The basics

What is business property insurance?

Business property insurance (also known as commercial property insurance) protects business property (such as a building or its contents) from losses, such as fire, theft, vandalism, and natural disasters.

It may also cover loss of income in the event that these items get damaged and prohibit you from working at full capacity.

Who needs it?

Property insurance is important if you own or lease an office space or building, and even if you work from home.

(If you do work from home, make sure to check if your homeowners policy will cover business property.)

You’ll want a business property policy if:

    • You own, lease, or rent an office space or building.
    • You have important business equipment, supplies or assets that you use to do business.
  • A landlord requires you to have it in order to sign a lease on a building.
48%
Of home-based businesses rely on their homeowners insurance to protect their work gear. However, those policies usually only cover up to $500 of work-related items.

Why get business property insurance?

Most small businesses can’t afford to replace damaged equipment at the drop of a hat. If something gets stolen or damaged, it could prohibit you from running your business. If you have assets that your business relies on to run smoothly, you should protect them.

So whether you need to protect a 6,000 square foot warehouse in SoHo, or a small laptop and a printer in Chicago, you should consider property insurance.

You’ll only be charged for the amount of risk you have.

So really, the cost could be as inexpensive as your daily cup of coffee. And planning ahead never hurt anyone, right?

Note: You can often bundle property insurance with general liability insurance in a business owner’s policy (if you qualify as a low-risk business). We can help you with that.

How it works

You can get a business property insurance plan that pays for losses based on the replacement cost or actual cash value.

Replacement cost: The amount of money it would take to repair, rebuild, or replace an item, according to its current worth.

Actual cash value: The cost to replace an item with something new, without consideration for depreciation.

You’ll want to have an idea of what property you want to insure when you get a quote. Think about what assets you want to insure, what it would cost to replace them, and if you think it’s worth insuring.

What does business property insurance cover?

It’ll cover the things that are essential to running your business. The benefits of this policy can be used for the repairs or replacement of covered business assets that are damaged, stolen, or lost, at the described location.

There are also special coverages for natural catastrophes, such as Earthquake Insurance and Hurricane and Typhoon insurance.

$8,000
The average cost of a burglary and theft claim.
615
That’s equal to 615 bottles of IPA deliciousness.

Coverage highlights

Building space
It will cover the physical location of your business – whether you own, lease, or rent it.
Personal business property
It will cover office equipment, supplies, goods and inventory, computers, tablets, and phones.

Examples of things you can insure

    • Office space that your business owns
    • Equipment
    • Supplies
    • Inventory
    • Furniture
    • Fixtures
    • Merchandise
    • Signs, fences, landscaping
  • Important documents

Examples of business property claims

    • A fire burns your building down, along with everything inside.
    • A water pipe bursts and ruins your computer, papers, and drawings.
    • A lightning storm completely fries your laptop and Wi-Fi router.
  • A thief steals several laptops while a group of employees are out to lunch.

A quick note about property on-the-go

If you need protection for goods or equipment in transit, ask your insurance agent about inland marine insurance, as property insurance typically only covers things within 500 feet of your business premises.

For instance, if you have equipment that you bring to a job site or client meeting, it would be better protected by inland marine insurance, not business property insurance.

Price factors

How much does business property insurance cost?

Property insurance isn’t a cookie cutter coverage, which makes the price vary considerably.

Is your business big or small? What about your office, is it new or old? How is it constructed? And are you in a rural or an urban environment? All of these factors contribute to how high or low your premium (price) might be.

Without calculating where you are, the size of your office space, and/or the level of safety in your area (to name a few), it’s pretty difficult to generate a price off the cuff.

If you’re interested in a tailored price for you and your business, get a quote and we’ll get you the best price based on your needs.