Commercial property insurance

Business property insurance coverage protects all types of property owned by your company, such as its physical location and important business assets.

This coverage also includes:

Commercial property coverage benefits a variety of small businesses that have an office or storefront, and costly business personal property.

Consider the following examples:

An IT staffing agency employee gets distracted by a conversation in the office kitchen, burns their popcorn, and sets off the smoke alarm. The sprinkler system turns on, damaging paperwork and several computers. Commercial property insurance pays to replace the lost assets.

The manager of a furniture store receives a call from the local police about vandalism at the business’s building. Several windows were smashed, and the front door was spray-painted. The company’s commercial property insurance covers the cost of repairing the windows and repainting the door.

This policy is important for protecting businesses throughout the supply chain, including manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, and other businesses at risk of property damage.

Burglars break into an office park and take printers, computers, and tablets from the main office of a general contractor. The agency's commercial property insurance policy covers the cost of replacing the stolen items.

For items that are damaged or stolen in transit or stored at job sites, you'll need a separate policy called contractor's tools and equipment insurance. And to protect a structure during the course of construction, you'll need builder's risk insurance.

A leak in the roof at a restaurant drenches the dining room and damages numerous tables and chairs. The company’s commercial property policy pays for the replacement of damaged furniture so it can continue its business.

A home-based daycare facility suffers vandalism, with the daycare sign getting spray-painted and partially ripped down.

Because the business owner did not have a commercial property policy, their homeowners' insurance denied their claim for the repair of the damage.

While commercial property insurance provides key coverage for your small business's building and physical assets, it also has some exclusions.

For instance, a commercial property policy does not cover:

Find answers to frequently asked questions about commercial property insurance.

TechInsurance is a trusted insurance expert for all small businesses, such as nonprofits and construction, but we also have extensive knowledge in the IT sector, including contractors, developers, and so much more.

Our licensed insurance agents are available to answer your questions on coverage options and help you find the right types of business insurance for your company.

With TechInsurance, you can easily download a certificate of liability insurance for your small business, often on the same day you buy property coverage or another insurance product. This comes in handy for companies and consultants that need proof of insurance to sign a contract or a lease and don’t have time to call an insurance company for documentation.

Commercial property insurance covers the loss and damage costs related to a range of incidents that can happen to your business property and company-owned buildings.

The most common property insurance claims include:

• Theft
• Fire
• Lightning
• Water damage
• Vandalism
• Wind and hail

This policy typically will not cover extreme weather events, such as earthquakes, tornadoes, and floods.

General liability insurance and commercial property insurance are two of the most popular types of insurance for small businesses, but they have several key differences.

Commercial property protects your business property from fire damage, loss, vandalism, theft, and certain natural disasters.

General liability covers your business against common issues including customer injuries or property damage, advertising injuries (such as libel and slander), and copyright infringement claims.

Both policies cover different risks associated with owning a small business, and many business owners purchase both policies as a cost-saving bundle commonly referred to as a business owner's policy (BOP).

Commercial property insurance provides coverage for a range of events, including burglary, vandalism, fire, and windstorm. However, there are some exclusions, such as natural disasters.

This policy usually covers your commercial building and products or equipment kept on-site at your business property. If you don’t own or rent a building or other commercial space, you can add a business personal property policy to your general liability coverage as an endorsement. This would cover your property at a designated location, such as a storage locker or home garage.

If you find yourself in a situation where items are stolen or damaged and the loss is covered, commercial property insurance offers you the option of receiving cash value or replacement value.

Typically, an actual cash value policy is less expensive, but the catch is that the policy will only pay out what the item is currently worth. As a result, you may have to pay out of pocket when purchasing the replacement due to depreciation.

On the other hand, replacement cost coverage will reimburse the lost items with a brand-new equivalent. This type of policy is usually more costly, but the higher premium may be worth it if you have extremely expensive or state-of-the-art equipment.

Yes. In fact, small companies can save money when they combine commercial property insurance and general liability insurance in a business owner’s policy (BOP). This two-in-one bundle includes the most common types of coverage that a small business needs, at a discount.

Only low-risk businesses are eligible for a BOP.

For fires and other incidents that can close an office for weeks or months, commercial property policies often allow policyholders to add business interruption insurance to their commercial property policy or a BOP. This coverage can pay for a move to a temporary location, cover your lost income, and pay your employees until your business reopens.

Similar to a BOP, small business owners can combine a commercial property policy and general liability policy into a commercial package policy (CPP).

This option is preferred by riskier small businesses and allows for more flexible protection options. For example, a business with many locations and very expensive equipment might opt for a CPP rather than a BOP to address the increased risk.

Commercial property insurance doesn't cover every incident that results in property damage. For example, it usually doesn't pay for damage caused by natural disasters like earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, or floods – unless you have an endorsement for that type of event.

You may also want to check whether your business is eligible for parametric insurance, which kicks in after predetermined, measurable events. For example, your parametric insurance could trigger if an earthquake reaches a magnitude of 6.0 or higher.

It also usually doesn't cover damage to computers and other equipment caused by short circuits, power surges, or a loss of pressure. To get property insurance coverage for this type of damage, add an equipment breakdown endorsement to your policy.

Commercial property insurance does not cover damage to perishable items that go bad due to an equipment failure or power outage. To cover these items, you'll need a spoilage insurance endorsement added to your commercial property policy.

You can also add insurance endorsements to fill other coverage gaps. Check with a TechInsurance agent to make sure your policy includes all the small business insurance coverage you need. They can also answer any questions you have about insurance rates and additional coverage options to keep your business safe.