So I have been doing cakes for about 15 years, and have never done them for profit, only as gifts to friends and family or donations for church and school functions. I did my own wedding cake in a local venue back in 2006, and now am doing my very first wedding cake for some one else (a dear friend) in a larger town.

The reception hall has given me a document stating the I will claim liability if anyone gets ill from my cake , which I completely understand. My problem is my dh is throwing a fit- he hates the cake projects I do, because I get a little stressed, and he always asks me "what if someone gets sick, we could lose our house!" ............

I know it's a liability, but we could get sued either way, legal or not. I have a full time job and would not enjoy decorating if I had to do it for a living. I am mainly just venting, because he told me after this one, no more cakes .......

anyone have horror stories on people getting sick from cake and getting sued over it?

I can totally understand why your husband has an issue with this.

Why not contact your homeowners insurance company and ask for a special policy for this.... it would probably cost you $20-30 and alleviate a lot of stress.

Surely the bride would understand and pay it for you if you can't afford to.

(When my niece got married at the National Guard Armory, they made us get a one night special policy from our insurance co and it was about $40 for a million dollars worth of coverage. I wouldn't think you would need that much coverage for a cake, but just call your agent and ask what they would advise.)

It's not so much HAS anyone been sued for it, but is there a RISK of you being sued for ANYTHING?

Yes. Yes there is.

A good lawyer would question whether they got sick from your cake, the 27 beers, or the oysters rockefeller? But if the bartender is licensed and the caterer is certified and HD approved, guess who they THINK would be the person less likely to follow food safety rules and more likely to be liable? All of this is just a shot in the dark and it would make a great Matlock episode, but it's put out there just to get you to think.

I've never had a claim on my auto insurance policy. But if someone asked me, "Do I REALLY need car insurance? How many accidents have you been in that you REALLY need insurance?" I think all of us would agree it's a silly question. I've never had a homeowners claim. But I'd never live in a house or apartment without homeowners or tenants insurance.

It's not "has it EVER happened?" It's "is there a RISK of it happening?"

Good luck with this one. I've never gotten sick (nor do I know anyone who's ever gotten sick) from a wedding cake but you know it probably has happened somewhere at some point in time. I think I'd go with Jodibug and contact your insurance company and ask them what your liability is if someone does get sick, and do they have a special policy for this type of thing.

You didn't mention if the cake is free to the bride and groom or not - this might make a difference depending on your insurance company. If they view this as a "business" transaction they may require you to purchase business insurance. If it's just a free cake for a friend, they may not require anything.

Let us know how it turns out and good luck!

newmansmom is right .... a business coverage policy is different than buying one-day wedding insurance to cover the liquor liability for guests at an event someone is throwing. (jodibug, that sounds like what you are talking about ..... slap me down if I assumed wrong. )

Insurance is contract law and varies by state. Some homeowners policies may cover you for one or two cakes. Some may specifically exclude ANY business transactions.

Whether it's a paid cake or not, it may not make any difference to the venue. I let someone (a CC'er as a matter of fact!) use my comm'l kitchen to make a groom's cake, because even tho' it was the groom's aunt who was making the cake for free, the hotel refused to allow it to come into the hotel unless it was prepared in a comm'l and licensed kitchen. The aunt made sure our arrangement would be ok with the hotel; it was; and the problem was resolved.

The issue with lawsuits is always about defending yourself. It takes a *lot* of money to "prove" your cake wasn't what made someone sick, and it really was the 27 beer or the Oysters Rockefeller. Plus if you're not licensed (and if you need to be) then you have no defense and probably won't get the insurance in the first place. You can't insure an illegal activity.

Bottom line is, your husband is 100% totally, completely right. This time, at least.

Unless you are willing to gamble your home, car, bank account and your family's future, you should not engage in an illegal activity. And that includes caking for the public.

Yes, it is a free cake, my gift to the bride, however, I see the point that all of you are making- I have never thought of myself as illegal, I guess if I were charging for these things, I would have thought it illegal. Like I said, I have a full time job that I love, I do this as a hobby, and it appears from now on, I will only be doing my children's birthday cakes.

The licensed vs. non/licensed must be different for each state. I checked with our state, and unless the food needs to be kept hot or kept cold, you're not required to be licensed. Therefore, breads, cookies, donuts, cakes, etc., don't require a state license even if you're charging for them.

I can guarantee that all the Amish women here who sell their goodies don't have licenses OR insurance!

For my niece's wedding, we had to have a liability policy regardless of whether or not there was liquor. Even if it were a dry wedding it would have been to cover anyone who tripped and fell or something like that.

I don't know if a policy for a cake would be available or not.... but it would only take a min to call your agency and ask. If so, it may be a price you are willing to pay or it may not.

But if it is affordable then it might make your husband feel a lot better, and could definitely be worth the $$$ for his peace of mind.

eta: Just found the armory contract in my email.... it was called "public liability insurance" but I was wrong on the amt. It said $100K per person or $300K for the event. I do still think it was around $40.

