How Commercial Property Insurance Protects Your Vital Assets

Ensuring that you can quickly recover after an incident can be an important part of risk management along with working to prevent the incident in the first place. For business-owners looking to safeguard their livelihood, a key way you can help the recovery after an accident is by taking out commercial property insurance, providing protection for both your building and its contents*.

Keep reading to learn how a commercial property insurance policy could help you.

Who can benefit from commercial property insurance?

Whether your business is business-to-business, business-to-consumer, retail or online only, protecting your place of business is something to consider. More than just a place where you work, the condition and nature of your property can contribute greatly to how your business is perceived. Losing your property can be costly not just to your bottom line, but to your brand’s strength.

As such, any business that owns, mortgages, or rents property may benefit from commercial property insurance.

These costs can multiply when the business affected is involved in manufacturing, warehousing or any other industrial field – organisations in this sector can really struggle to get back on their feet after the loss of property, plant, equipment and stock.

What does commercial property insurance protect against?

A typical commercial property insurance policy usually provides coverage* for damage sustained to the structure itself – including fixtures and fittings, services and utilities provided to the building, structural improvements made to the building, and shipping containers and portable buildings permanently situated on the property – and contents thereof, subject to the limits and exclusions of the particular policy.

Commercial property insurance can provide broad coverage for damage resulting from a range of events, but as with every insurance product, the specific terms and conditions of your policy will determine your inclusions, exclusions and policy limits. Depending on the insurer, these events can include¹:

• Accidental damage
• Burst or leaking pipes
• Earthquake or tsunami
• Fire
• Impact by a vehicle or falling object
• Lightning or explosion
• Malicious damage
• Storm damage
• Industrial accidents such as escape of molten material

How does commercial property insurance protect you?

Coverage under a commercial property insurance policy differs from some other products in that the insurer has several methods of paying out your policy, depending on the nature of the asset and the extent and type of damage suffered. What constitutes coverage can take a number of forms, which may include¹:

• Paying the cost of rebuilding, replacing, or repairing the building or contents
• Replacing contents and stock with similar items
• Rebuild the building at the premises or at another site

In most cases, insurers will reserve the right to choose from these options for each item damaged.

Additionally, coverage for certain high value items may be capped at a certain amount², especially for items deemed works of art, antiques or curios. Because of this, it is important that policy-holders understand not just how much coverage they’re being provided as a whole, but how this coverage is divided between their assets and how it will be paid out*.

Ready to find a commercial property insurance & building insurance policy?

If you’re looking to protect your business from accidents, vandalism, and natural disasters, you may consider purchasing commercial property insurance for your building and contents.

At iSelect we’ve partnered with BizCover to help you compare business insurance products from a range of providers. Get started today!

* As with any insurance, cover will be subject to the terms, conditions and exclusions contained in the policy document or Product Disclosure Statement. The information set out above is general only and should not be relied upon as advice.

iSelect’s partnered with BizCover Pty Ltd (ABN 68 127 707 975: AFSL No.501769) to help you compare small business insurance policies. iSelect earns a commission from Bizcover for every policy sold through the website or contact centre. iSelect and BizCover do not compare all brands in the market, or all policies offered by all brands. iSelect does not arrange policies from the brands we compare for you directly, but iSelect will refer you to our trusted partner, Bizcover Pty Ltd who can.

Any advice provided by iSelect is of a general nature and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. You need to consider the appropriateness of any information or general advice iSelect gives you, having regard to your personal situation, before acting on iSelect’s advice or purchasing any product. You need to consider if the insurance product is suitable for you. Please read the Financial Services Guide before buying any insurance policy.

Sources:
1. https://www.bizcover.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/AIG-Business-Pack-Policy-Wording-09.00654.5.pdf
2. https://www.bizcover.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/QM485-1118-Business-pack-insurance-poicy-web.pdf