What is commercial property insurance? You need certain space, real estate, and other resources to keep your business up and running, and these need to be protected. Commercial property insurance is not only about protecting your building and can extend to equipment as well, whether owned or leased. You could also insure your inventory, data, signage, and even outdoor items.
If these are lost or damaged, commercial property insurance provides financial support to help you pay for the losses you suffer. This kind of insurance typically covers losses caused by fire, theft, and damage from vehicles, acts of vandalism, etc. It’s important that you get coverage for all the resources that you need to keep your business running.
Building coverage includes buildings and any completed additions, permanent fixtures, machinery, and equipment.
Your insurance policy may stipulate that you must fully insure the value of your buildings. Or you could be charged a penalty at the time of a loss, referred to as “coinsurance.”
Business Personal Property such as furniture, fixtures, machinery, and equipment, inventory, or any other personal property owned by your business is also covered.
Personal Property of Others refers to property that belongs to others and is in the care or custody of your business.
When you purchase the commercial property insurance, you need to decide which causes of loss you want coverage for. These are categorized as specified perils and open perils.
Specified Perils coverage means that your property is insured only if the loss is caused by perils listed in the policy. You may include fire, explosion, windstorm, vandalism, etc. on this list. Insurance providers often offer coverage against basic specified perils or broadly specified perils.
Open Perils coverage means that you are covered for losses caused by all perils unless they are specifically excluded. Many open perils policies exclude earthquakes and floods and you may need separate policies for these.
You will need to pay a higher premium for an open perils policy.
It’s also important to consider whether you are insuring based on replacement cost or actual cash value. Replacement cost means that your settlement should be sufficient to replace the building or equipment, while actual cash value is based on the estimate of the value of your assets at the time of the loss. Even if you purchased your policies some years ago, you should periodically check what values and replacement costs estimate you have put in them.
In case your commercial property is lost or damaged, and you need to file a commercial property loss claim, reach out to Experienced Public Adjusters. This is a time when you need professionals with expertise and knowledge to help you from start to finish. You need to correctly interpret your policy, provide proof of the damage through documentation, testing, and technical evaluations of the building. We are experts in all these processes and will work with you and negotiate on your behalf to ensure that you receive what you legitimately deserve.
Reach out to Experienced Public Adjusters for your commercial property loss claim filing.