The insurances on most business centres are split into two sections; a policy taken out by the person/company that actually owns the building itself (the landlord), and a policy taken out by the individual(s)/company(s) that occupy the building on a daily basis (the tenants). There can be a few different tenants in the one building dependant on its size and set-up. Each tenant will be required to carry their own insurance and not rely on any other tenant insurances. It is important to note here that it is unusual to insure anything you don’t own or have some kind of insurable interest in, thus each party needing to take out their own policy.
Property Owners Insurance
The landlord will require a Property Owners policy (landlord insurance), and cover on this policy will usually consist of Buildings Cover, Landlord Fixtures & Fittings, Loss of Rent Cover, Property Owners Liability & Employers Liability. There are a few extra covers you can take in addition but this will provide the basic cover needed to protect your interest. Cover will be for material damage to the buildings and its fixtures (to include communal areas too), and also the liability involved of being a property owner that protects the owner in respect of claims made against them for personal injury or property damage suffered by third parties. Loss of Rent cover would react if the building became unusable following an insured event and the landlord was making a financial loss with no rental income. Employers Liability can also be included to cover any staff that the landlord will appoint, for example cleaners or maintenance men/women.
Office Contents Insurance
Most business centres are of multiple occupancy whereby there are a few tenants occupying the one building, possibly renting individual office space. The office contents owned by each individual tenant will need to be insured separately under their own policy – covers on these types of policy will include computer & electrical equipment, general contents, business records, business interruption, equipment used outside the office and public & employers liability. Again, there are option extras which can be added however these types form the basis of standard insurance cover for offices.
Contents Insurance for Shared Office Space
In insuring your office contents it is important to notify insurers if you have a self-contained, lockable office space or if you are sharing an open-plan office space with other separate companies. This will affect the insurers decisions on cover and could cause limitations in cover whereby they could restrict Theft cover by forcible or violent entry only – just something to be aware of. All other covers are usually under standard terms of an office insurance policy and liability cover is often given both in and out of the office but this will be very dependent on your trade of work.
How much is Office Insurance?
Office Insurance can be very cheap on a standard policy and premiums can start from as little as £100. Cover and premiums are conditional of your set-up and limits requested. AIC has a panel of different insurers to accommodate all business centre and office risks, we also offer commissions for referrals between landlords and tenants. Please contact us today or give us a call to discuss on 01442 242400.
