Liability Insurance: Required or Optional?
Does a restaurant need liability insurance? What is mandatory, how dangerous product liability works and what to check in the general terms.
A sanitary inspection is about hygiene, not insurance. A policy is what a customer will ask about after a poisoning, a landlord when signing the lease, or a platform you want to join. It is worth knowing whether insurance is a legal requirement or just a sensible safeguard before you pay for a policy whose scope you only read after a claim.
Third-party liability insurance (OC) in foodservice is not mandatory for an ordinary restaurant, but liability for harm caused to a guest is real and follows directly from the Civil Code (Kodeks cywilny, "KC"). The policy decides who pays for that liability.
The key points in brief
- The Act on Compulsory Insurance does not provide for third-party liability insurance for restaurants. Its Art. 4 lists third-party liability insurance for vehicle holders, for farmers and insurance of farm buildings, and in point 4 refers to insurance required by separate acts.
- Two cases that may concern foodservice: vehicle liability insurance (food truck, catering trailer) and liability insurance of the organiser of a paid mass event.
- Liability for a dangerous product does not require fault and cannot be excluded or limited by terms and conditions (Art. 4499 KC).
- Information given to the customer affects whether a product is judged safe (Art. 4491 § 3 KC). The allergen card is therefore part of your risk, not only an obligation towards Sanepid (the State Sanitary Inspection).
- The scope of the policy follows from the contract and the general terms of insurance. It is worth checking the liability system, the sum insured and the exclusions, because that is where claims are decided.
What is mandatory and what is not
| Situation | Is third-party liability insurance mandatory | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurant, bar, cafe, catering | we found no provision imposing such an obligation | Art. 4 of the Act on Compulsory Insurance |
| Food truck or catering trailer | yes, vehicle holder's third-party liability insurance | Art. 2(1)(10)(a) and Art. 23(1) of that Act |
| Organiser of a paid mass event | yes, liability insurance for harm caused to participants | Art. 53(1) of the Act on the Safety of Mass Events |
| Premises lease, platform, shopping centre, chain | depends on the contract | agreement between the parties |
It is worth understanding the limits of these exceptions. Vehicle liability insurance covers harm arising in connection with the movement of the vehicle (Art. 23(1)), so it does not cover a customer's food poisoning. The Act on the Safety of Mass Events covers artistic and entertainment events at venues that offer at least 1,000 places in a stadium or open area, or at least 500 in a building (Art. 3(2)). An ordinary venue, even with a big screen for a match, usually does not reach that threshold. If you organise larger outdoor events, check this before you sell tickets.
The obligation to take out a policy may also come from the premises lease, the rules of a shopping centre, a franchise agreement or the terms of working with a platform. That is not a legal obligation, but in practice it is just as binding, because no policy means no contract. We discuss typical clauses in the article on the lease of a foodservice premises. For food trucks, we describe the sanitary requirements separately in the article on food trucks and Sanepid.
Where a venue's liability comes from
No obligation to insure does not mean no risk. A guest who ends up in hospital after a meal from your kitchen can claim compensation on several grounds:
Liability based on fault
Art. 415 KC: whoever by their own fault causes damage to another person is obliged to make it good. In the case of bodily injury or health disorder, making good the damage covers all costs resulting from it, including treatment (Art. 444 § 1), and the court may award compensation for harm suffered (Art. 445 § 1). What counts here is diligence: registers, training, procedures, samples. This is why documentation helps you defend yourself. What to do after a suspected poisoning is described in the article on the procedure for a suspected poisoning.
Liability for a dangerous product
Art. 4491 § 1 KC: whoever, within the scope of their business, manufactures a dangerous product is liable for damage caused to anyone by that product. A product is a movable thing (§ 2), and a dangerous one is one that does not provide the safety that can be expected in normal use (§ 3). This liability does not require fault. We found no case law that would settle whether a dish served in a restaurant is a "product" in this sense. The wording of the provision does not rule it out, so a cautious risk assessment says to assume it is.
Two elements matter in practice. First, Art. 4491 § 3 says that the safety of a product is determined by the circumstances at the time it was put into circulation, including the way it was presented on the market and the information given to the consumer about the properties of the product. A missing allergen declaration on the menu can therefore decide that the dish was found not to provide the expected safety. We write about information obligations in the article on allergens in the menu. Second, Art. 4499 says that liability for damage caused by a dangerous product cannot be excluded or limited. A clause such as "we are not liable for allergic reactions" on your website or in your terms and conditions therefore has no force in this respect.
A claim for a dangerous product becomes time-barred three years after the day on which the injured person learned, or could have learned, of the damage and of the person liable, and in any case ten years after the product was put into circulation (Art. 4498). It is therefore worth deciding how long you keep documents on recipes and deliveries. The producer of a raw material is also jointly liable for the product (Art. 4495 § 1 and 3), so supplier data has evidential value.
