Common Commercial Property Insurance Exclusions – November 2019
Commercial property insurance – what’s covered, what’s not covered
Commercial property insurance is meant to help guard the physical assets of your business from specific perils, such as fire, explosions, storms, burst pipes, vandalism, and theft. It protects your building and business personal property, along with fences, signs, and other exterior fixtures. It is a core coverage of your business insurance policy.
If you have commercial property insurance coverage for your business, then you know you are covered for several risks. Did you know that there are common damages that are excluded from your coverage under commercial property insurance policies?
Commercial Automobile Accidents
Commercial property insurance does not cover your company’s vehicles that are used in your daily business. For your company’s vehicles to be covered you need commercial auto insurance. The purpose of commercial auto insurance is to protect you by making sure you are covered for both damage to your vehicles and bodily injury or property damage resulting from an accident caused by a driver.
Flood or Earthquake Damage
Flood and earthquake coverage are excluded from your business insurance policy, as it is with homeowner’s insurance. To protect your company from these risks you need commercial flood insurance or earthquake insurance for your business. If your company is in a flood zone or any prone area for earthquakes, our experienced agent will help you find the best price with the coverage you need.
Equipment Breakdown Coverage
Commercial property insurance protects against damage caused by a covered peril, such as fire, theft, vandalism or explosion. It does not cover damage that has incurred by equipment breakdown or malfunction. Unless equipment breakdown insurance is included in your business insurance package, the cost of repair or replacement will come out of your company’s pocket.
Off-Premises Power Failure
A utility failure, such as an electrical outage or a disruption in water service, could force your business to close for a day or even longer. This type of loss is not covered under your commercial property insurance. You may be able to add off-premises coverage caused by a covered peril resulting in a loss of power as an endorsement to your policy.
Excluded Property Coverage
There are certain types of property that are excluded under a commercial property insurance, including:
- Money, security, accounts, bills
- Land, piers, docks, and wharves
- Vehicles, aircraft, and watercraft (with certain exceptions)
- Animals other than stock
- Crops, hay, or grain located outside
- Cost of excavation, grading, or back-filling
- Building foundations
- Walkways, roads, and other paved surfaces
- Electronic data
- Cost of restoring information on valuable records
Meet with an Agent
One of your responsibilities as a business owner is to ensure you are adequately protected with the right business insurance coverage. Commercial property insurance does not cover everything, it is possible to purchase other coverage to help fill in those gaps. Our experienced insurance agent would be happy to meet with you to review your business insurance policy. We will advise you on the types of insurance coverage you need for your company to be adequately protected and to help you find the right coverage to provide you peace of mind, and affordability.
