You make pizzas for a living. You own a restaurant that serves pizzas. Life is good. You like what you do and the business is growing. Everything is rainbows and unicorns.... But, you need to put the appropriate insurance policies in place now, when times are optimistic, not later, after the fire or flood, or some business draining lawsuit. By then it will be too late. Get in touch with a qualified insurance agent that can help you get the right coverage to protect your assets. Or, continue to educate yourself on the nuances of the pizza delivery business as it relates to risk protection using insurance.

The Past, Present, and Future of Pizza Delivery Insurance

In the past, insurance, employment, and labor laws weren't what they are today. People didn't use to sue one another with the frequency that they do today. It's too bad, but it's the reality of modern day business. The earlier you learn this, the sooner you'll be willing to make the investments needed to make sure that your company stays in business well into the future.

Who knows what will happen with employment laws and business regulations in the coming years. Sure, people will continue to like pizza. I mean, come on, pizza is delicious. You know you have a winning product. That's not the problem. The issue for way too many franchise owners is that they're too optimistic, they're not paranoid enough.

You work in a competitive market. Every day is a race to the top. Pizza is popular. You're not the only person who wants to work in this business. Insurance will help you stand out from the pack. In the short term, several lines of insurance may not make a lot of sense. You may think that you can get by with minimal amounts of insurance. You may be right, for a time, but what happens when the unexpected, inevitable accident occurs? Who will you turn to when you're staring down a multi-million dollar lawsuit? When this happens, the game is over. You lost.

In the future, you'll need to be smart. You'll likely face more competition, not less. You'll need to be computer and social media savvy. You'll likely encounter threats that businesses don't have to deal with today. Extreme weather, computer viruses, and the threat of litigation aren't likely to disappear. Conditions may be worse in five to ten years than they are today. You can't predict the future, but you can plan for it.

Franchises give you a head start. If you choose the right company to work with and you know what you're doing, you can make a lot of money. If you don't or if you're one of the unfortunate souls who selects the wrong business to invest your money with, then you need a backup plan. You need a way out. You need to be able to provide for your family, your workers, and yourself.

There are things you can do now to protect your future interests. Read and re-read your franchise agreement. When it comes time to renegotiate, make sure you talk about insurance early and often. Do what you can to put the plans in place via your franchise agreement. After this is established, or even before, talk to your insurance agent and review the areas in which you may need more insurance. Talk to other franchise owners, small business professionals, and learn as much as you can about insurance. If you become an expert at insurance, you become that much more likely to succeed in business.

Forever, you've been taught that you need to take risks if you want rewards. This is true. You need to think out the box, but you can't stop there. You need to be flexible and you need to adapt to the threats that await you around every corner. Be smart and make sure you have the proper insurance policies in place to succeed.

Types of Insurance

Commercial Auto is required in most states. If your delivery drivers are your employees, then you need to list them on your commercial auto coverage. If you don't, you could face penalties and you may run into trouble when you apply for licenses. Your employees are going to be behind the wheel of a car. A lot can go wrong on the open road. If you don't have insurance, and you're sued you could lose it all. Don't take that risk. Make sure you have a commercial auto policy in place if your restaurant delivers pizza.

General Liability covers bodily injury, personal injury, and property damage. If one of your drivers causes a car accident, you'll need more than commercial auto. General liability will also help you out if one of your employees injures someone in your restaurant. Small business owners shouldn't operate without a general liability plan.

Medical Insurance is a requirement under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). If you employ 50 or more full-time workers, then you must provide them with health care insurance. Yes, laws are pending in Congress to appeal the ACA, but there's no guarantee that this will happen anytime soon, if ever. Make sure you have the money set aside and the health care options in place to fully comply with state and federal laws.

Workers' Compensation is another form of insurance that business owners must carry in most states. You can opt out in Oklahoma and Texas, but weigh your options before you act. Workers' compensation insurance protects business owners from costly litigation. If you don't have work comp, how will you afford to pay the medical bills and disability awards that you may be ordered to cover? Don't hope that the worst won't happen. You need to be smarter than that if you want to succeed. If you don't already, make sure you have a workers' compensation policy in place.

Property insurance protects you when you or one of your employees causes damage to your restaurant or your personal property. The restaurant business is chaotic. You're bound to have accidents. If one of your ovens breaks down or your refrigerator, you don't want to be on the hook for all of the repair fees. That will add up fast, but you can't afford to work without the necessary equipment. Make sure you have property and equipment insurance to cover your expenses when your property is damaged or destroyed.

