Boring Insurance Agency
A warehouse aisle of racking stacked with cartons under high bay lights, a closed dock door at the far end
The building, and everything racked inside it.Two different limits, and the second one is the one people set too low.

Replacement cost is what you rebuild with. Actual cash value is what you argue about.

Commercial property covers your buildings, equipment, stock and improvements against fire, theft, weather and the other named perils on the form.

/ Start here

Tell us the situation.

Already a client and need a certificate, ID card, policy change or to report a claim? Send a service request.

One licensed human replies the same business day — not five agents, not an auto-responder. If the policy you have is already the right one, we will tell you.

We use this to quote and service your insurance, and we do not sell it or pass it to lead networks. Privacy policy.

/ Don’t want to read all this?

Send us what you have. We’ll tell you if it’s right.

Your current policy paperwork, a renewal notice, or nothing at all. A licensed agent reads it and replies the same business day.

/ Coverage

What commercial property actually covers.

Buildings

The structure you own, and permanently installed fixtures.

Without it — A fire is a rebuild funded entirely by you.

Business personal property

Equipment, stock, furniture and tools inside the premises.

Without it — Everything that makes the space usable is replaced at today’s prices, out of cash.

Tenant improvements and betterments

The fit-out you paid for in a space you do not own.

Without it — The landlord insures the shell, and the build-out you funded is not on their policy.

Personal property of others

Property belonging to customers or other people while it is in your care at your premises.

Without it — Your own property coverage does not extend to somebody else’s goods, and general liability excludes property in your care outright.

Business income

The income you lose while the building is being repaired, plus the payroll and rent that carry on regardless.

Without it — Property rebuilds the premises. Nothing on it replaces the months of trading you lose while that happens.

Extra expense

What it costs to keep going: a temporary location, rented equipment, overtime, expedited freight.

Without it — Extra expense starts the moment the loss happens, with no waiting period, and it is often the difference between a business reopening and not.

Equipment breakdown

Mechanical, electrical and pressure-system failure, and the stock spoiled when refrigeration stops.

Without it — A property policy excludes damage that starts inside the machine. The compressor that fails on its own is not a property claim.

Ordinance or law

The cost of rebuilding to today’s code rather than to what was there before, plus demolition and the value of the undamaged part you are forced to tear down.

Without it — On an older building this is frequently the largest uninsured number in the whole claim, and it grows every time the code is updated.

Glass

Storefront and plate glass, which is expensive, breaks often, and is sometimes carved out to a sublimit or a separate deductible.

Without it — A single storefront pane runs into thousands, and a retailer replacing one out of pocket every couple of years has bought the wrong deductible.

/ Who needs it

Where commercial property shows up.

  • Landscaping & Grounds Maintenance

    The yard, the shop and the equipment inside them still need replacing after a fire.

  • Auto Services & Garages

    Lifts, diagnostic equipment and the building itself have to be replaced at today’s prices out of cash.

  • Restaurant

    Kitchen fires are the most common total loss in this trade, and equipment replaces at today’s prices.

  • Retail

    Stock, fixtures and tenant improvements have to be replaced out of cash after a fire or a burst pipe.

  • Medical & Dental Practices

    Imaging, chairs and clinical equipment replace at today’s prices, not at book value.

  • Directional Boring

    The yard, the shop and everything stored in them still need replacing after a loss.

  • Pet Services & Veterinary

    Kennels, surgical and grooming equipment replace at today’s prices, and a boarding facility runs overnight without staff on site.

  • Bar

    The back bar, the coolers and the sound system replace at today’s prices, not at what you paid for them.

  • Tavern

    A tavern kitchen and a back bar are both replacement-cost problems, and both replace at today’s prices.

  • Nightclub

    Sound, lighting and bar equipment is the expensive half of a nightclub and replaces at today’s prices.

  • Physical Therapy Practices

    Tables, modalities and clinic fit-out are expensive to replace after a fire or a flood.

  • Chiropractic Practices

    Tables, imaging and clinic fit-out represent most of the practice’s capital.

  • Glass Contractors & Glaziers

    The shop, the racks and the stock still need replacing after a loss.

  • Mobile Mechanics & Heavy Truck Repair

    The shop, the lifts and the parts inventory still need replacing after a loss.

