Who to Choose for Your Commercial Building Insurance

When something goes wrong it’s not a good time to find out that your insurance cover isn’t right. If you own business premises and operate businesses from them you must ensure you have adequate insurance. Equally if you are a landlord with a single property or several properties and someone else operates businesses from them, you must ensure your risk is insured. This is known as commercial building insurance.

As a basic you need to insure the actual building in case something happens to it. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a pre-condition but if you do not have a mortgage it is still recommended as otherwise you risk having to rebuild your premise yourself if something happens to it. To insure a commercial building, you need know what activities are being carried out by the business or businesses which are using it.  If you own the building and are running your own business that is a simple question to answer but for many landlords this is the biggest risk.  Unless you visit regularly you don’t know that your property is no longer being used for the purpose your tenant originally told you – and what if the new activity is far more risky?  This is easier if you have one building with one tenant but becomes much more complicated if you have multiple buildings, multiple tenants and a mixed portfolio of residential and commercial premises.  Also you aren’t there every day to spot the broken window which needs repaired or the damp patch which is growing due to a burst pipe.  This makes your commercial property insurance inherently more risky.

Get a Quote

Who to Choose for Your Commercial Building Insurance

Insurance under one roof

We are specialists in many types of insurance

Your tenant has responsibilities too – but do they know this?  They must make sure they tell you about the activities they are carrying out on site so that you can be adequately insured.  They are also responsible for insuring their own contents and any specialist fixtures and fittings they install for their own use. As a landlord you should also consider contents and/or fixtures and fittings insurance if you have some within the building. A building owner running a business will also want to consider contents, stock and/or fixtures and fittings cover.

Whenever a business is in operation public liability insurance will be required to cover those using or visiting the building and employee liability insurance will be needed if you have employees on site.

You should also consider whether you can afford not to have an income from your building and what you would do if you or your tenants can’t use it for some reason.  This could be as a result of a local disaster such as a flood or a fire or something specific to the building such as a burst pipe or failure of the boiler. As the landlord you have responsibilities – could you afford relocation costs as well as reparation costs or do you need this to be covered by your insurance?  If you run your business from the site could you afford to the loose the site and your income? If not, you need to consider business interruption insurance or relocation cover.

And what about damage?  Whether it is accidental or intentional it has to be repaired.  If it’s not clear who is responsible, it will always end up falling to the landlord particularly if the repairs needs to be done urgently to keep the premise secure.  So would you prefer to have accidental damage insurance or malicious damage cover?  What if your tenant takes things from the building – do you need cover for theft by tenants?

All businesses are different – so all commercial property insurance policies should be as well. You need to ensure your policy is tailored to your needs and to make sure you get the right cover we would always recommend using a broker such as Property Insurance Centre. Don’t spend your time answering the same questions on multiple websites – call our team of experts on 0800 085 3761 and we will ask you the questions once and then do the legwork for you.  Based in London and Northern Ireland, Property Insurance Centre has over 40 years’ experience working with all the leading insurers and we will ensure you get the right commercial building insurance for your business at the best price.

Frequently asked Questions

Question: Does a Commercial Property Insurance Policy cover my rent if my tenant does not pay me?

Answer: No. Commercial Property Insurance does not include this type of cover.

Question: Can I insure my Commercial Building if I trade from the premises?

Answer: Yes. You should make sure that the buildings are put under the correct name that occurs on the deeds of the property. Normally in the case that you need to insure the business and building separately, they will be insured under different names from the other policy.

Question: Will the building be insured if it becomes unoccupied?

Answer: Yes. You must tell the insurer if this is the case. They will want to know how long for and if there is any work going on during this period. The cover will be reduced to limited perils cover during any period the building is empty. They may even ask you to pay an additional premium if the risk has increased due to unoccupancy.

If there are any other questions that are not answered here, then give our team a call on 0800 085 371 or request a callback. One of our Qualified Brokers will call you!

Block of Flats

block-of-flats-insurance-middle-icon-01

Home Insurance

Holiday-Home-Insurance

Residential Landlord

Land Liability

Commercial Property

Why choose the Property Insurance Centre

Independent advice by approachable staff online or by phone

Access to a wide range of insurers to source suitable insurance cover for your needs

Bespoke Insurance Schemes & Portfolio Policies available

We can tailor your policy to suit your exact needs to give you complete peace of mind

Competitive Premiums

Cover available for the buildings while the property is being converted, renovated or extended

Over 40 years experience working with the best insurers in the UK

Excellent communication so that you understand what risks you are insured against

Why choose the Property Insurance Centre

Independent broker with staff you can speak to by phone or online

Access to a wide range of insurers to source suitable insurance cover for your needs

Bespoke Insurance Schemes & Portfolio Policies available

We can tailor your policy to suit your exact needs to give you complete peace of mind

Competitive Premiums

Cover available for the buildings while the property is being converted, renovated or extended

Over 40 years experience working with the best insurers in the UK

Excellent communication so that you understand what risks you are insured against

Why choose the Property Insurance Centre

Independent broker with staff you can speak to by phone or online

Access to a wide range of insurers to source suitable insurance cover for your needs

Bespoke Insurance Schemes & Portfolio Policies available

We can tailor your policy to suit your exact needs to give you complete peace of mind

Competitive Premiums

Cover available for the buildings while the property is being converted, renovated or extended

Over 40 years experience working with the best insurers in the UK

Excellent communication so that you understand what risks you are insured against

Specialists in Commercial & Residential Insurance

We have over 40 years experience as Residential and Commercial Insurance Brokers. We find the right policy to suit your needs and understand the risks that a property owner can face in the course of ownership. We work closely with our Insurers to get the best rates and our experience and excellent relationships with them mean that we can provide cover for even the most difficult to place risks.

Whether you have an adverse claims history, a high value property or a large portfolio of properties, we can source suitable cover for you. Whatever your requirements, we can tailor a specialist property insurance policy to suit your exact needs and provide you with a range of quotes to choose from. Established in 1976, we are not a call centre but a specialist insurance broker with a traditional office mentality, where the client comes first.

Looking for a quote now? Give us a call on 0800 085 3761 or complete one of our quote request forms.

We are also authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and you can view our registration here.

Get In Touch:

    We accept most payment types including:

    UK Call Handlers & Dedicated New Business Team

    Call Us on 0800 085 3761

    Contents