If you insure the tenant of a building and they install improvements and betterments, you certainly want to make sure they’re adequately insured, particularly if the lease makes the tenant responsible for damages. However, if you insure the building owner, they must be just as vigilant in updating their coverage. Here’s why….
Building coverage includes personal property owned by you that is used to maintain or service the building or structure or premises, including: appliances used for refrigerating, ventilating, cooking, dishwashing or laundering. Does this apply to any laundry equipment (e.g., a public laundromat) or only if it is actually used to “service the building” (e.g., a…
An I&B claim was denied because the owner of the leased area had not made any betterments or improvements at his own expense since the lease began…all of the improvements were made just prior to assuming the lease. His policy covers I&Bs “acquired” by the tenant. What does “acquired” mean?
One of the toughest tasks facing insurance agents involves how to go about explaining coinsurance…why it exists, what’s its purpose, and how it works. Below is an explanation that you might find of value in discussing the purpose of coinsurance with your clients, along with a deposition excerpt from an agent who couldn’t explain it.
An insured had an open lot business and stored a substantial amount of business personal property (BPP) in an enclosed shed. They did not insure the shed. Thieves stole $5,000 worth of BPP. The adjuster says it isn’t covered because it wasn’t in a DESCRIBED building, but it would have been covered if in the…
With increased costs in this hard market, many insureds want to reduce their premiums. One way to do that is through the use of deductibles. But, how large a deductible is appropriate for your insureds? In this article, we’ll give you some tips from our faculty and several top risk managers that may help you…
In the event of partial losses, the limit of insurance is usually adequate to include the cost of debris removal. However, in some cases, the limit might not be adequate or the commercial property form’s debris removal sublimit might restrict coverage. That begs the question, “How much debris removal coverage do I need?” For this…
Much has been written about trees and homeowners policies but what about commercial lines forms? Do they cover trees differently than personal lines forms? And what about the business income exposure presented by the loss of trees and their removal? This article examines these issues and references related articles from the VU library.
One of the most difficult insurance concepts to explain to insureds is coinsurance. To assist you, there are several VU articles listed below that should be helpful. In addition, John Wheeler, CPCU, an agent in Lake City, Florida has come up with a graphical Excel spreadsheet that visually displays how the coinsurance penalty works. John…
As we all know, insurance seminars and articles can be a little on the “dry” side. So, every now and then, when you select an article from the Research Library, you may get the unexpected. We want the Virtual University to be more than some stale, stoic repository of insurance technica…hey, let’s have a little…