  • Painting Contractors

    Solvent-soaked rags and stored thinners are a recognized fire cause, and the shop and stock still need replacing.

  • Moving & Storage Companies

    The warehouse and everything of yours in it still needs replacing after a fire, and stored customer goods raise the values sharply.

  • Flooring Contractors

    Adhesives and finishes are flammable stock, and the warehouse holding them is the largest fixed asset most flooring contractors own.

  • Welding & Fabrication

    The shop holds gas, stock and plant, and it is the asset a fire takes first.

  • Convenience Stores

    The building, the fixtures, the coolers and the stock are the balance sheet, and fire or vehicle impact takes them together.

  • Recording Studios

    Consoles, monitors, outboard and acoustic treatment are the business, and a sprinkler head does not distinguish between them.

  • Equipment Rental Companies

    The warehouse, the prep bays and everything not out on hire still burn.

  • Auto Body & Collision Shops

    The building, the downdraft booth, the frame machine and the paint mixing room. The booth and solvent storage drive the fire rate.

  • Auto Detailing, Ceramic Coating & Tint

    For a fixed studio: the building, the lift and the stock of coatings and film.

  • Tire Shops

    The building, the lifts, the balancers and alignment rack, and a tire inventory that is heavy fire load.

  • Heavy Truck & Diesel Repair Shops

    Tall bays, heavy lifts and a parts inventory that is expensive and slow to replace.

  • Camera Equipment

    The edit suite, the storage shelves and the gear while it is home, at the address and nowhere else.

  • Sports Facilities & Venues

    The building, the surface, the equipment and the fit-out are the business.

  • Motorsports

    Grandstands, barriers, timing, workshops and the circuit itself.

  • Family Entertainment Centers

    The building, the attractions and the fit-out, which is most of the invested capital.

  • Trampoline Parks

    The courts, the foam, the structures and the building holding them.

  • Bowling Centers

    Lanes, pinsetters and the building, which are expensive and specialized to replace.

  • Water Parks

    Slides, filtration, pumps and structures exposed to water and weather all year.

  • Amusement & Theme Parks

    Rides are the capital of the business and are outdoors in all weather.

  • Zip Lines & Ropes Courses

    Towers, platforms, cable and hardware, outdoors and load-bearing.

  • Zoos & Aquariums

    Enclosures, habitats, tanks and the plant that keeps them alive.

  • Distilleries

    A standard commercial form is not priced or worded for it, and insurers are selective.

  • Wineries & Vineyards

    A vintage set at production cost is underinsured by multiples after three years.

  • Commercial Landlords

    A limit set on market value is a partial claim paid in part.

  • Apartment Buildings

    Tenant contents are theirs; everything else is yours.

  • Short-Term Rentals

    A homeowners policy assumes you live there. A dwelling fire form assumes a tenant with a lease. Neither assumed a new guest every three nights, and the adjuster reads the exclusions before the loss.

  • Airbnb Hosts

    AirCover does not insure your house. Nothing on the platform does; that was always your homeowners policy’s job, and your homeowners policy excludes the business.

  • Vacation Rentals

    A limit set on what you paid, or on what it would sell for, is a partial claim paid in part.

  • HOAs & Condo Associations

    Which one you have decides what every owner must insure themselves.

  • Self Storage

    Wind and hail on a large low building is the frequent property loss.

  • Vacant Property

    Vandalism, theft, water and glass are the first coverages a vacancy clause removes.

  • Warehouses

    Racking is often omitted and is a substantial replacement cost.

  • Mixed-Use Property

    Splitting a building across two policies creates the argument at the boundary.

  • Mobile Home Parks

    Buried utilities are the asset owners forget to schedule.

  • Real Estate Investors

    Twelve renewal dates is how a property ends up uninsured.

  • Salons & Barbershops

    A salon fit-out is expensive and is usually a tenant improvement.

  • Gyms & Fitness Studios

    The equipment is the capital, and it is expensive to replace at once.

  • Florists

    The walk-in cooler is the most expensive thing in the building.

  • Farms & Ranches

    A homeowners policy excludes the farming, and a commercial policy excludes the home.

  • Marinas & Boat Dealers

    Docks are frequently excluded or heavily sublimited on a standard form.

  • Franchisees

    A franchise build-out is specified by the brand and expensive to replace.

  • Hotels, Motels & B&Bs

    Guest rooms are a large replacement cost, refurbished on a cycle.

