Are You Gambling With Your Commercial Property Insurance?

Get a Quote

"*" indicates required fields

Commercial investments can be a risky business at the best of times, especially in a perpetually changing economic climate. Anyone with experience knows that protecting your investments is of paramount importance. If you’re interested in safeguarding against life’s little surprises why not see if the experts at Smart Business Insurance can help you gain peace of mind?

Did you know that of all the businesses affected during the 2011 Queensland floods many were not adequately insured? One mitigating factor that may explain this lack of coverage is the very nature of the insurance market. It’s sometimes difficult for business owners to make an informed choice on which policy to purchase due to the complexity of the policies. How many of these businesses were unsure about what their insurance policy covered them for?

This is where we can assist. Part of our role can be to help you understand the inclusions and exclusions of your business insurance policy so that it meets your brief.

Commercial Property Insurance.

Business property insurance is a specialist insurance policy designed for business owners or individuals who own commercial property. This policy may help prevent any financial loss accrued during commercial activities. This type of policy can be used to cover the expenses caused by fire, lightning, flooding, burglary and accidental damage. The insurance cost will be dependent on the risk calculations of the insurer, so those in high-crime areas or operating on a flood plain will pay higher commercial property insurance rates. The purpose of commercial building insurance is to allow you to operate safe in the knowledge that your commercial property is covered.

At least this is how commercial property insurance is supposed to work, yet policies are not without their risks. Whilst simple claims may normally be honoured, there are a million complex circumstances through which insurance company will not pay out on a claim. This is why SMART Business Insurance Brokers are such a valuable asset to business owners, as we can go over the wording and terminology of your policy to ensure you’re covered to meet your brief -even under complex conditions.

Let’s take a look at a case study to show you how insurance brokers help businesses.

Stormy Weather, Insured or Uninsured?

The floods of 2011 were a highly illustrative case study in why assessing your commercial insurance policy warrants expert guidance. LMT Surgical found their property in Brisbane inundated by water following burst storm drains in the vicinity. Suffering from hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage, the clinic were very glad that they were insured against water inundation… or so they thought!

What they actually had was coverage against “water inundation” – with a flood exclusion.

The insurance company argued that since the policy did not cover flooding that came from rivers or canals, they would consider the storm drain bursting a “canal” extension of the nearby river. Thus the insurance company refused to pay out.

This type of wording is standard and many commercial insurance packages will distinguish between “water inundation” and “flooding”. Would you know the difference when signing your commercial future over to a direct insurance company? LMT were required to fight the insurance company over this interpretation all the way to the Supreme Court. A process which took nearly 2 years.

The lesson is simple, by going directly to an insurance company you may sometimes receive a slightly lower premium, yet at what cost? Our role in the business insurance market is to act as a consumer advocate offering expert advice to those who require specialist business insurance. Not only can we find you the fairest policy price, sourced for multiple insurance companies we can evaluate the policy wording with you to ensure the policy wording meets your brief. We will also use our expertise to represent your interests should there be any issues with the insurer at a later date.

Commercial Landlord Insurance

These issues are not only present when operating your own business out of your own premises. When letting commercial premises it’s a necessity to ensure an effective and robust insurance package has been made in accordance with the lease. Some leases will require tenants to source their own commercial insurance and some will leave this as the responsibility of the landlord.

We have already witnessed the problems that can arise when dealing directly with insurance companies when you have a large claim. When suitable cover is supplied to tenants of a commercial property you can have three parties all attempting to escape the burden of financial responsibility. It is therefore an absolute necessity to ensure you are party to a policy which will keep your business and property secure. For example, some policies can offer a nice reduction in cost if you only sign up for partial coverage in selective areas. Research very carefully whether that’s a wise decision or whether you’re taking a large gamble with a very large investment. Our team of SMART Business Insurance brokers can help you understand industry benchmarks and standards to assist and make your decision making more informed.

Why Choose Smart To Protect You With Your Commercial Building Insurance?

Our philosophy within the business insurance market is based on being realistic and fair. Our duty is not only to ensure your policy matches your brief but to represent your interest with the insurance company. Some direct insurance companies are focused on reducing costs which can impact the quality of their services. Our role is to use our industry knowledge to find you not only a competitively priced commercial insurance package, but one that gives you cover suitable for your risk.

SMART Business Insurance Brokers is a company that has already established a great reputation in the insurance market. Our service oriented approach combined with our extremely competitive commercial property insurance quotes have quickly seen us take on and win against the traditional leaders in the business property insurance market. Simply put we are a company run by Australians for Australians, you can expect fair treatment, honest advice and of course, the opportunity to protect your commercial property assets at a good rate.

With over 30 different insurance companies and underwriters available to us we can find a policy for your business property from multiple sources including Vero Insurance, Lumley Insurance and CGU Insurance. We provide a considered convenient service that puts you in the driving seat starting from the commercial property insurance quote stage. As an efficient service we endeavour to clearly explain the options available to you. Being a business that is built on word of mouth, we value your custom and we’re determined to continue to stand up for consumer knowledge.

For more information or a quote on commercial property insurance, contact SMART Business Insurance Brokers at 1300 542 573 or info@smartinsure.com.au to talk to a specialist commercial building insurance broker.

Google+

General advice Disclaimer

This Blog contains general advice only. It has been prepared without taking into account your particular objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on the advice, you should consider the appropriateness of the advice, having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs.

Smart Business Insurance (this Company) and the Blog authors makes no representations or warranties with respect to this Blog or its contents.

This Company does not warrant that the information on this Blog is accurate, complete or current.

Please click here to for the complete disclaimer details.

Need more CERTAINTY regarding your business insurance cover?
Have questions or want GUIDANCE?
Get in touch. Here to help you.*

Get a Quote

"*" indicates required fields