What are the insurance requirements for a grocery store in my state?
The law requires a grocery store to carry workers' comp once it has employees, with a threshold that varies by state, and liability coverage on any vehicle it owns, such as a delivery van. If the store sells beer, wine or liquor, each state also decides whether a person hurt by a customer's drinking can sue the store. Often, your landlord and lender will have specific insurance requirements you must meet to stay in compliance with your lease and loan.
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- Only two requirements are statutory: workers' comp, and minimum limits on vehicles you own.
- For a store that sells alcohol, New York, Massachusetts and Washington let an injured third party sue the seller; Kansas, Missouri, Louisiana and Maryland largely close that door.
- Even where the state shields a store, many liability policies leave liquor out, so check your policy wording and your lease.
What does the law actually require, and what does everything else require?
For a grocery store the law asks for two things almost everywhere: workers' comp once you have employees, and liability coverage on vehicles you own. A lease, loan or supplier agreement requires everything else.
Workers' compWorkers' Compensation Insurance that pays medical bills and lost wages when an employee is hurt or sick because of work. Insurers call it workers' compensation. more → pays an employee hurt on the job; each state sets its own trigger, such as one employee, five or a payroll figure. Grocery stores recorded 4.0 injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers in 2024, against 2.3 across private industry. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2024) Pricing: grocery store workers' comp guide.
The auto limits below are state minimums for a store-owned delivery van or pickup, which business auto coverage must meet. A stocker's own car on a bank or supplier run isn't your vehicle; insurers call that coverage hired and non-owned autoHired and Non-Owned Auto Liability coverage for accidents in vehicles your business does not own, such as rentals or an employee's personal car used on a work errand. Insurers call it hired and non-owned auto. more →.
If you sell alcohol for use elsewhere, a bar's rules are not yours. The question is whether someone hurt by a customer's later drunk driving can sue the store that made the sale. A law allowing it is called a dram shop law, after the old word for a bar. Coverage for that suit is liquor liabilityLiquor Liability Coverage if your business is sued after serving or selling alcohol to someone who then injures another person or causes damage. Insurers call it liquor liability. more →; see our coverage page. In the sources we read, no state of the eight ties an insurance filing to a take-away licence, except the on-premises licence class in Massachusetts below. Check with your state liquor authority. All as of 2026; the state workers' comp law pages go deeper on the first item.
What does a grocery store in Kansas have to carry?
Kansas requires workers' comp above $20,000 of payroll and bars suits against a store over a customer's drinking.
Workers' comp. Required once payroll tops $20,000 a year, family wages excluded. (Source: K.S.A. 44-505)
Auto. An owned delivery vehicle needs $25,000 per injured person, $50,000 per accident and $25,000 for property damage. (Source: K.S.A. 40-3107) Staff cars need added coverage.
Alcohol sold to take away. Kansas has no such law, and its supreme court declined to create one in 2019. (Source: Kudlacik v. Johnny's Shawnee)
What does a grocery store in Missouri have to carry?
Missouri requires workers' comp from the fifth employee, and its liquor suit exception does not name stores that sell to take away.
Workers' comp. Required once you have five or more employees. (Source: RSMo 287.030)
Auto. An owned delivery vehicle needs $25,000 per injured person, $50,000 per accident and $25,000 for property damage. (Source: RSMo 303.020) Staff cars need added coverage.
Alcohol sold to take away. State policy is to prohibit dram shop liability. The one exception reaches a seller licensed to sell liquor by the drink for consumption on the premises, on clear and convincing proof. (Source: RSMo 537.053) The text does not mention a store selling sealed bottles; ask counsel before relying on that.
What does a grocery store in New York have to carry?
New York requires workers' comp from the first employee, and an injured third party can sue any seller that sold liquor unlawfully.
Workers' comp. Every employer, meaning anyone with one or more employees, must secure coverage. (Source: N.Y. Workers' Comp. Law §50; §2)
Auto. An owned delivery vehicle needs $25,000 per injured person, $50,000 per accident and $10,000 for property damage. (Source: New York Department of Financial Services) Staff cars need added coverage.
Alcohol sold to take away. Anyone harmed by an intoxicated person may sue whoever unlawfully sold that person liquor, for actual and exemplary damages; the law is not limited to bars. (Source: N.Y. General Obligations Law §11-101)
What does a grocery store in Pennsylvania have to carry?
Pennsylvania requires workers' comp from the first employee, and its liquor law limits suits to sales made to a visibly intoxicated customer.
Workers' comp. Required of every employer with one or more employees. (Source: Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry)
Auto. An owned delivery vehicle needs $15,000 per injured person, $30,000 per accident and $5,000 for property damage. (Source: Pennsylvania Driver and Vehicle Services) Staff cars need added coverage.
