Business Property Insurance
In the world of business today, we rely on our tools and work items every day to get business done. That is why protecting yourself against financial losses when those items are damaged is just as important.
If a small business owns a building, inventory, or equipment could benefit from property insurance. If you rent your business location landlords often require their tenants to have property coverage. This is also key coverage for business owners, even if you run a home-based business. In this case it can provide more coverage than your homeowners insurance. It helps protect your business’ physical assets. If a covered loss damages your business’ location or physical assets, such as computers, furniture, phones or tools, commercial property insurance can help cover your repair or replacement costs.
Choosing the Right Business Property Insurance Coverage
Choosing the right property insurance is vital. Business property insurance covers your buildings, the contents within those buildings, and loss of income if you are out of business due to a claim. It can help protect your business in case of unexpected accidents or tragedies like fire, theft, wind damage, or even a building’s collapse under the weight of snow.
Finding the right amount of coverage can be difficult. While you do not want to be over-insured and pay unnecessarily high premiums, being underinsured leaves your business and employees vulnerable. A good place to start is determining the value of your building. Most insurers work with vendors who provide standardized valuation tools, determining a building’s value based on one of two factors.
The value you choose should be based on your estimated ability to rebuild in case a disaster strikes, and the risk you are willing to take. If your business bases coverage on the actual cash value, you will likely pay lower premiums, but you could be responsible for higher cost if you are forced to rebuild from scratch. If your coverage is based on replacement value, your premiums may rise to keep pace with the rising costs of new construction, but your out-of-pocket cost in case of emergency would likely be lower. If you rent your space, your situation may demand different options. Usually this is determined by your existing contract, so you should look closely at your lease to find the gaps in coverage. After that, work with your insurance agent to customize your policy to minimize your loss potential.
As far as the value of what is inside the building that can be more difficult. Some businesses may have expensive manufacturing equipment they must protect, while others focus on assessing the value of their in-stock inventory. Work closely with your agent to determine the appropriate value of building contents, because an accurate assessment can help get your business up and running much sooner in the event of a covered loss.
Overall protecting the actual assets of your business is something that we can help you with at BEW Financial Solutions. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or for more information for your business.
BEW: The Right Fit
Since insurance is such an important part of your business you should speak to someone who knows the information you need to know. You need to talk to someone who understands how important this is to you and your shareholders and employees. You need someone who can treat you like a trusted partner.
Knowledge and compassion fit are what BEW is about. We have been in the business for over twenty years. We are a local small business that has been a part of our community for many years. We have started our own business and and helped many local businesses as well. We love to educate our clients about the different aspects of insurance and find what is best for them. We want you to understand and are always here to help.