EU change from 9 December 2026
Directive (EU) 2024/2853 on liability for defective products repeals Directive 85/374/EEC from 9 December 2026, and Member States must implement the rules by that day. The old directive continues to apply to products put into circulation before that date. We did not check how far Poland has managed to amend the Civil Code. If you are planning a long-term policy, ask the insurer how the new rules affect the scope of cover.
What the Civil Code says about the liability policy itself
Art. 822 KC regulates the third-party liability insurance contract. Three elements follow directly from it:
- Compensation for damage caused to third parties for whom the policyholder is liable (§ 1).
- The liability system. Unless the parties agreed otherwise, the contract covers damage resulting from an event that took place during the insurance period (§ 2). The parties may agree that the contract covers damage that arose, was discovered or was reported during the insurance period (§ 3). The difference matters when the claim is reported after the contract has ended.
- The injured person's right to pursue the claim directly against the insurer (§ 4). The insurer cannot raise against the injured person the objection that the policyholder breached the contract if that happened after the accident occurred (§ 5).
What to check in an offer
The points below are a list of questions, not legal provisions. The scope, sums and exclusions depend on the specific insurer and its general terms, and we did not compare market offers or prices.
- What exactly the policy covers: liability arising from running the business, product liability, tenant's liability for damage to the premises. These may be separate elements.
- The liability system: whether cover applies to events from the insurance period, or to claims reported in that period (Art. 822 § 2 and 3).
- Sum insured and limits: per event and for all events in a year. Where there is personal injury and an annuity, costs can be high, so check that the limit is not token.
- Exclusions: food poisoning, allergic reactions, damage after delivery, actions of subcontractors. Read the general terms, not the brochure.
- Excess and own contribution.
- Territorial scope and types of activity: catering outside the premises, a food truck at events, delivery. Whether the policy covers them and whether you declared them in the offer.
- Conditions from the lease: the minimum sum and naming the landlord as the beneficiary, if the lease requires it.
- Documentation in case of a claim: keep registers (records), samples and allergen cards, because they are evidence of how the event unfolded. We write about samples in the article on food samples, and about recalling a batch in the food recall procedure.
A policy does not replace documentation
Insurance transfers to the insurer the cost of compensation, not your sanitary obligations. A fine imposed by the sanitary inspection, or a mandate fine, is not damage caused to a third party, so it is not covered by the liability insurance under Art. 822. The lack of HACCP documentation remains a risk independent of the policy. What such a gap costs is explained in the article on the cost of missing HACCP documentation. If a customer reports an allergic reaction, act according to the procedure described in the article on an allergic reaction in a restaurant.
Frequently asked questions
Does a restaurant have to have third-party liability insurance?
We found no provision that would impose such an obligation on an ordinary foodservice business. Art. 4 of the Act on Compulsory Insurance does not list liability insurance for foodservice activity. The obligation may, however, come from a premises lease, a franchise or cooperation with a platform.
Does a food truck have to have insurance?
Yes, if it is a vehicle or trailer covered by the definition of a motor vehicle in the Act. Art. 23(1) requires compulsory vehicle holder's third-party liability insurance, and Art. 2(1)(10)(a) covers a trailer as defined in the Road Traffic Law. That insurance does not, however, cover harm from food.
Can I state in my terms and conditions that I am not liable for allergic reactions?
Not as regards liability for a dangerous product. Art. 4499 KC provides that this liability cannot be excluded or limited.
Will a third-party liability policy cover a fine from Sanepid?
No. Liability insurance under Art. 822 KC concerns damage caused to third parties, and a fine is an administrative sanction. For the detailed scope, check the general terms of your policy.
How long can I be liable for damage from a dangerous product?
The claim becomes time-barred three years after the day on which the injured person learned, or could have learned, of the damage and of the person liable, and in any case ten years after the product was put into circulation (Art. 4498 KC).
Legal status as of: 4 October 2026
Legal basis: Act of 23 April 1964, the Civil Code (consolidated text, Journal of Laws (Dz.U.) 2026, item 795; Art. 415, 444, 445, 4491-44910, 822); Act of 22 May 2003 on Compulsory Insurance, the Insurance Guarantee Fund and the Polish Motor Insurers' Bureau (consolidated text, Dz.U. 2026, item 783; Art. 2(1)(10), Art. 4, Art. 23); Act of 20 March 2009 on the Safety of Mass Events (consolidated text, Dz.U. 2023, item 616, Art. 3(2), Art. 53); Directive (EU) 2024/2853 (Art. 21, 22). We did not compare insurers' offers or check the state of work on implementing Directive 2024/2853 in Poland. The text is not insurance advice.
Last review: 4 October 2026
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