Commercial Property
July 25, 2017
Author: John McMahon, Sales Executive
Commercial property insurance provides coverage for property from perils such as, but not limited to, fire, theft, and natural disaster. Businesses purchase this insurance to protect their physical property from loss. Property insurance covers four main categories of property: building, contents, permanent fixtures, and the personal property of others. This coverage can also be broadened to cover assets such as accounts receivables, computers, and lost income for when business operations are suspended due to a covered loss.
Many motor carriers can tend to look past this particular coverage because they are focused on their liability, physical damage, and cargo insurance, which is required to book loads and operate their equipment. As a company grows in the transportation industry the natural tendency is to purchase or rent building space for their dispatchers and other employees that help operate their company along with branching out into other operations, such as staging some property for others. This exposure is where personal property of others’ coverage comes in and becomes very important for motor carriers. Also, having more employees tends to lead toward more office equipment such as computers, phones, furniture and other office supplies. If there is a loss, it’s important to make sure that there is sufficient coverage to cover this exposure.
In order to understand the potential exposures, specific information about the property is needed. To gather this information an initial assessment, known as the COPE worksheet, can be used which requests the following information: the Construction, Occupancy, Protection, and Exposure of the property. This information helps to identify the type and value of the building, contents, and any personal property of others’ exposure to be covered. This worksheet delves into the construction of the building such as the walls, roofing, heating, electrical, as well as the occupancy of the building. It asks about what kind of protection systems are in place and what other exposures there are such as other buildings that are close to the covered building.
It is very important to make sure that you are covering your property correctly and making sure that your limits are adequate not only for your building(s) but also your contents and the personal property of others. It is a good idea to have your insurance agent or broker come take look at any property that you own or rent to make sure you are covered properly. Commercial property can be overlooked by many motor carriers but it is a very important coverage to protect your business’ bottom line.
Sources