Alcohol sold to take away. A liquor licensee is not liable for harm a customer does off the premises unless the licensee sold that customer liquor or beer while the customer was visibly intoxicated. (Source: 47 P.S. §4-497) Which licence your store holds decides how this applies; ask your state liquor board.
What does a grocery store in Massachusetts have to carry?
Massachusetts requires workers' comp of every employer, and the insurance proof written into its liquor law attaches to on-premises licences.
Workers' comp. Every employer must provide it, with no minimum headcount. (Source: G.L. c. 152, §25A)
Auto. Since July 1, 2025, an owned delivery vehicle needs $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident (Source: G.L. c. 90, §34A) and $30,000 for property damage. (Source: §34O) Staff cars need added coverage.
Alcohol sold to take away. Massachusetts courts allow people hurt by an intoxicated customer to sue a seller that knew or should have known the customer was intoxicated. (Source: Cimino v. Milford Keg, 1982) That case involved a tavern, so ask counsel how it applies to a store's take-away sale.
Licence. The $250,000 per person and $500,000 per accident liquor liability proof is required before an on-premises licence, such as a restaurant or tavern licence, is issued or renewed. (Source: G.L. c. 138, §12) The section on licences for drinks not consumed on the premises carries no such sentence. (Source: G.L. c. 138, §15) Confirm with your local licensing board.
What does a grocery store in Louisiana have to carry?
Louisiana requires workers' comp of every employer and shields stores that sell to adults from suits over a customer's drinking.
Workers' comp. Every employer must secure compensation; the section sets no headcount or payroll threshold. (Source: La. R.S. 23:1168)
Auto. An owned delivery vehicle needs $15,000 per injured person, $30,000 per accident and $25,000 for property damage. (Source: La. R.S. 32:900) Staff cars need added coverage.
Alcohol sold to take away. The state declares that drinking, not selling, causes the harm, and a permit holder or employee who sells to an adult is not liable for off-premises injuries, unless the seller forced or tricked the drinking. (Source: La. R.S. 9:2800.1) The shield in the text we read covers sales to people of legal age; check current law for sales to anyone younger.
What does a grocery store in Maryland have to carry?
Maryland requires workers' comp of every employer and has no liquor-liability law; the state's top court has refused to create one.
Workers' comp. Each employer must secure compensation for covered employees, with no minimum headcount. (Source: Md. Labor & Employment §9-402)
Auto. An owned delivery vehicle needs $30,000 per injured person, $60,000 for two or more people and $15,000 for property damage. (Source: Md. Transportation §17-103) Staff cars need added coverage.
Alcohol sold to take away. In 2013 the Court of Appeals, by 4 to 3, held that a seller owes no duty to people harmed off the premises by an intoxicated customer. That was a tavern case, and its reasoning is not limited to bars. (Source: Warr v. JMGM Group, 2013)
What does a grocery store in Washington have to carry?
Washington is a state-fund state for workers' comp, and selling liquor to anyone apparently under the influence is barred.
Workers' comp. Employers that don't self-insure must use the state fund, not a private insurer. (Source: RCW 51.16.060)
Auto. An owned delivery vehicle needs $25,000 per injured person, $50,000 per accident and $10,000 for property damage. (Source: RCW 46.29.090) Staff cars need added coverage.
Alcohol sold to take away. The ban on selling to anyone apparently under the influence does not distinguish a bar from a store. (Source: RCW 66.44.200) In 2004 the state supreme court made breaking that rule evidence of negligence in a third party's suit; it was a tavern case. (Source: Barrett v. Lucky Seven Saloon)
What will my lease and lender require regardless of state?
Your landlord and lender often write their own insurance requirements into the lease and loan agreement, and you must meet them to stay in compliance. They are often higher than any state law here and apply in every state.
Federal rules require insurance on the collateral for small-business loans over $500,000. (Source: 13 C.F.R. §120.160) A lease usually names the liability limits you must carry and asks to be listed on your policy as an additional insuredAdditional Insured Another person or business covered under your liability policy for claims tied to your work or property, such as a landlord or general contractor. Insurers call them an additional insured. more →. Landlords and lenders usually want a one-page certificateCertificate of Insurance (COI) A one-page proof of your coverage, showing the insurer, policy number, and limits, that you hand to a landlord or client. Insurers call it a certificate of insurance. more →; our certificate explainer and landlord insurance explainer show what it must say.
For leases, see the lease article. If you open a store across a state line, adding a location in a new state shows what changes.
Common questions about grocery store insurance requirements
Often it is still worth asking. Many liability policies leave liquor out for a store that sells it, and a lease or supplier agreement may ask for it even where the state does not. Check your policy wording.
No. Each state's rules apply to the store and vehicles there; see adding a location in a new state.
They are the least the law accepts, not what a serious crash can cost, and your lease or lender may ask for more.
Check what your grocery store has to carry
Send us your state and your lease's insurance clause, and we'll sort what comes from the law and what comes from the contract.