COMMERCIAL PROPERTY INSURANCE

Commercial Property Insurance protects your business premises and its contents from fire, water damage, burglary, vandalism, and more.


This type of insurance is also formally known as “Industrial All Risks Insurance”, or “Property All Risks Insurance”. It is absolutely essential for business owners. It protects your property, equipment, inventory, and other contents stored at your business. Many common risks like fire, theft, vandalism, burst pipes, explosions, and more can be covered. 

What Does Commercial Property Insurance Cover?

Commercial Property Insurance protects the contents of your business premises. Examples of what’s covered:

  • Inventory
  • Business equipment (e.g. machines, computers, etc.)
  • Furniture
  • Personal belongings
  • Exterior signs
  • Fences and landscaping
  • Important documents
  • Property that belongs to others, stored at your business premises
  • Building structure (available as add-on)
Commercial property insurance typically covers damage from the following sources:

  • Fire & Lightning
  • Burst pipes
  • Explosions
  • Theft
  • Vandalism
  • Optional extensions: impact damage to property (e.g. from vehicles), riots, strikes, floods, earthquakes, boiler explosions and more.

What Does Commercial Property Insurance Not Cover?

  • Sources of damage not within the scope of insured perils: For instance, if your policy only covers Fire & Lightning, damage to your property caused by floods will not be covered. Thankfully, you can easily purchase extensions to broaden your coverage.

    Common extensions that can be purchased include: floods, impact damage (e.g. from vehicles), earthquakes, strikes, and riots.

  • Injuries to employees: To cover this, you’ll need Work Injury Compensation Insurance.
  • Injuries to third-parties: To cover injuries to third-parties like customers, or members of the public, you’ll need Public Liability Insurance.

Do I Need Commercial Property Insurance?

Yes, definitely! This type of insurance is one of the most common policies that SMEs will have. As long as you run your business in any kind of commercial space, you need protection for the property, and the stuff you own. 

Top 5 reasons why SME owners buy Commercial Property Insurance:

  • You don’t want to potentially pay millions of dollars to repair the property, and replace inventory, if they get damaged somehow
  • Your landlord requires you have Property Insurance as part of your lease
  • Your bank requires you have Property Insurance as part of your mortgage
  • You store high-value items inside your property (e.g. cash in safes, gold, jewellery)
  • You store goods that belong to someone else (e.g. clients) inside your business property

 

How much Commercial Property insurance Do I Need?

You should consider purchasing an amount equal to:
1. The approximate market value of your commercial property, PLUS
2. The approximate market value/replacement cost of all the contents you own in the commercial property.

Remember that under-insurance will significantly reduce your insurance payout in the event of a claim. When in doubt, it’s advisable to purchase slightly more than what you think is necessary so that you get a full payout when you need it most.

If you’d like help determining how much coverage is best for your company, speak with our friendly industry experts now!