Business Property Insurance

Buildings includes completed additions, fixtures, permanently installed machinery and equipment, and personal property used to service or maintain the building (outdoor furniture, floor coverings, and refrigerators). Additions and repairs in progress, material, equipment, supplies, and temporary structures within 100 feet of the described premises and used for making additions or repairs are also included

Business Personal Property is the insured’s personal property located in or on the building described, or in the open (or in a vehicle) within 100 feet of the described premises. The property may include the following items:

• Furniture and fixtures
• Machinery and equipment (other than what is classified as buildings)
• Stock materials used for making the insured’s products or merchandise for sale
• All other personal property owned by the named insured and used in the insured’s business
• Leased property for which the insured has a contractual obligation to insure (example: leased photo copy machine)

Commercial General Liability (CGL) Insurance

• Liability (BI & PD)
• Personal Injury (PI) & Advertising Injury (AI): This covers injury other than “bodily injury”, arising out of one or more of the following offenses:
  • False arrest, detention, or imprisonment (shoplifting)
  • Malicious prosecution
  • The wrongful eviction from, wrongful entry into, or invasion of right of private occupancy of a room, dwelling, or premises that a person occupies, by or on behalf of its owner, landlord, or lessor (rent real property or someone who owns or operates hotel or motel)
  • Oral or written publication of material that slanders or libels a person or disparages a person’s or organization’s goods, products, or services.
  • Oral or written publication of material that violates a person’s right of privacy.
  • The use of another’s advertising idea in your “advertisement”.
  • Infringement upon another’s copyright, trade dress or slogan in your advertisement.
    • PI: Examples are slander, libel, invasion of privacy, false arrest, malicious prosecution, wrongful entry or eviction.
    • AI: This is personal injury caused by advertising, which includes slander, libel, and invasion of privacy, and also such things as copyright infringement or stealing someone’s advertising idea
  • Medical Payments: covers medical expenses without regard to fault when an accident arises out of the insured’s operations or occurs on or next to the insured’s premises. This does NOT cover injuries to an insured or a tenant or employee of the insured.

Commercial Crime Insurance

Pays an owner for the loss of property due to its wrongful taking by someone else through burglary, robbery or theft. Can be part of package or written separately.

• Burglary: breaking and entering into the premises of another with felonious intent, leaving visible signs of forcible entry or exit.
• Robbery: is the felonious taking by force or fear of force of the personal property of another
• Theft: is any loss of property by stealing, including both robbery and burglary. NOT include employee dishonesty or mysterious disappearance.
• Employee Dishonesty (blanket coverage, scheduled coverage, position coverage)
• Theft, disappearance and destruction: coverage from C. provides broad covg for loss of money and securities, which is excluded by the premises burglary and robbery and safe burg forms. Covers both inside and outside premises. This does NOT cover employee dishonesty.

Business Interruption Insurance

Business Interruption Insurance is a type of policy that pays for loss of earnings following a covered insurance loss. It is designed to pay for your ongoing expenses, including payroll.

Business interruption coverage is not sold separately. It is added to a property insurance policy or included in a package policy. A business that has to close down completely while the premises are being repaired may lose out to competitors. A quick resumption of business after a disaster is essential.

Extra Expense Insurance

Extra expense insurance pays the additional expenses your business would not have incurred had a loss not occurred. Examples of these expenses are the printing of new menus, advertising to announce the reopening of your business, and moving to a temporary location while your location is being repaired.

Earthquake Insurance for the Business

Coverage for earthquake damage is excluded in most property insurance policies, including homeowners and business owners package policies. If you live in an earthquake-prone area, you'll need a special earthquake insurance policy or commercial property earthquake endorsement.

Earthquake policies have a different kind of deductible -- a percentage of coverage rather than a straight dollar amount. If the building is insured for $100,000, with a 5% deductible, for example, in the event of an earthquake, your business would be responsible for the first $5,000 in damage.

Flood Insurance for the Business

Property insurance policies usually exclude coverage for flood damage. Find out from your local government office or your commercial bank whether your business is located in a flood zone. Also ask around to find out whether your location has been flooded in the past. Government projects to map flood zones may be slow to keep up with new developments.

The federal government requires buildings in flood zones that don't conform to flood plain building codes to be torn down if damage exceeds 50 percent of the market value. Consider purchasing "ordinance or law" coverage to help pay for the extra costs of tearing down the structure and rebuilding it. If your policy contains a coinsurance clause, make sure your property is sufficiently insured to comply with the clause.