. It is not part of the insurance contract and confers no rights. It does not amend, extend, or alter coverage afforded by the policy. For complete terms, refer to your policy, declarations page, and any endorsements. Actual terms and conditions may be amended by endorsement or affected by state laws. Coverage provided by certain underwriters at Lloyd’s. © Copyright PLIS®, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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