The Food Liability Insurance Program (FLIP) has released its third annual 2026 Food & Beverage Industry Trends Report, revealing that while most operators remain confident about their business outlook, they face significant challenges from rising costs and increasingly severe insurance claims. The report combines insights from mobile food service operators, U.S. consumer dining habits, and proprietary insurance claims data from 2025.
Despite ongoing cost pressures, 81.7% of operators feel confident about their 2026 business outlook, with more than 60% indicating they were able to grow in 2025 and 42.3% expecting their average ticket size to increase in 2026. "Food and beverage operators are entering 2026 with confidence, but that optimism comes alongside real financial pressure," said Daryle Stafford, CEO of Veracity Insurance, FLIP's parent company. "Rising food costs and tighter margins are forcing business owners to be more disciplined in how they plan for growth and protect their operations."
Cost pressure remains widespread, with 63.3% of operators citing food costs as their largest expense increase and 72.1% expecting food costs to rise in 2026. In 2025, 54.6% said rising food and ingredient costs negatively impacted profitability. Consumer demand remains resilient despite these pressures, with just 16% of consumers planning to dine out less in 2026, while spending per meal continues to rise. More than 97% of consumers are willing to spend $10+ per meal, up from 94% last year.
FLIP's insurance data shows a notable shift in risk patterns, with claims increasing 32.7% year over year in 2025. A small number of high-cost incidents, particularly fires and major accident-related losses, are driving a disproportionate share of total incurred dollars. The most common claim types were accidents causing damage at 23.1%, auto or trailer incidents at 16.4%, weather-related claims at 14.2%, and fire-related claims at 9.7%. The average payout of all claims was $14,158, with 72% of claims occurring during the summer months. Caterers, food trucks and trailers, and farmers market vendors experienced the highest claim activity.
"As claims become less frequent but more expensive, operators face a different risk profile than in prior years," added Stafford. "High-severity events can quickly turn into major financial losses, underscoring the need for proactive risk management and adequate insurance coverage." The full report includes detailed findings by business type, consumer dining behavior, insurance claims activity, and economic outlooks across the food and beverage industry and is available online at https://www.newmediawire.com.
