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Property guides
Agreed value, blanket limits and margin clausesHow agreed value suspends coinsurance, how a blanket limit spreads one limit across locations, and how a margin clause caps the payment at each building.AIA A201-2017 insurance requirements, provision by provisionWhat AIA A201-2017 Article 11 and the A101 Exhibit A require of owner and contractor: liability, builder's risk, waivers, bonds and what to negotiate.Anti-concurrent causation clauses: when one excluded cause sinks a claimHow the lead-in to the ISO special form's big exclusions works, how California and Texas courts treat it, and what to do when wind and water hit one building.The appraisal clause in commercial property disputesHow the appraisal clause settles disagreements over the amount of a property or income loss, what it cannot decide, and Texas and Florida rulings on causation.BOP vs general liability: which one do you need?A BOP is general liability plus property and business income in one policy. When the package is the better buy and when stand-alone general liability fits.Builder's risk insurance: covering a building while it is under constructionBuilder's risk insurance covers a structure and its materials during construction or renovation. Who buys it, what it excludes, soft costs, and when it ends.The statement of values: what property underwriters needHow to build a statement of values underwriters trust: the fields, ISO construction classes, replacement cost basis, and how errors in it surface in a claim.Documenting a business interruption claim, from day one to final paymentHow to prove a business income and extra expense loss under ISO form CP 00 30: the records insurers ask for, how the loss is measured and where claims stall.Business interruption insurance: how business income coverage worksWhat business income coverage pays after a covered physical loss, how the 72-hour wait, period of restoration and extended income work, and where the gaps are.Filing business insurance claims after a hurricane or wildfireHow to protect property, report the loss, sort wind from flood and smoke from fire, claim business income and work the clocks after a hurricane or wildfire.Basic, broad and special causes of loss forms: what each coversISO's three causes of loss forms decide which perils your property policy pays for. Compare CP 10 10, CP 10 20 and CP 10 30 and see where claims diverge.Civil authority coverage: when an order closes your doorsCivil authority coverage pays lost income when a government order blocks access after nearby damage. The one-mile, 72-hour and four-week limits, and case law.A restaurant kitchen fire claim, step by step, from first call to final checkA hypothetical composite walkthrough of a kitchen fire claim: business income, extra expense, spoilage, coinsurance, proof of loss, appraisal and a timeline.The coinsurance clause and how underinsurance is penalizedHow the coinsurance formula works, with worked penalty examples for buildings and business income, and four ways to avoid an underinsurance penalty.Earthquake insurance for businesses: coverage, deductibles, limitsCommercial property policies exclude earthquake. How the endorsement or DIC policy works, why deductibles run 2% to 5% of values, and what underwriters ask for.Commercial flood insurance: NFIP limits and private optionsCommercial property policies exclude flood. How NFIP coverage works for businesses, its $500,000 limits and gaps, lender rules, and what private flood adds.Insurance requirements in commercial leasesWhat a commercial lease typically makes a tenant buy, from liability limits and additional insured status to waivers, and how to negotiate them before signing.Commercial package policies: when a BOP is too smallA commercial package policy combines separate coverage parts under shared declarations and conditions. When values, locations or class outgrow a BOP.The commercial property claim process, step by stepHow a commercial property claim moves from first notice to final payment: inspection, scope and estimate, proof of loss, ACV and replacement cost payments.Commercial property exclusions: what the standard policy won't payThe ISO special form covers direct physical loss unless excluded. The exclusions that fail claims, how the three tiers read, and where each gap is bought back.Commercial property insurance: what it covers and what it doesn'tHow the standard ISO commercial property policy works: covered property, causes of loss, built-in extensions and limits, valuation, and the gaps to close.ConsensusDocs 200 and 750 insurance requirements explainedHow ConsensusDocs 200 Article 10 and the 750 subcontract handle indemnity, CGL, builder's risk, waivers, additional insureds and bonds, versus AIA.Construction cost inflation and your property limitsHow rising rebuilding costs create underinsurance, the 2026 cost indexes to watch (Verisk 360Value, BLS PPI) and how coinsurance and agreed value respond.Contingent business interruption insurance and supply chain riskContingent business interruption pays lost income when a supplier's or customer's property is physically damaged. How the forms work and where they fall short.Contractor's equipment insurance: covering tools, machinery and rentalsContractor's equipment insurance is an inland marine floater for tools and machinery away from the shop: coverage, scheduling, valuation and theft conditions.What the COVID-19 business interruption lawsuits decidedCourts mostly held COVID-19 closures were not direct physical loss under property policies. The