Fire insurance isn't required, but it's highly recommended. You can't cook pizza without heat. You can't have heat without fire and gas. Fire and gas are dangerous. You never know when a kitchen fire could get out of control. It happens more often than you may think. When it does, your property insurance may not take care of all of the costs. Fire insurance will give you that extra financial cushion you need when a fire breaks out at your restaurant.

Assault and Battery insurance is a good idea. As I said, the restaurant business is chaotic. People are going to be stressed. It's bound to happen; you can't prevent this. What you can do is buy assault and battery insurance. This will cover expenses associated with fights between co-workers, as well as disputes between your staff and customers. Fights unfortunately happen. No one is perfect. Look into assault and battery insurance to protect your company when tensions get out of control at your restaurant.

Employment Practices and Liability protects companies from harassment and discrimination lawsuits. You can spend weeks performing background checks, but you'll never really know everything about your employees. When one of your workers is accused of harassing a customer, you shouldn't have to worry about the future of your company. You won't have to if you have the appropriate employment practices and liability plan.

Loss of Income insurance will cover you if your business needs to shut down for repairs. Let's say you have a fire in the kitchen. Thankfully, you have a workers' compensation plan, so your employees' medical bills will be covered. You have fire insurance, equipment, and property insurance, so your restaurant should be taken care of, but what about the money you lose out on while your business is shut down? If you don't have loss of income insurance, how will you continue to pay the bills without money coming into the business? Unfortunately, in many cases, you might not be able to stay afloat in these circumstances. Loss of income insurance will give you peace of mind in these troubling times. You'll receive payouts that will reimburse you for a portion of what you would have earned if your company was operating like usual. Don't take a loss of income insurance policy for granted. It likely will support you in the most critical of times.

Business Owners Policies are designed with you, the small business owner in mind. More and more insurance companies, especially the larger ones, are creating BOP plans that are aimed at helping you deal with common operating risks. They typically include a combination of property insurance and general liability coverage. Talk to your insurance agent and determine if this sort of policy is right for you. If you have several locations and generate a substantial amount of revenue, you may save money if you go with a business owner policy rather than buying separate liability and property plans.

Cybersecurity insurance is necessary in today's business world. You need to get your name out to the public. You can't hide in the shadows if you want to make money. You can learn this skills and you can do this yourself. With a little time and research, you can encourage people to come into your restaurant. For these reasons, social media websites and the internet are great. They'll help you make money, but they can also leave you vulnerable. Hackers are as serious of a threat as they have ever been. When your websites and data is stolen, you'll need to call an expert to clean up the mess. This will cost money. Sometimes a lot of it. Purchase cybersecurity insurance and protect yourself from cyber threats. You never know if you could be a victim. Don't take any chances, talk to your insurance agent and discuss your options.

Franchise insurance is included in most if not all franchise agreements. Don't skim over this section when you're negotiating your franchise agreement. Your insurance options will vary depending on the franchisor. Make sure they don't take advantage of you and your company. You're the boss. You need to put the plans in place to make sure that you can remain in business for years to come. Read over the franchise policies and identify the gaps in your coverage. Speak with your business partners and your insurance agent and fill in those holes with the appropriate insurance plans.

Excess insurance will cover losses that exceed your base limits. You never know when a catastrophe will occur at work. What if one of your drivers causes a 20 car pile up on the interstate? What if a fire in your kitchen burns down adjoining businesses? You'll need more than your primary insurance. Research excess insurance and give yourself extra protection when disaster strikes.

Current Trends and Concerns for Franchise Owners

Many pizza restaurants and franchise owners require drivers to carry particular types of insurance at specific policy limits. You can do this. It's a good idea, but don't think this will solve all of your problems. You can claim that your drivers are independent contractors. You can try to argue, as many ridesharing companies do, that you're not responsible for the injuries that the drivers cause because they have their own personal automobile insurance coverage. You can try this, but there's no guarantee that your interpretation of the laws will prevail in court.

The question of whether or not drivers are employees or independent contractors has been debated for years and this isn't likely to change in the near future. You can't take this risk. If you do, you may have to close your doors if a judge rules against you. it's not worth the gamble. Do yourself a favor and consider the issue resolved. For you and your company's sake, don't be cheap when it comes to insurance. Make sure you're exposed to as little of risk as possible.