Commercial property insurance pays to repair or replace stolen, lost, or damaged business property. It covers your business’s physical location and other assets like equipment.
Commercial property insurance protects against the risks of owning or renting an office, storefront, or other business property. It covers property losses when a fire damages your office, or a pipe bursts and floods your store.
Items that are covered include:
If you rent a commercial space, your landlord may require you to carry this coverage. Even when it’s not required, commercial property insurance is important for any small business that owns physical assets.
You may also see this type of insurance referred to as business hazard insurance.
Commercial property insurance covers your business’s real estate and its contents. It helps pay for repair or replacement when business property is lost, damaged, or destroyed.
Your business assets aren’t just expensive—they keep your business running. With commercial property insurance, you’ll be able to afford repairs for necessary equipment after an unexpected event like a fire or a break-in.
A commercial property insurance policy can cover your:
Commercial property insurance protects a building owned by your business against fire, vandalism, and other types of damage.
If computers, tablets, smartphones, or other company-owned devices are destroyed or damaged, commercial property insurance will cover your financial losses. However, for data loss, you'll need to add electronic data processing insurance to be fully protected.
The furniture and fixtures inside your owned or rented building are protected by commercial property insurance.
If your business’s office equipment or supplies are damaged, destroyed, or stolen, commercial property insurance coverage can help repair or replace them.
Commercial property insurance protects your inventory against theft, fire, and other causes of loss.
Your policy also covers fences, signs, lighting, and other fixtures and exterior items owned by your business.
Commercial property insurance costs an average of $67 per month. It's often affordable for small business owners, with 35% of our customers paying less than $50 per month for their policy.
The cost of commercial property insurance is based on several factors, including:
Landlords often require proof of commercial property coverage, liability coverage, or another type of business renter's insurance from their business tenants. Though landlords carry property insurance for their buildings, they won’t take responsibility for any expensive business property a tenant keeps on site.
Additionally, lenders often mandate business property insurance for the life of the mortgage.
Even when it’s not required, commercial property insurance is a crucial part of risk management for any business that owns a building, valuable equipment, or expensive inventory. It helps your business recover financially from incidents such as:
Remember, homeowner’s insurance doesn't usually cover lost or damaged business property, so home-based businesses should also consider commercial property insurance.
This policy is especially important for certain professions, such as:
Property insurance is crucial for any business that sells, distributes, or manufactures goods. For example, if a pipe bursts in a grocery store, a commercial property policy would cover the cost of replacing all of the food that had to be thrown away.
If you rent a commercial space, you can purchase a policy that covers only owned items in the space. You may also need to insure equipment that you lease, depending on your arrangement with the owner.
Tech companies rely on their computers and other expensive electronics on a daily basis.
If a thief breaks into your office and makes off with thousands of dollars' worth of monitors, PCs, and laptops, a commercial property policy will cover the cost of replacing the stolen items.
Construction companies and contractors rely on several different types of specialized property insurance to cover their risks. They might need contractor's tools and equipment coverage to protect power tools that travel to different job sites, or builder's risk insurance to cover a structure in progress.
If a fire destroys your tools and equipment, or someone vandalizes a construction site, these policies will help you recover financially.
Commercial landlords, property managers, and other real estate professionals likely need a policy that covers the actual building and all contents, including mechanical and electrical systems.
If you rent a space, you may want to ask your tenants to carry insurance to make sure their own items are protected as well. You should also consider purchasing lessor's risk only (LRO) insurance to protect yourself from legal fees if an accident happens on your property, as well as a building insurance policy, which covers property damage to buildings, structures, and completed additions that you lease to commercial tenants.
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Get QuotesCommercial property insurance covers a commercial building and its contents. However, it doesn't cover every risk or type of property. Here are a few situations where you may need additional coverage:
If your business needs coverage for items in transit or equipment that moves to different worksites, consider inland marine insurance or equipment floater insurance. These policies cover equipment, tools, and other possessions that move from place to place. It also includes items in a business’s temporary care, such as loaned artwork.
General liability insurance covers property belonging to your customers and clients. It helps cover legal costs if someone sues over a broken item or an accidental injury.
