If you own a building and lease space to office, retail or service-based tenants, lessors risk, or building owner’s insurance, is essential to protect your interests. Lessors risk policies provide liability and property coverage. Lessors risk insurance is specifically designed for property owners who rent out most of their space.
Renting or leasing your property can be risky. There are many things that can go wrong even with the best practices in place. A lessors risk policy is protection for you and your property from people who sustain injuries or damages by use of or interaction with your property. For example, say you lease commercial space to a business and an employee of that business falls and breaks his arm. He may blame the injury on poor lighting and file a suit against you, as the property owner. Standard commercial property insurance does not cover this situation. A property owner who doesn’t have lessor’s risk insurance coverage is at serious risk of costly liability.
Finally, you should require your tenants to have business liability and personal property insurance. This requirement should be written into the lease, and you, as the property owner, should be named as an additional insured on your tenants’ policies. This will provide extra protection for you if a lawsuit occurs.
If you’re renting or leasing your commercial building, Merchants Insurance Group offers the benefits of a comprehensive package of protection and the flexibility to meet your specific needs. Our target market are building owners who rent their space to businesses such as restaurants, offices, or retail stores, and we also welcome owners of strip malls.
Our lessors risk policies include:
-Building coverage, which includes damage and destruction of property, vandalism and theft. This protection extends to:
- Buildings and completed additions;
- Fixtures, including outdoor fixtures;
- Permanently installed machinery and equipment; and
- Personal property in common areas furnished by you as the landlord.
-Business Income and Extra Expense coverage, which protects you from loss of rental income for up to one year if your building becomes uninhabitable due to a covered loss.
-You’ll also receive liability protection against claims for injuries to your tenants, their employees, and the customers who visit your tenants.
For complete information, including eligibility, policy limits and money-saving discounts, please talk to your Merchants’ independent insurance agent.
