Determine Changes in Property Exposures

Your business owners’ policy (BOP) should already provide you with substantial financial protection for the physical property your business owns, leases or rents. If you make a major investment in your business, including improvements or additions to property, your BOP should be adjusted to protect this. The best course is to add coverage for full replacement cost right away.

 

The same can be said for saving money on policy coverage you no longer need. If you’ve made a significant downsizing in plant or equipment, you can probably save money in insurance premiums. In a nutshell: You need adequate safeguards for the business you operate, but you shouldn’t be paying for more than you need.

 

Inventory is an often-overlooked business asset. Yet its loss in the case of fire or accident can be devastating. If your business is undergoing change, you should make sure your inventory valuation is up to date, and that your BOP’s limits are sufficient to meet any potential loss. If your business is experiencing a slowdown, and you’ve reduced that inventory, you may be carrying more in coverage than makes sense.

 

Have you recently bought or sold business property? Has your business moved from a bricks-and-mortar building to a virtual storefront? How about property values in your neighborhood? Is your property’s replacement value coverage up to date? Make sure your commercial property or business property insurance reflects your new (or reduced) exposures.

 

Have you made significant improvements to your offices, store, or warehouse? Purchased new equipment? Or instead, perhaps you’ve chosen to get smaller to reduce your overhead. Any major change should be evaluated for either increased loss-related risks – or lowering your insurance premiums.

 

If you’ve purchased a new piece of equipment or machinery upon which your operations depend a great deal, you may also want to consider equipment breakdown insurance or machinery insurance policy.

 

Have you added new vehicles to your business’s operations? Then it’s time to update your fleet or commercial auto insurance. And remember: A review of this type of insurance should include not just vehicles themselves, but who uses them and how they’re used. For example, your current policy may be limited to a certain territory or distance; if your employees are ranging farther afield, this may need to be written into your policy. And don’t forget to consider whether employees use rentals frequently.