What does a commercial property insurance policy typically cover?

When you are operating a business of any size, you need to protect it through the use of insurance policies.

Businesses carry many different policies ranging from workers’ compensation to protect their employees to commercial liability policies to protect their physical business.

What Is Commercial Property Insurance?

Commercial property insurance is a type of policy designed to protect businesses from events that can stop the business from operating. This may include a natural disaster, fire or flood, burglary or vandalism, or a host of other issues that can stop a business from functioning at full capacity.

Commercial property insurance generally covers the following:

• Property Damage
• Extended Loss of Business
• Loss of rents
• Loss of Access
• Normal Payroll Loss Coverage
• Extended Business Interruption
• Extra Expenses

Policies may differ in the amount of coverage they provide and may have special qualifications for coverage based on the event that took place. For example, a business damaged in a hurricane may not be covered unless specific hurricane coverage has been purchased.

To ensure that you have the right type of coverage for your business, consult with a commercial property insurance lawyer.

Commercial Property Claims.

Business insurance claims should be handled with the same diligence as any other business transaction. Business owners cannot assume that the insurance company is going to cover everything that has been lost or damaged or offer a full value for the repairs or losses. It is the goal of the insurance company to pay out as little as possible on any claim, even if it is not fair to the insured party.

A business insurance claim, however, should be about restoring the business to its pre-disaster level of operation. It is about repairing or replacing equipment, stock, and loss of income until the business is functional again. Anything less than that is simply unacceptable.

Many businesses have discovered that when they file commercial insurance claims, they benefit by filing a claim through their commercial insurance attorney. When an attorney is involved right from the start of the claim, the insurance company often acts faster on settling the claim and settling it fairly.

Do You Have Enough Business Building Insurance?

One question that every business must ask is if they have enough insurance to protect their company. If you purchased building insurance more than two years ago, it might be time to review your policy. Property values, equipment and supply costs, and even payroll expenses have increased in that time, and your previous policy may not be enough to cover any emergency.

It is beneficial to review your policies at least once every two years. If there have been significant increases in expenses or property values in any one given year, the time to review the policy may be more frequent. This is the best way to protect what you have built.

Speak with your insurance attorney to find out if you have all of the right policies in place and sufficient coverage for any catastrophic events. You want to make sure that if you need special add-on policies for natural disasters or floods that are necessary for your state that you have the coverage.

If you need to make a claim for any type of event that you have experienced, speak with your attorney first. Your lawyer will have the knowledge and experience to know how to file your claim for a speedy and full recovery.

Tragedies can strike any business. However, if you have the right insurance policies in place, you can pull through these events and have your business operating again in very little time. Contact a business insurance attorney at Landau Law today for a free consultation.