Commercial Landlords Insurance – Considerations

When undertaking a Landlords insurance policy for renting out commercial property, you may find the process a little easier than with that of a rental house or apartment. Renting to a business may simple, but whatever the rental a comprehensive insurance policy is a necessity.

Property insurance for a landlord varies from homeowners insurance in many different ways. The insurance itself should not necessarily be more expensive, but Landlords insurance focuses on different types of loss protection to the type of cover for residential property.

If you are renting out commercial property, the business tenants you are renting to will probably have insurance on any equipment or office furniture that they own or lease. Contents coverage would not normally be required, unless there is a catering facility in the building and cover is needed for the appliances. Before taking out a policy, making a list of contents kept within the building is worthwhile. For instance, list the kind of obvious items that could suffer damage and subsequently require replacement in the event of a loss like a flood or fire and so on.

Liability coverage is a major form of insurance cover and is likely to be a requirement for properties that are rented to a business. This can especially be true if the business gets visitors from prospective purchasers. Many commercial leases incorporate a requirement for the tenant to carry a certain amount of liability coverage, therefore protecting the business from loss. In these cases, this would mean the landlord only having to carry secondary coverage for the risk. This means that on applying for a policy, a full understanding of the inner workings of any lease agreements needs to be in place. Disclosing anything legally ambiguous to your chosen insurer.

Another valuable part of a landlords insurance is cover for any loss of income, check that this type of loss is covered by the policy. When it comes to a move, a business has a lot more hassle than that of a residential property owner. Having to deal with all of the corresponding media, redirects, IT and technology, means a significant amount of co-ordination and careful management. Added to this is the inconvenience of the premises potentially becoming out of action. A building has to pay its way, and having your investment vacant for any length of time without rent can literally run into thousands of pounds. Imagine the scenario with a tower block?

This proves that adequate landlords insurance is a must if your business is to continue operating with the minimum of disruption following a loss. Not having the correct policies in place could potentially devastate a business, if nothing else you can actually sleep at night knowing that if the worst happens there is a clear plan of action and that all of the associated rebuild costs are covered off. There are many different types of policy available and if you are one of the many time poor amongst us, this kind of policy is best placed with a specialist insurance broker.