Commercial Property Insurance
Commercial Property coverage is written to provide coverage for direct physical loss of or damage to insurable real and personal property. We will review you exposures to make sure you get the most comprehensive coverage at the best price to protect your assets. Our agents help you understand the coverage limits and deductible options available so you make the right choices for your business. We are independent agents so we have over a hundred carriers to choose from to get the right price, right carrier and right coverage to suit your needs.
Insurable real property includes buildings, completed additions, fixtures (including outdoor fixtures), signs, and permanently installed machinery and equipment.
Personal Property includes furniture and fixtures, machinery and equipment, “stock”, merchandise and other personal property owned by you and used in your business.
Business interruption coverage pays for actual or agreed lost income if damage from a covered peril prevents normal business operations. Extra expense coverage pays any additional costs to expedite your business’s return to normal operations after a covered loss.
Commercial Property policies can be written on basic, broad or special causes of loss forms. The most comprehensive property form is Special form which covers any property loss except losses those specifically excluded.
Common exclusions that Florida policy holders should pay special attention to are Flood and Wind and Hail exclusions.
For a quick estimate of the cost to rebuild your commercial building you would multiply the local building cost per square foot by the square footage of your building. You may obtain an independent insurance appraisal that provides a cost to rebuild your building for an insurable value. Some policies increase coverage by a percentage every year with an inflation factor. Not all carriers automatically increase insurable value by an inflation factor so it is important to review your coverage annually to make sure that the limit will cover the cost to repair or replace building and contents. If your property is insured to replacement value you will not be subject to a co insurance penalty at the time of loss.
Claims Examples
Insured has tenant that tossed a cigarette out in trash can and the entire building burnt to the ground in fire which resulted in $400,000 property damage claim.
Insured had a pipe burst in wall causing water damage to building and contents $50,000 pay out on damage to building and contents.
Insured’s building was hit by a driver that had $10,000 in car insurance and property carrier paid $30,000 above the $10,000 that was available from the auto carrier of at fault party.