Business Property

Commercial property insurance assists businesses pay to replace or repair buildings or other property destroyed or damaged due to perils such as fire, storm, or other things covered by your policy. It also pays to replace stolen or lost property. Business owners may buy commercial property insurance regardless of whether they own, rent, or lease a building. If your business has operations at multiple locations, you may purchase one property policy to cover all business locations.

Types of Property Policies:

Commercial multi-peril (CMP) policies combine several coverage’s such as commercial property, liability, inland marine and commercial auto with a single policy. It is typically more cost effective to combine coverage’s through a CMP policy than to buy the coverage’s individually.

Business owner program (BOP) policies are a very common type of commercial policy primarily for small businesses. “BOP” policies combine property and liability coverage in one policy.

Off-premises property coverage also know as Inland Marine Coverage.  As a general rule, property coverage is designed to cover property that predominately stays at a “scheduled premises” and property not considered “unique.”  Inland marine coverage is intended for property, contractor’s equipment, computer equipment or data or other property that may move from location to location, job site to job site, property off premises at new locations, temporary locations, or other work locations, and/or property that is subject to “unique” causes of loss that traditional property policies do not cover.

Crime Coverage can cover loss of glass and money due to theft.  May pay for damage to glass and for a theft of money resulting from a break-in. Forgery or alteration coverage protects your business against forgery and/or alteration of checks, drafts, promissory notes, or other types of payments. Theft coverage may insure money, securities, or other property against losses both on and off your premises and off premises in the custody of an employee or messenger.

Business Income Coverage or sometimes referred to as Business Interruption coverage is protection against loss of income or profits, in which a business has suffered a property loss or damage from a covered peril, such as a fire, natural disaster, theft or vandalism. May cover the time when the business is shut down until the property is repaired or replaced.  Business Income coverage can include extra expense coverage as well which may pay any additional costs to return your business to normal after it’s damaged.

Building occupied by the insured coverage insures a building that you regularly use but do not own. This coverage can be important if you lease or borrow a building. Often times a landlord (lessor) may contractually require this coverage by you (the lessee) if he/she feels your business exposure warrants having the coverage.