key rulings, the exceptions, and what to check in your policy.Difference in conditions (DIC) policies: what they cover and when to buyA DIC policy sits beside your property cover and adds flood, earthquake and other excluded perils, usually from surplus lines insurers with big deductibles.Equipment breakdown insurance: what it covers that property insurance does notEquipment breakdown insurance pays for sudden mechanical and electrical failure that property policies exclude, plus spoilage and lost income. What it covers.Extra expense coverage explainedWhat extra expense coverage pays after a covered loss: relocation, temporary space and equipment, how it differs from lost income, with an example.FAIR Plans and residual markets for commercial propertyWhat FAIR Plans and state insurers of last resort cover for businesses, their limits and gaps, California's 2025 commercial expansion, and how to use one.Fire and water damage prevention for commercial buildingsFire costs more per claim, water damage is more frequent. The controls insurers look for, what the property form says, and the protective safeguards condition.Home-based business insurance: why a homeowners policy falls shortA homeowners policy caps business property, excludes business liability and ignores lost income. Endorsement, in-home policy and BOP options, and other needs.How to calculate a business income limitA step-by-step method for setting a business income limit: the coinsurance base, how long you would be down, and the options that fit the limit to your risk.Inland marine insurance for tools, equipment and goods in transitInland marine insurance covers business property that moves or sits off premises: tools, equipment, goods in transit, fine art. How it works and how it differs.IoT sensors and commercial property insuranceHow water, freeze, fire and equipment sensors fit with commercial property insurance, what carriers offer for them, and how they help underwriting and claims.The largest commercial package (CMP) insurers (2025)The 25 largest U.S. writers of commercial multiple peril - business owner's policies and package policies - by 2025 direct premiums written, from NAIC.Mitigation credits and resilient construction for commercial propertyHow roof, wind, wildfire, flood and fire-protection upgrades can earn insurance credits, what California and IBHS FORTIFIED set, and how to document them.Named storm deductibles: how percentage wind deductibles workA named storm deductible is a percentage of insured values, not of the loss. How triggers, per-location rules, flood and buy-back policies decide what you pay.Ordinance or law coverage: paying for code upgrades after a lossA property policy pays to repair what burned, not the code upgrades or the undamaged part a city makes you tear down. How CP 04 05 Coverages A, B and C work.Public adjusters: when to hire one for a business property claimWhat a public adjuster does, how they are paid, state fee caps and licensing rules, and when hiring one for a large or disputed commercial claim pays off.How reinsurance pricing flows into business insurance premiumsHow an insurer's reinsurance cost reaches your commercial premium, why it lags and varies by line, and why 2026 cat price drops did not cut every renewal.Replacement cost vs actual cash value for business propertyHow commercial property policies value a loss: actual cash value vs replacement cost, the holdback, the 180-day rule, roof endorsements and a worked example.Insurance to value: setting the right building limitHow to set a commercial building limit at replacement cost: what to include and exclude, valuation methods, annual updates, and why costs drift from your limit.Severe convective storms: hail, tornadoes and rising insured lossesHail and wind cost U.S. insurers about $51 billion in 2025. Why it is a frequency problem, how carriers set roof and deductible terms, what to do.Signs, glass and outdoor property: what commercial property coversSigns, storefront glass, fences, trees and parking lots sit at the edges of a commercial property policy. Where the ISO CP 00 10 limits fall and who pays.Spoilage coverage for refrigeration breakdown and power outageStandard property forms exclude spoilage from temperature change and off-premises power loss. How CP 04 40 and equipment breakdown fill the gap.The sworn proof of loss: what it is, when it's due and how to prepare itA sworn proof of loss is your signed statement of the amount you claim. The 60-day clock in the standard property form, what goes in it and what to avoid.Tenant improvements and betterments: who insures themWho insures a leased build-out depends on who paid, who owns it and what the lease says. How the ISO form values improvements and betterments.Utility service interruption coverage: when an outage is insuredThe ISO special form excludes off-premises power, water and telecom failures. How the utility services endorsements buy coverage back and where they stop.Vacant building insurance and the vacancy clauseAfter 60 days vacant, the ISO property form drops vandalism, water damage and theft and cuts other payments 15%. What counts as vacant and how to keep coverage.What is a business owner's policy (BOP)?A BOP bundles property, business income and general liability for small, lower-hazard businesses. What it includes, what it leaves out and how it is priced.Wildfire and commercial property insurance: cover, cost and mitigationWildfire is covered as fire, so the fight is over availability, price and valuation. What underwriters score, what a loss touches, how California rules work.