Back Coverage for Delivery??

Posted in
Market Requests

M
MDI Aug 26, 2014 3:46 PM

Not sure where to go with this one...

The insured markets for restaurant food delivery. they work with independent small business owners who deliver food for different restaurants. the person who delivers is not an employee of my insured. they are not an employee of the restaurant either. they are not independent contractors and my insured does not send them a 1099. 

my insured is looking for coverage if one of the drivers for the independent small business owners has an accident and my insured gets drawn in because they are who the order for the delivery was placed through. 

I am told hired and non-owned auto is not available for my insured since the driver is not an employee or an independent contractor. 

I do agree though that my insured would likely be named in any law suit. But what coverage could he purchase to protect against this?

 

TO be clear my insured has a website that advertises food delivery from a host of restaurants that seek his service. The order is placed by my insured who then notifies the independent small business owner to dispatch a driver to the restaurant, pick up the food and deliver it to the customer. 

W
wjh Aug 27, 2014 7:43 AM
Have your insured be listed as additional insured with primary non-contributory wording and a waiver of subrogation on the delivery service policy. Treat them like a sub-contractor like they are.
M
MDI Aug 31, 2014 10:17 AM

I am told the driver carriers will not add my insured as an AI because the drivers work for multiple companies. So the driver could have an accident while working for another company but our insured/carrier gets drug in as well.

I am also told that for HNOA no carrier will do a waiver of subrogation. 
 
I think the consensus is that my client has exposure but there is no way to insure against it. 

C
cbourg Sep 3, 2014 9:26 AM
The coverage for Restaurant Delivery & Marketing Services is becoming increasingly difficult to place because of the multiple entities involved and lack of control over the delivery driver.   Generally, if there is a claim, the plaintiff's attorney is going to go after whomever has the deepest pockets, so it is highly likely that your client, the delivery driver/service and the restaurant are all going to be pulled in one way or another.  A few questions to help sort this out further -

What agreements/contracts are in place among these various entities and how do they address liability and insurance?  
Is there a contract in place between your client and the person or entity delivering the product? 
Is there a contract in place between your client and the restaurants they service? 
Does the delivery driver use a car topper of any kind?  If so, the name on the sign is most likely the one to be held liable if the driver's personal insurance is inadequate or excludes coverage.
Who ultimately pays the delivery driver?

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