Pub insurance customers should change their business activities to respond to local conditions, it has been suggested.

Neil Williams, spokesperson for the British Beer and Pub Association, claimed that pub insurance holders in rural areas are being threatened by a range of factors, including increasing alcohol duty, growing regulation and tightening legislation.

In order to address these issues, the representative recommended that pub insurance holders identify ways to work around the problems.

He explained: "Pubs are responding to that challenge by investing in new ways of doing things. They are constantly evolving."

Mr Williams also pointed to the example of food, which has become increasingly common in pubs over the past 20 years as landlords adapt to new consumer tastes.

The UK Quarterly Beer Barometer recently revealed that 7 million fewer pints were drunk every day in the first quarter of the year, compared to the same period in 2008.

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