As a business owner, education on business insurance and the coverages available to you is important. The right business insurance policy protects your company against unexpected losses and keeps your day-to-day running smoothly.
Disaster strike your business property when you least expect it, especially if your business is in Tornado Alley. With the slightest chance of damages, business insurance should be something you already have to cover the costs. If you don’t have it yet, here are a few reasons why you need business insurance:
- Water damages like leaks
- Fire damages
- Vandalism
- Storm damages like tornadoes or flooding
These are only a few of the incidents that occur on your business property. There are many other types of damages, but these four are covered with most types of insurance.
Water Damage in Your Business
Water damage affects your property at any given moment. Old pipes break, causing a leak, or your draining system has blockage, causing water to back up and spill onto the floors. Different types of water damage happen all the time. Luckily, the right type of business insurance helps cover the costs to clean up. It’s expensive to pay for a restoration crew removing water and repairing the damages. To avoid the expenses, it should be a priority to find the right commercial water damage coverage. Make sure you’re helped and covered, no matter the type of water damage. These policies save you money and prevent you from being out of business for too long.
If your business suffers from water damage, call Burggraf immediately for assistance. Our team can also work with your insurance company to see what type of insurance policy you have and what is covered.
Unexpected Fire Damages
The most common types of damages to a commercial property are fires. Fires also leave the most damage behind. Soot on the walls, smoke odor in your belongings and disintegrated items add up to a costly restoration and remediation project. It is vital to have business insurance cover restoration services after a commercial fire. When business owners consider fire damage coverage, remember most commercial property insurance help with hostile fire damage. Hostile fires are deemed unintended or uncontrollable, like a wildfire. If you want to be covered for friendly fires, flames that are ignited on purpose and remain in the intended area like a fireplace, look into additional coverage. There are two types of business insurance to consider for unexpected fire damage coverage:
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- Commercial Fire Insurance: This additional policy allows property owners to have coverage of the building and the property within it. All the contents of the property, like furniture, equipment, tools, etc. are also protected under this fire policy.
- General Liability Insurance: This policy covers common risks like third-party injuries in case customers are in the building during the fire. This will cover the treatment of any third-parties affected because of the fire damage.
Vandalism on Commercial Property
Vandalism is defined as the willful or malicious destruction or defacement of property. Almost all commercial property insurance policies provide coverage for vandalism damage. Physical damages to your property, such as spray paint, fire, water and broken glass windows are covered by most policies. When purchasing commercial property insurance, see if coverage of plate glass windows are excluded from the policy. Some insurance policies may make you pay an extra premium for the plate glass.
It is important to have vandalism damage coverage in your policy because most incidents happen when the building is unoccupied. Who knows how extensive the damages can get! If your business is in an area with heavy foot traffic, prioritize comprehensive coverage. Property damage insurance doesn’t cover vandalism if:
- If the place of business is unoccupied for 60 or more consecutive days – this is difficult for businesses with employees who work from home and use their office infrequently
- If the insured is responsible for the vandalism – a disgruntled former employee or partner who is still on the policy causes damages
Vandalism poorly affects not only your business, but your employees as well. Make sure to have the proper coverage so your business is restored quickly.
Storm Damage Coverage
With high winds, hail, thunderstorms and tornadoes common in the spring, it is important for any business in the midwest to consider business insurance that covers storm damage. High winds break windows and damage the roof. Hail also cracks windows. Thunderstorms often come with excessive amounts of rain, leading to flooding, while tornadoes completely wipe out a property. Any of these given instances cost money to clean up, and most of these damages are deemed unavoidable and unpredictable by commercial property insurance. Damages are covered if deemed unavoidable or unpredictable. To save your business money after storm damage, make sure your commercial property insurance offers enough protection, especially in areas with tornadoes and hurricanes. This saves your business from spending too much time and money on restoration and cleanup.
Obtaining business insurance should be your first priorities when opening a new commercial business. Over time, the policy saves you money when disasters do occur. Take the necessary steps to find out how to get comprehensive coverage for your property. If you’re covered, you won’t be in a bind when water, fire or storm damage happens to you. If your commercial property faces any of these damages, call our team at Burggraf Disaster Restoration. We can help answer any questions on property damage coverage and the restoration costs.