Commercial property · For owners
Fire, storm or a burst pipe. Insure it for what a rebuild costs.
Commercial property insurance pays to repair or rebuild your building, and replace what you own inside it, after a covered loss like fire, wind or a burst pipe, up to the policy’s limits.
Light RFP Risk Management Services LLC · NY DFS License # PC-1978982
What commercial property insurance covers.
Typically covered
- The building: its structure, systems and permanent fixtures
- Property you own inside it: lobby furniture, appliances, maintenance equipment
- Fire, smoke, lightning, wind and hail, on most forms
- Sudden water damage, like a burst pipe; gradual leaks usually aren’t covered
- Options such as equipment breakdown (sudden breakdown of boilers, electrical and heating systems) and ordinance or law (the cost to rebuild to today’s code and tear down what’s left after a big loss), if you add them
Where another policy answers
- Flood and surface water, which most property forms exclude: Flood
- Rent lost during repairs: Loss of rent, added to this policy
- Injuries to tenants or visitors: General liability
- A building under construction: Builder’s risk
Usually not covered
- Wear and tear, and deferred maintenance
- Tenants’ own belongings, which their own policies cover
- Vandalism, water damage and theft at a building vacant more than 60 days in a row, on most forms: tell us about vacant buildings
Who on the block needs it.
Owners and operators
Most owners insure each building for what it would cost to rebuild, not what they paid. Lenders usually require it, with the lender named on the policy as mortgagee.
Developers and property managers
When construction ends, the permanent property policy takes over from builder’s risk. Have it in place before the first tenant moves in.
What the lender asks for
A lender’s insurance requirements usually ask for replacement cost on each building, a maximum deductible, and the lender named as mortgagee or loss payee.
- Replacement cost
- What it costs to rebuild with new materials, with nothing taken off for age or wear.
- Mortgagee or loss payee
- The lender, named so it is paid on a claim alongside you.
Repairs to bid out? Post the RFP free and compare the bids side by side. Bidding on the work instead? Contractor insurance is matched to the bid spec, and bid bonds are free in every state we serve.
How we quote it.
Light RFP’s brokerage quotes commercial property insurance alongside the rest of your program: you fill in the application, and our team takes it to market.
Tell us about the buildings
Each building, how it is built and used, what it would cost to rebuild, your lenders, and your claims history.
We take it to market
A Light RFP broker reads your application, contacts you about anything missing, and takes it to the insurers that write commercial property for buildings like yours.
Compare the quotes
Limits, deductibles and exclusions side by side, matched to what your lender requires. Applying commits you to nothing; you choose whether to buy.
We place it
Our brokerage puts the policy you choose in force and issues the certificates your lender asks for.
Our application
4 sheets. Plan on 15 to 30 minutes for one building with no claims, with your declarations page to hand.
- One building, no claims
- about 67 answers, 59 required
- Two buildings, a loan and a claim
- about 109 answers, 93 required
Follow-up questions appear only when an answer calls for them.
What it asks
Open a sheet for a few of its questions.
CP-01Applicant
- Do you own the buildings, manage them for others, or both?
- Do other companies hold title to any of them?
CP-02Buildings
- How is each building built, when, and what is it used for?
- Is any building vacant, or damaged and not yet repaired?
CP-03Values and coverage
- What would each building cost to rebuild?
- Which deductible do you want, and how many months of rent should it pay after a loss?
CP-04Lenders, insurance and claims
- What do your lenders’ insurance requirements ask for?
- Any property claims at these buildings in the last five years?
Have these ready
- Your schedule of buildingsEach building’s address, construction, year built, stories, square footage and what it is used for. The form lists ten buildings. With more, send the full schedule to insurance@lightrfp.com (a spreadsheet is fine).
- Roofs and systemsThe year each roof was last replaced and its type, and when the wiring, plumbing and heating were last updated.
- What each building would cost to rebuildReplacement cost, not market value, plus what you own inside and a year of rents.
- Your current policyThe declarations page: values, deductibles, valuation and when it renews.
- Your lenders’ requirementsWho must be named on the policy, the loan numbers, and the valuation and deductible each loan asks for.
- Loss runs, if you have themFive years of property claims history from your current insurer. You can send them after by replying to your confirmation email.
Commercial property questions.
Replacement cost or actual cash value?
Replacement cost pays to rebuild with new materials; actual cash value takes depreciation off. Lenders usually require replacement cost.
What is coinsurance?
A clause that cuts a claim payment if the building was insured for less than a set share of its value, commonly 80% or 90%. Keep the values current, and ask for agreed value: once the insurer accepts your values, the clause is set aside for that policy year.
Why does the application ask about wiring and plumbing?
Because they drive the likeliest losses. Applications ask, building by building, about old electrical panels, plumbing that isn’t copper or plastic, smoke detectors and when the HVAC was replaced.
Can I insure the rest of the portfolio at the same time?
Yes. Start a coverage review: one application for your buildings and the lines you carry, and our brokerage quotes property alongside general liability, umbrella, loss of rent and flood.
What affects the price?
Each building’s rebuild value, how it’s built, the age of its roof, wiring and plumbing, its fire protection, where it is (wind and hail matter), the deductible you choose and your claims history. Near the coast and in hail country, the wind or hail deductible is often a percentage of the building’s value, not a flat amount.
Get a commercial property quote.
Getting a quote is free. Light RFP earns a commission from the carrier on all policies.
Light RFP Risk Management Services LLC · NY DFS License # PC-1978982