Pizza Delivery Insurance
If your mission is to get every pizza delivered fast and while its hot, your business is inherently a bit risky. Young delivery drivers trying to earn a big tip may not always be the safest drivers, which creates liability concerns for you, the business owner. Getting the right pizza delivery insurance in place can protect you financially if you or one of your workers causes an accident, injury or property damage while on the job.
Pizza Delivery Drivers Take Risks
- Pizza delivery and other driver-sales jobs ranked 5th in the list of the top 10 most dangerous occupations in a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics study
- 38 deaths were reported for this occupation per 100,000 workers:
- 29 deaths per 100,000 due to accidents
- 9 deaths per 100,000 due to assaults and robberies
What Do Pizza Delivery Insurance Programs Offer?
A knowledgeable agent can put together a pizza delivery insurance program that matches your needs and risks, whether you are self-employed and just need pizza delivery driver insurance, or you run a pizza restaurant and hire drivers.
Most plans will be structured to cover a variety of risks that pizza delivery businesses and franchises face. For example, your coverage plan might include:
- Car insurance: An owned or non-owned auto insurance policy that protects you from driver liability risks;
- Business owners policy: A business owner policy (BOP) combines several coverages, such as general liability, property damage coverage and business interruption insurance.
- Workers compensation: Workers compensation covers the driver in the event of work-related injury or illness. It provides for payment of medical expenses and lost wages, if necessary.
Note that you may or may not be required to carry workers compensation, depending upon the laws of your state, how many employees you have and whether or not they work full time.
Be sure to work with a local independent agent who understands the laws in your state and can ensure that you are in compliance.
What Types of Driver Liabilities Are Covered?
There are two kinds of car insurance for pizza delivery restaurants: Company-owned car coverages and employee-owned car coverages. Every driver is required to be listed on a company-owned auto policy, which increases its cost, but insurance companies are favorable towards these policies because they know exactly how many vehicles your company's employees are using to deliver pizzas.
The other is non-owned or hired auto coverage. This provides liability coverage for drivers while they use their own cars to deliver pizzas. This is important because most personal auto policies will not cover an accident your driver causes while driving a personal car for business purposes.
What Does a BOP Cover?
One of the most important provisions of a business owners policy is loss of business income or business interruption insurance. This provides owners of a pizza delivery franchise or independent restaurant with lost income and operating expenses if the business must temporarily cease operations due to a covered loss.
Just as you can order your pizza with the various toppings you like, business insurance similarly offers a basic packages that you can upgrade and enhance based on your needs. You get standard general liability and property damage coverages and then you can add all the specialized options you want.
Here are some of the extras offered:
- Employment practices liability
- Liquor liability (if applicable)
- Food-borne illness protections
- Equipment breakdown
- Employee theft and money losses
- Food spoilage
- Glass and signs
- Computer equipment and other media
- Water damage
Customize a Pizza Delivery Insurance Program
To have a successful pizza delivery business you need great pizza, reliable drivers, and a great pizza delivery insurance program. That way you can focus on making great pizza knowing your drivers and other risks are taken care of.
Customizing your policy to match the number of drivers you have, the number of risks you face, and the assets you need to protect will help you get peace of mind. Choosing an insurance agent that can show you several quotes will save you time when you're hunting for coverage. Do your research when you're looking for insurance coverage, and make sure to find a policy and an agent that matches your needs.