Well, even when you have people over for dinner at your house if they get sick yupe, they can sue you.

I'm mexican and love to cook my kind of food, but I'm always concern that if I have people over for dinner they may get sick and sue me...mexican food is rich, spicy, heavy.

All very good advise.... but this is America and Americans are sue happy. We can all be sued at the drop of a hat for anything and everything. It doesn't matter what it's about and it doesn't necessarily mean the case will prevail... In a civil case, the burden of proof is on the person being sued and you're out a lot of money proving why you are not liable. Better safe than sorry and get that extra rider on your policy.

I made my son and DIL's cake back in August. We also provided purchased cheesecakes in 5 flavors devided amoungst the tables. The venue required that we sign a waiver, all it did was exclude them from any liability period. The cake/cheesecakes were a gift, no money was exchanged. We did however have to pay a $2.00 per person fee for bringing the cake/desserts in as they also provide that service and wanted to cover their loss of revenue. I live in MN, am a hobby baker, my county/city does not require a license, but you cannot advertise, the county the venue was in did, therefore the waiver. No one got sick, thank goodness. Drunk, well that's another story all together... I mostly bake for friends and family. They cover the cost of my ingredients +/-

My question to this is, I also made the favors, molded white chocolate mint candy bars with the saying "thank you for sharing our day" and peppermint monogramed mints for the tables. For those who have cookies or candies made or make them themselves for a favor, isn't there also a liability there? At no time did the venue question these or where they were coming from. They were not included in the waiver information. Just the size of the cake/cheesecakes, flavors/fillings, etc.

I know I am not as business savy as those of you who are owners of your on businesses. But would like to comment on this.

I asked this question to my agent, and her reply was that unless I was a business (I'm not) and unless I do a lot of cakes for others (I don't), then my homeowners' insurance would cover me just fine.

Man it is a sad day when someone has to get insurance just to give a gift!

Do you think the little girls down the street got a liscense,insurance and LLC and when they set up their lemonade stand?
I sure hope so , I would hate to see them lose their Barbie Dream house....

It is truly sad that we have become such a litigious society that you are afraid to give a wonderful gift to the bride for fear you might be sued. I guess that is why people die beside the road because others are afraid to stop and help.

But then I can remember when we could ride in the back of the pickup, drink out of the garden hose and leave our houses and cars unlocked.

What will become of us?

Langranny,
I could not agree more! We used to ride in the back of my dad's pickup from our farm to my grandpa's all the time, I STILL drink out of the garden hose at my house, but we lock and have a security system on our house now, as we were broken into about a month ago. I and about 5 other people stopped to help a lady out of the ditch on Saturday, as she had taken the corner too fast and slid into a snow bank, never even thought about being sued as I pulled her out with my truck- she was just grateful not to have to spend $$$ for a tow truck..........I wish the world were as is was when we were young. I am not afraid to give this cake as a gift, my husband is a bit freaked out, but he does react every time I do a large cake for a crowd- this time he really threw the fit over the liability form I have to sign. I will not fret as much- thank you all for your responses!

kerri729, I was in a similar situation a few years back. I do cakes and such for friends and family at no charge. On one occasion I was asked to bring a cake to an event. Now, if it is not at someone's private home, I always call the venue to make sure I can make it past the door with my cake. Good thing I did. They wanted me to bring a copy of my business certificate (probably a certificate of insurance, although I'm not 100% positive about that as this occurred years ago). So obviously I couldn't bring my cake for that occasion.

Anyway, I'm sorry to hear about your predicament. You can vent here anytime ~ and get some great ideas for handling current and future projects! I hope it works out for you. Good luck!

I too am just a hobby baker for my children's birthdays and friends children's birthdays. I also get paranoid about making someone sick. I wear gloves and a mask most of the time! Kind of overkill, I know. I will have to check out my homeowners policy for this kind of coverage or get a rider for this purpose. I live in texas and there are enormous, expensive hoops to jump through to be liscensed. I'm always scared of getting in trouble! Thanks for sharing! And good luck to the op with you current prediciment. It will all work out!

The most important thing to educate yourself to bake so that you protect the public your main concern should not be if you get sued it should be what if someone gets ill. What if someone gets seriously ill???

I would feel very bad!

Educate yourself so you bake properly do not temperature abuse eggs very important! Do no cross contaminate wash and sanitize utensils before baking, & learn which baking items are ok leaving out on the counter. This will keep food born illnesses at bay

Last but not least the most important thing is baking from scratch or if using mixes make an ingredient list and give to the person in charge of the venue, if anyone has allergies they will ask if a list of ingredients is available once they know at least you are covered on the allergy standpoint. Add on a disclaimer that the equipment you use is also used in nut,soy, peanut products.


Hope this helps

I just want to know how Indydebi has gotten by without needing her car or homeowner's insurance

You must be the luckiest person in the world

Tell them you're not speeding you're qualifying