If you want to completely mitigate the risk, then yeah it's ideal to start on low and progressively ratchet the heat up. Personally, I've just left it at medium and then cranked it up two notches on the dial after a few minutes. I've really never used the maximum heat for anything other than boiling water on my range, since just over medium is more than hot enough for a lovely sear. If the coil is significantly smaller than the bottom of the pan, I'd be much more careful and start on low no matter what pan I'm using just to reduce the risk of warping.