Business interruption insurance, also called business income insurance, covers financial losses when a covered property claim forces a business to close temporarily. It can pay for loss of income, employee wages, and other day-to-day expenses.
This policy sometimes includes extra expense coverage, which covers costs beyond your routine operating expenses. For example, you might need to move to a temporary location or hire additional employees after a fire or other disaster.
Employee dishonesty coverage reimburses your clients if an employee steals items or money from them. This coverage includes fidelity bonds, which protect your business and clients against dishonest employees.
Equipment breakdown coverage pays to replace malfunctioning equipment after a mechanical or electrical failure. You can add this extra coverage as an endorsement on your commercial property insurance policy.
If a burst pipe or other incident destroys customer records, your business could have trouble collecting outstanding customer payments. This isn't considered a covered loss of commercial property insurance, unless your policy has an accounts receivable endorsement.
General liability insurance covers common business risks like customer injury, customer property damage, and advertising injury. It protects your small business from the high costs of lawsuits and helps you qualify for leases and contracts.
A business owner’s policy (BOP) bundles general liability insurance with commercial property insurance. It typically costs less than if the policies were bought separately.
Workers’ compensation insurance covers medical costs and lost wages for work-related injuries and illnesses. This policy is required in almost every state for businesses that have employees.
Commercial auto insurance covers legal bills, medical expenses, and property damage if a business vehicle is involved in an accident.
Cyber liability insurance, also called cybersecurity insurance, protects small businesses from the high costs of a data breach or malicious software attack. It covers expenses such as customer notification, credit monitoring, legal fees, and fines.
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Get answers to frequently asked questions about commercial property insurance
Commercial property insurance usually covers damage caused by named perils. That includes burglaries, vandalism, fires, and windstorms. But it doesn't cover normal wear and tear, natural disasters (such as a hurricane), and many other types of risks.
Typically, this policy covers your building and business personal property kept at that location. If you don’t own or rent a building or other commercial space, the policy can cover assets stored at a designated location. These are usually places like your home or a storage unit.
Commercial property insurance coverage offers policyholders a choice of receiving cash value or replacement value for stolen or destroyed items. An actual cash value policy costs less, but pays out only what the item is currently worth. Due to depreciation, you might have to pay money out of pocket toward the replacement cost.
Opting for replacement value means that the carrier will reimburse the lost equipment with a brand-new equivalent. While replacement value policies have a higher insurance rate, the extra cost may be beneficial for businesses that depend on state-of-the-art equipment, such as many IT companies.
Commercial property insurance has some coverage exclusions. For example, it usually doesn't pay for property damage caused by natural disasters like earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods. If you need coverage for these events, you can add an endorsement to your policy.
It also doesn't cover damage caused by short circuits, power surges, or loss of pressure. An equipment breakdown endorsement extends coverage to damage caused by these events.
Additionally, it won't cover business vehicles. If your business owns a company vehicle, you’ll typically need to purchase commercial auto insurance to comply with state law.
You can add endorsements (riders) to your policy to fill other gaps in coverage too. Check with an Insureon agent to make sure your insurance policy includes the type of coverage you need.
Yes. Many companies that own or rent their workspace bundle their property coverage with general liability insurance in a business owner's policy (BOP).
A business owner's policy comes in handy if your landlord requires you to have renter's insurance, or you need general liability coverage in order to secure a contract with a client. It typically costs less than if the policies were bought separately. Most low-risk small businesses are eligible for a BOP.
Similar to a BOP, a commercial package policy (CPP) also packages property and liability coverage. A CPP offers more flexible protection options and is generally purchased by high-risk small and medium-sized businesses.
There are several types of liability insurance products that help pay for different kinds of lawsuits. They include:
An insurance agent can help you find cost-saving insurance bundles that fit your business.
If you want to learn more about this policy, you can find additional answers in our frequently asked questions about commercial property insurance.
You can also consult with an insurance agent about your insurance needs and get free small business insurance quotes from top U.S. insurance companies.
When buying small business insurance, it’s important to choose reputable insurance companies. The following are some of the best providers for the most necessary and affordable types of business insurance coverage.
