As a business owner, we know that protecting your business is your number one priority. But many business owners fail to realize which insurance policies they must have in place to protect them from unforeseen circumstances.

Business Property coverage is insurance that protects the physical property and equipment of a business against loss from theft, fire or other perils.  Business property insurance is critical to protecting your company’s assets. While it isn’t required by law, the Townsend Insurance Group believes it is a wise investment to limit your liability in the event of a natural disaster or other calamity. Without it, your business may not survive financially.

Most business property insurance plans are tailored to the business and can cover a variety of losses, including damage from fires, electrical surges, and even embezzlement by an employee. In addition, it is usually recommended that business property insurance policies cover fixtures such as lighting systems or carpeting, equipment and machinery, furniture, computers and inventory.

When it comes to insurance for your physical property, we normally suggest an “all-risk basis” policy rather than a “named-peril basis” policy. A named peril basis policy only covers the specific perils named in the policy, an all-risk policy will cover you for virtually anything (except for a few specific exclusions). The all-risk policy will allow you to:

• Eliminate duplication and overlap
• Avoid gaps in trying to cover your liabilities through a number of specialized policies
• Encourage quicker settlements by working with one agent and one attorney
• Reduce the expense of having many different policies

If your local or regional location is inclined toward a specific calamity, you may consider additional insurance or pay an additional premium to insure against fire, flood, earthquake, nuclear risks (if you’re near a nuclear plant), hail, windstorm, vandalism, or crime. Depending on the size of the business it may be prudent to combine many coverages into a business owner’s policy (BOP)–a ready-made program for small businesses–or a special multiple-peril plan.

A business owner’s policy and other business property insurance plans can also cover lost income due to the disaster, as well as the additional costs of operating from a temporary location. However, vehicles are generally not covered by such policies, nor are financial assets kept on hand.

Together, your Personal Insurance Advisor from Townsend Energy can also help you decide if additional insurance products might be necessary such as those designed to cover losses such caused by fraud, burglary or robbery — which basic business owner’s policies and property insurance do not cover. These “riders” may also include data protection, personal assets and computer virus protection.

All of us at the Townsend Insurance Group know that protecting your business is extraordinarily important to you. Let us help guide you through the process of determining which insurance products will best suit your needs so that worrying about business insurance protection is one less thing on your to-do list and so you can get back to doing what you do best, actually running your business.