Careful risk management is essential to a safe and successful pizza delivery business, whether it's a large national chain or the mom-and-pop pizzeria down the street.

“Fireman's Fund starts at day one with their clients; for us every day is Super Bowl Sunday,” said Jim Hawley, executive risk services consultant, Fireman's Fund. “Our first objective with any new client is to discuss with their corporate risk management department the exposures we see and expect within their industry. We then discuss and offer all safety resources we have available and have developed over the 150 years of doing business.”

Many people may recall the Dominos' popular “to your door in 30 minutes or it's free” campaign. That no longer exists due to insurers' safety and liability concerns delivering on that promise, which include:

1. Encouraging unsafe driving practices to meet unrealistic goal and time restraints
2. Encouraging pizza delivery drivers to make multiple deliveries to meet the 30-minute time restraint (Fireman's Fund encourages no more than two deliveries per run)
3. Delivery drivers taking short cuts or back roads that might not be as well maintained as more heavily traveled main routes
4. Pizza store owners employing a larger number of drivers to meet the 30-minute time restraint; having more drivers is harder to control and increases the potential for loss.

Pizza businesses cannot have any delivery time guarantee to be insured by Fireman's Fund, and they cannot use temporary drivers or employ anyone under age 18.

Related: Read “A Growing Appetite.”

It is essential to remain proactive within the organization with any claims and loss prevention program. Pizza businesses should to identify any potential loss sources, educate drivers on how to identify and avoid these loss sources and to hold store managers accountable for loss results, Hawley said. Store managers tend to hold corporate headquarters responsible for claims and loss reduction when in reality, the front-line store managers have a more positive effect on their drivers when it comes to safety.

“Due to the fast- paced nature of pizza business, the high-risk age of the majority of delivery drivers and the need to communicate with their co-workers, the safety concerns surrounding using smart phones are especially important for pizza delivery owners to understand,” Hawley said.

Fireman's Fund recommends that drivers keep phones off during deliveries; however, if necessary, drivers should check in with the store after the delivery, but before driving back on the road. Drivers should never read or send a text message while driving, or send or answer a phone call. If it is necessary to do these things, the delivery driver should pull safely over to the side of the road.

Hawley provides risk management tips for pizza owners to ensure the safety of their drivers:

• Make sure drivers are properly trained and have checklists to follow
• Regularly check and verify drivers' license and insurance information on all drivers
• Require their drivers to add bodily damage liability coverage to their personal auto insurance policies
• Have delivery drivers check (and owners to verify) whether their personal auto insurance policies exclude coverage for accident if their cars are used for business deliveries, a common exclusion in the auto insurance industry
• Restaurants should also carry at least $1 million in extra liability to cover accidents in vehicles they do not own.

“Use every resource available to you to assist in your loss prevention endeavors,” Hawley said. “Tap the resources of your insurance agent, insurance company and other safety related organizations. And just because a company doesn't deliver pizza, doesn't mean they don't experience the same kind of exposures. Delivering packages, mail or other merchandise has many of the same exposures as delivering pizza.”