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Okay campers, it’s time for the end of year review. I hope you were paying attention all year long, but if you weren’t, it’s Ok, you can still put things right. Use this as a checklist to go over your pizzeria insurance, then get in touch with your current insurance representative or us with questions.
Property Insurance First, check to see how much property insurance you have. If you own the building, it’s called “Building Insurance” and has a dollar limit. The things you own inside the building (owned OR rented) are called “Business Personal Property.” Make sure you have enough insurance to replace EVERYTHING at today’s prices, no matter how old the stuff is. If you own the building, I want you to hire a professional and a get a replacement cost appraisal--not a real estate appraisal! This will tell you how much it would cost to rebuild your building on your land at today’s prices. Business Interruption First, make sure you have it. It is usually called “Loss of Business Income.” If you have it, look to see that you have an “Actual Loss Sustained (ALS) ” form. This means that there is no dollar limit. The policy will pay for up to 12 consecutive months. If you don’t have an ALS form, find out why. Sometimes it’s a case of ‘you don’t ask, you don’t get’. If you can’t get it, ask your insurance people for a “Business Interruption Worksheet” and have your CPA complete it. This will give you an accurate figure of how much insurance you need to buy. Flood Insurance If you are located anywhere near a body of water, buy this stuff now. If you haven’t learned from the hurricane season that just ended, I don’t know what else to say. Even if you are not near ‘water,’ consider buying Flood Insurance. FEMA’s definition of a “flood” is not limited to water from the ocean, a lake or river! Heavy rain run off, a water main break, just about anything can be a ‘flood’ and your Property Insurance will not pay for it, only Flood Insurance will. Liability Insurance Actually, this is one of the more simple issues for a pizzeria. Just make sure you do two things: 1) Meet your lease requirement and 2) Buy at least $1,000,000 including products liability. I like to see an “Umbrella Liability” policy as well, but that’s your call. Workers Comp Insurance Three words…BUY IT NOW! No amount of “BS” urban myths and campfire stories will convince me (or your lawyer) otherwise. If you don’t buy it, it could be fraud. Really, I just reported on a case in New York where a pizzeria owner told the state he had no employees because he didn’t want to buy Workers Comp. They investigated and arrested him for fraud for saying he had no employees! Email me for details at PJ@Pizzasure.Com Delivery Liability Same three words…BUY IT NOW! I no longer want to hear any question on this – consult your lawyer if you don’t believe me. There is some good news though. In some areas, pricing is getting reasonable. In our home state of New Jersey we should soon be able to place a $1,000,000 limit for about $1,300 per driver in most parts of the state. Of course, some areas are higher than others, but on the average that price should hold. Check with your current insurance rep or check with us. Employment Practices This is not covered by your business liability insurance and it has been getting more attention lately for bad reasons. Common causes of loss are:
Some Non Insurance Items The answer to risk and risk management is not always insurance. There are things you can and should do to reduce or even eliminate your risk. These things are typically inexpensive and easily implemented, they just require some thought and discipline. So, here’s a short list of things you should get in place, so cover the basics and make sure the basic details are correct:
– PMQ – |