  • Cannabis

    The electrical and humidity load in a grow is not a standard property risk.

  • Dispensaries

    Inventory value per square foot is high and it is portable.

  • Smoke, Vape & CBD Shops

    Small, valuable, easily resold inventory is a burglary target.

  • Summer Camps

    A residential camp is a small village that earns its whole year in ten weeks.

  • Group Homes

    A homeowners policy will not cover a building operated as a licensed facility, whatever the mortgage company was told.

  • Adult Day Care

    Funding follows attendance; a closed center earns nothing while it still pays staff.

  • Vocational & Technical Schools

    The equipment is the school; a fire in a teaching kitchen closes the program until it is replaced.

  • Charter Schools

    Most charters lease, and the lease shifts the property risk onto the tenant in ways a district-owned school never sees.

  • Respite Care Providers

    A homeowners policy generally excludes business activity, so an injury to a respite guest in your living room may have no coverage at all.

  • Sober Living Homes

    A homeowners policy is written for a family in its own home. A house run as a business on that form is a claim waiting to be declined.

  • Museums and Cultural Institutions

    2 CFR 200.310 requires grant-funded property to be insured like your own, and an uninsured loss cannot be charged back to the award.

  • Land Trusts and Conservation Organizations

    Property is one of the three coverages Practice 6E2 names, and land trust structures are often remote and unprotected.

  • Mental Health Clinics and Facilities

    Grant-funded equipment must be insured at least as well as your own, and an uninsured loss cannot be charged back to the grant.

  • Domestic Violence Shelters

    A fire empties the shelter the same night, and grant rules require grant-funded property to be insured.

  • Homeless Shelters and Transitional Housing

    Grant-funded property must be insured at least as well as your own, and an uninsured loss cannot be charged back to the grant.

  • Affordable and Low-Income Housing

    A lender can force-place coverage at a much higher price, and an investor treats a lapse as a default.

  • Community Action Agencies, Head Start and Weatherization

    Grant-funded property must be insured at least as well as your own, and an uninsured loss cannot be charged to the grant.

  • Youth Centers, Clubs and Y’s

    Grant-funded equipment must be insured at least as well as your own, and an uninsured loss cannot be charged back to the grant.

  • Private Colleges and Universities

    Grant-funded equipment must be insured at least as well as your own property.

  • Medical Spas

    A device failing from an internal cause is excluded by property, and it is the most valuable thing you own.

  • Estheticians

    A salon’s policy covers the salon’s property, not the equipment you brought and own.

  • Permanent Makeup & Microblading

    A studio’s policy covers the studio’s property, not the kit you brought.

  • Mesa Underwriters

    Two policies from two markets is two renewal dates and an argument about which one responds.

  • Auto Repair Shops

    The building, the lifts, the alignment rack and the diagnostic equipment the shop cannot open without.

/ Questions

What clients with commercial property ask us.

Basic, broad or special, which form am I on?

It is the most important line on your policy and the one nobody reads. There are three, and they are not price variations of the same thing.

Replacement cost or actual cash value?

Replacement cost pays to replace with new; actual cash value deducts depreciation and pays what the item was worth on the day. On a ten-year-old commercial kitchen the difference is not marginal, it is most of the claim. Actual cash value is cheaper and is the right answer far less often than it is sold.

What is coinsurance and why did my claim get reduced?

Coinsurance is a clause requiring you to insure at a stated percentage of full value, typically 80% or 90%. Insure for less and the insurer reduces every claim proportionally, including partial ones, which is how a business with a $40,000 loss and an underinsured building receives $25,000. It penalises understating values, which is precisely the temptation when premiums are quoted.

/ Explained properly

Guides on commercial property.

Commercial insurance is 96% of what we do — it is not a department here, it is the whole business. Not ready to talk? The guides answer the questions this page raises in more depth. Already insured with us and need a certificate or a policy change? Ask the service team rather than starting a quote — it is faster and it goes to the people whose job it is. We also write home and auto, which is usually cheaper alongside the business policy than apart from it.

Handed a lease, a vendor packet or a client contract with insurance requirements? Paste it into the COI Requirements Decoder to see what each one means for your business, or read what the requirements mean.

Tell us what you do.We’ll tell you what you need.

Call/Text(626) 344-2158Quote