Entertainment Exposures Raise Restaurant Risk Combining hard rock with hard liquor keeps bars in non-admitted market

Theres one thing bar and tavern underwriters will tell you about entertainmentit is not very entertaining from an insurance industry perspective.

"Entertainment is the most difficult part of the restaurant industry to place right now," said Michael Maher, vice president of marketing for R.C.A. Insurance Group, a managing general agency in Clifton, N.J. "We do not touch anything to do with entertainment in our standard market program. Anything to do with a DJ, bouncer or bands" is off limits, he noted.Having written coverage for the food and beverage class of the hospitality industry for over 20 years, R.C.A. Insurance has learned a thing or two about succeeding in that tight-knit universe. Basically if there is a piano player or dancing in a restaurant, then people generally came for the food and not the entertainment. That makes for an acceptable risk, Mr. Maher said, drawing a distinction from entertainment provided by bands.