Assault & Battery Coverage, Explained

Assault and battery is one of the most common exclusions on bar and restaurant liability policies — and one of the most common ways owners discover a gap. A fight in your dining room, an ejection that goes wrong, or a parking-lot altercation can all land as an A&B claim, and a standard general liability form frequently will not respond.

Why it gets excluded

General liability is built around accidents. An assault is an intentional act, and carriers have long treated it as a different animal — particularly for venues that serve alcohol late, employ door staff, or host entertainment. Rather than price that exposure into every policy, many insurers exclude it outright, sub-limit it well below your general liability limit, or offer it back by endorsement for an additional premium.

The result is that two restaurants with identical-looking limits can have completely different protection. One carries a full-limit A&B endorsement; the other has an exclusion its owner has never read.

Assault & battery vs. liquor liability

These are separate coverages that often get conflated because the same incident can involve both. Liquor liability responds to harm caused by serving alcohol — typically claims that an intoxicated patron went on to injure someone. Assault and battery responds to the physical altercation itself, including allegations that your staff used excessive force.

A single Saturday night can produce both: over-service alleged under the liquor policy, and the fight and the bouncer's response alleged under A&B. Having one does not give you the other.

Where the claims actually come from

• Patron-on-patron fights where the allegation is that your staff failed to intervene, or intervened too late.
• Ejections and door incidents — the most litigated category, because "reasonable force" is a judgment call made in seconds by an employee who may have been there a few weeks.
• Parking lots and adjacent areas, where whether the incident is on premises can itself be disputed.
• Negligent hiring, training or supervision claims layered on top, which some A&B endorsements address and others do not.

What to check on your policy

Three questions settle most of it:

• Is A&B excluded, sub-limited, or covered at full limits? A sub-limit well below your general liability limit is common and is easy to miss on a declarations page.
• Does it include defense costs, and do those erode the limit? A&B claims are defense-heavy, and a limit that pays legal fees out of the same bucket goes further, faster.
• Are your security practices consistent with what the carrier assumed? If you have added door staff, extended hours, or started hosting events, the risk you are now presenting may not match the one that was underwritten.

Documented alcohol-service training and a written incident procedure tend to help on both pricing and defensibility. Neither guarantees a better outcome, but both are the kind of evidence that matters when the question is whether your team acted reasonably.

FAQ

Is assault and battery covered under general liability?

Often not. Many bar and restaurant liability forms exclude it or apply a sub-limit lower than the general liability limit. It can frequently be added back by endorsement, subject to underwriting.

Is assault and battery the same as liquor liability?

No. Liquor liability responds to harm arising from serving alcohol; assault and battery responds to the altercation itself, including claims that staff used excessive force. One incident can trigger both.

Does A&B coverage apply in my parking lot?

It depends on how the policy defines the covered premises. Adjacent areas and parking lots are a frequent point of dispute, so it is worth confirming in the wording rather than assuming.

Does having security staff make coverage harder to get?

It changes the underwriting conversation. Carriers typically look at hours, entertainment, crowd size and training. Documented policies and service training generally help; undisclosed changes to operations tend to hurt.

General information from Focus West Insurance Solutions (CA Lic. #0M32679), not coverage advice; exclusions, sub-limits, and availability vary by carrier and state — read your policy wording. Related: liquor liability · bar & tavern insurance · nightclub insurance · general liability · restaurant insurance.