New insurance program aims to ease South Carolina liquor liability costs

A coverage option announced last month could bring relief to South Carolina bars, taverns and restaurants that have watched liquor liability premiums climb past what many small operators can afford.

The South Carolina Bar and Tavern Association announced July 15 that it has partnered with Ragnar Hospitality Insurance to make liquor liability policies available to licensed establishments statewide. The association said the program arrives as fewer carriers are willing to write that line of coverage in South Carolina.

State law requires any business licensed to sell alcohol for consumption on the premises after 5 p.m. to carry at least $1 million in liquor liability coverage. Owners across the Upstate report premiums doubling or nearly doubling within a single year, and several bars and restaurants have closed rather than absorb the increases.

Ragnar operates as a captive insurance company rather than a traditional carrier, a structure made possible by state legislation passed in 2025. The company says it can provide the required coverage for between one-third and one-half of what conventional insurers charge. It has secured reinsurance through Gen Re and has written policies for 39 establishments so far.

Christopher Smith, executive director of the association, said the partnership is meant to help operators safeguard businesses they have spent years building, and that the group expects it to draw more insurers into the state and create a more competitive market.

The lower pricing comes from underwriting that relies on direct observation. Andrew Reina, a Charleston wealth manager who started Ragnar two years ago, said his team makes unannounced and secret-shopper visits to applicants, gathers information from other owners in the same community, and evaluates how much alcohol a business sells per customer rather than looking only at alcohol as a share of total revenue. He estimates roughly a third of owners shade the truth somewhere on their applications. In one case, a business whose best offer from licensed carriers was $42,000 a year on $1.5 million in sales was quoted $23,000.

Not everyone expects the approach to last. Becky McCormack, president of Big I of South Carolina, the state’s independent insurance agents association, said she wants the program to succeed but has reservations. Her concern is with state statutes that still permit joint and several liability, allowing plaintiffs to pursue substantial damages from a business that contributed only marginally to an alcohol-related incident. Many establishments have already tightened identification checks, cut hours and trained servers, she said, and still cannot find affordable coverage. A single captive will not reach the hundreds of businesses that need it, and in her view South Carolina requires broad tort reform before insurers return in meaningful numbers.

At least one independent agent has questioned whether the level of scrutiny Ragnar applies can hold up as its book of business grows. Those who oppose changing the liability statutes argue businesses serving alcohol should face real consequences for overserving.

The captive has faced legal trouble of its own. Ragnar sued a Florida-based captive management firm it hired in 2024, alleging it misrepresented its authority to underwrite reinsurance. The firm’s principal denied the claims and filed a counterclaim. Both matters remain pending in Charleston County court.

Business owners can contact the South Carolina Bar and Tavern Association for information on eligibility and coverage.