Companies in today’s world face a wide variety of risks, especially small businesses. These hazards include security risks, equipment malfunction, and financial liabilities such as lawsuits. However, organizations can also witness damage to their property due to disasters like earthquakes, fires, and floods. Fortunately, business insurance policies against these types of dangers exist. Here, we will focus on commercial flood insurance.
Flood Insurance For Your Business
Commercial flood insurance is designed to protect your business, which represents one of your most valuable investments, against damage arising from floods. This specific type of policy exists because most property insurance policies typically exclude coverage for flood damage.
The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)
The National Flood Insurance Program is overseen by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The NFIP offers two distinct forms of government-backed flood insurance: building property coverage (i.e. a business’s physical location) and personal property coverage (i.e. an office building’s contents) – both for up to $500,000.
The NFIP also defines “flood” as either:
- An overflow of inland or tidal waters
- Unusual and rapid accumulation of water from any source
- Mudflow (i.e. a river of liquid and flowing mud on the surfaces of normally dry land areas)
- Collapse or subsidence of land along the shore of a body of water as a result of erosion
Areas Of Coverage For Commercial Flood Insurance
Here is an analysis of both major areas of coverage for commercial flood insurance: building coverage and contents coverage.
Building Coverage
Flooding can damage your building’s walls, floors, plumbing and electrical systems, and HVAC units. Flood insurance can cover both non-residential buildings and residential structures with certain minimum requirements for size and occupancy. If you rent your office building, this coverage can include renovations and other improvements you have made to the structure. You can find more information about building coverage at floodsmart.gov.
Contents Coverage
Flood insurance can also cover the contents of your commercial building. This includes equipment, furniture, inventory, appliances, and fixtures (e.g. fans). If you need coverage for more than $500,000 worth of contents, be sure to contact your insurer.
How Does This Policy Help?
Commercial flood insurance is beneficial for three primary reasons. Here is a close look at each of these reasons.
Provides Coverage From Natural Disasters
Above all else, a commercial flood insurance policy covers your business against the damage caused by this type of natural disaster. Without flood insurance, the cost to repair damage to your building’s foundations or other aspects of your commercial property can be incredibly high.
Offers A Sense Of Security
Commercial flood insurance also provides a feeling of security that you may not have if you only purchased a regular business insurance policy. If there is any possibility that your company’s property may become damaged due to a flood, this type of protection will undoubtedly be extremely useful.
Protects Your Business Investment
Any business owner knows that a company is a significant investment. Therefore, it should be protected in every way possible. A commercial flood insurance policy can help pay for any flood-related damage to your business and help it stay afloat (i.e. avoid operating at a loss).
Flood insurance also typically covers costs associated with prevention and cleanup. Following a storm, many flood insurance policies can also pay for the cost to remove debris from your commercial property. You should also know that flood insurance does not typically cover things such as currency, precious metals, business vehicles, or property located outside your building such as landscaping. The cost of flood insurance depends on several factors, including the location of your property and your building’s age, height, and occupancy.
Talk To The Commercial Flood Insurance Experts
Reach out to the professionals at John M. Glover for more information on commercial flood insurance and its benefits. Since our founding in 1916, we have been dedicated to serving clients throughout Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Hawaii. As an independent agency, we work closely with several reputable insurance companies.
Flooding can cause severe damage to commercial buildings and their contents, including furniture, equipment, HVAC systems, and fixtures. Therefore, JMG Insurance Agency is committed to helping customers acquire policies that meet their business’s specific needs. We work with the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to offer policies. The NFIP offers up to $250,000 in funds for building coverage and up to $100,000 for contents coverage.
Call JMG Insurance Agency today at (844) 304-7332 or contact us online to receive a quote or to learn more about our insurance policies.