Pizza shop insurance from the oven to the doorstep.

Hood inspection and suppression: the wood-fired schedule

The 2025 California Fire Code sets how often hoods, grease-removal devices, fans and ducts are inspected, by qualified individuals, unless the fire code official approves a different interval (Table 606.3.3.1):

• Solid fuel-burning cooking appliances (wood or charcoal ovens): every month.
• High-volume cooking, such as 24-hour cooking, charbroiling or wok cooking: every 3 months.
• All other cooking operations: every 6 months.
• Low-volume cooking, such as places of religious worship, seasonal businesses and senior centers: every 12 months.

A gas or electric oven shop that doesn't charbroil or cook around the clock isn't named in the faster rows; if you're unsure which row is yours, ask the fire code official. If an inspection finds grease buildup, those parts are cleaned to ANSI/IKECA C10. Inspection and cleaning records name the person, the company and the date, and a tag showing the provider's name, address, phone and service date goes in a conspicuous spot, with old tags covered or removed.

The suppression system over the line runs on its own calendar under Section 904. All existing dry- and wet-chemical commercial cooking systems must comply with UL 300. Wet-chemical systems are inspected and tested at six-month intervals, and cooking extinguishing systems are serviced at least every six months and after any activation, with a certificate of inspection forwarded to the fire code official. Fusible links and automatic sprinkler heads are replaced every year. Changing the cooking media, or moving or replacing cooking equipment, puts the system back under the current commercial cooking requirements.

When I submit a pizzeria with a wood-fired oven, I send the latest hood tag, the suppression service certificate and the cleaning invoices with it. Outside California, the schedule depends on the fire code your city or county adopted.

What to read for in a pizzeria's policies

Two parts of a pizzeria's coverage are worth reading line by line rather than trusting the summary on the quote.

• The hired and non-owned auto wording. IRMI notes that this coverage is sometimes offered as a non-ISO endorsement and that it "does vary by insurer." Read the endorsement itself for who counts as an insured and for any wording about delivery.
• The equipment breakdown definitions. IRMI lists mechanical breakdown of refrigeration equipment as an equipment breakdown exposure. Read the covered-equipment definition (it ties equipment to a location on the declarations) and the accident definition, and read the exclusions IRMI flags for review: wear and tear, deterioration, and faulty or inadequate maintenance. Keep the walk-in and oven service records with your policy.
• The perishable-goods sublimit. IRMI lists adequacy of limits for perishable items, such as food, among the sublimits to review. Compare it with what your walk-in holds on a Friday.
• The business income deductible. IRMI notes business income can carry an average daily value deductible that may be much larger than the direct damage deductible. Know that number before you bind.

If equipment breakdown is written separately from your property policy, IRMI recommends asking for a joint or disputed loss agreement. Related reading: restaurant workers' comp.