26th
November
November
Commercial Property Insurance
Will my landlord insurance cover my commercial property?
Absolutely not! You will need an insurance policy made specifically for commercial buildings. Insurers treat commercial properties differently to residential buildings. An important factor in the premium calculation is the type of business occupying the premises. For instance, an office block occupied by clerical workers may be a very low risk for an insurance company. Whereas a takeaway restaurant with a deep fat fryer could be a very high risk. It all depends on what the occupier does, and at what time of the day and week. There are some categories which may be a surprisingly high risk to insurers. Trades such as DIY stores, electrical goods stores, furniture and carpet shops and dry cleaners/launderettes.
What type of cover will I have?
You will have insurance covering the building as standard. This will also include property owners liability insurance. That will cover guests or employees attending your premises that hurt themselves due to a building fault. The level of cover can vary between £2M to £10M.
Can I have loss of rent covered?
Yes, we can cover you for loss of rent and again this relates to the type of business. The longer the cover i.e. whether 12 or 36 months then the cheaper the cover can be.
Does it cover my employees working on site?
Yes, it can. This may be subject to an additional premium. It depends on what they are doing at the property.
Are legal costs included?
You will find that most insurance companies have some form of legal costs cover for commercial property policies. It is important to check the perils covered and the level of cover provided.
Summary
We can cover a wide range of commercial properties. This can range from purpose built office blocks to mobile home sites to retail shops and restaurants. There are very little scenarios that cannot be covered. However, each commercial policy needs an individual rating. We need to ensure that we have the whole of your property covered with the right commercial insurance for your building. We can even cover unoccupied commercial property. Which can be difficult to find a provider for.
Mark Harrington
Managing Director
iInsure365
22nd
November
November
Unoccupied Commercial Property Insurance
Unoccupied commercial insurance is extremely difficult to arrange compared to standard commercial insurance. Many insurance companies do not like to insure the properties as they represent a high risk. Insurers are reluctant to provide cover and premiums can often be higher compared to other building types. We can still obtain cover for you but the actual cover itself may be quite restrictive.
Should I take professional advice on how to protect my unoccupied commercial property?
You will find that most insurance companies will require some form of security protection at the property. Especially considering that squatters cannot reside in residential properties. An insurance company may request 24-hour security, wired fencing and even surveillance cameras. It is important to drain down the water systems and turn them off. Also, make sure that there are no valuable contents within the property itself. It may be that the insurer requires boarding up of the windows as well.
Do I need to look at the security of my property?
Yes, we would suggest that you, first of all, do a risk assessment of the property. This is to see if there are any potential points of entry for someone looking to break in. Seek local advice from the police of whether there could be a problem with an empty property. We would suggest that you secure the perimeter to deter people from entering the property. Also, you can look at installing closed-circuit TV and alarms. You will often find that CCTV is a must have for anyone looking to protect a commercial property. It will go a long way to potentially reducing the insurance risk which improves the insurance premium. You should then ensure that any important equipment at the property is either removed or secured. It would also make sense to advertise the security on the outside of the building to let potential criminals know that they are being watched. We would suggest that you also carry out regular checks or have somebody carry these out for you.
The more security measures that you put in place the more likely your premium will come down. It is essential to show your insurance company that you are doing your best to protect your investment.
Can I take out a policy for a short or long period?
Yes, you can take out a policy for any length of period as long as the Insurance Company are willing to offer it. Terms can be quite restrictive and premiums extremely high but we are able to offer cover.
Summary
Unoccupied commercial property insurance is extremely difficult to obtain. We do have markets that will help you cover your property but terms can be restrictive and premiums high. It is important that you do your best to ensure that security professionals check your property. This is to ensure that you are doing the best you can to protect it.
