Commercial Fire Damage and Insurance

9/28/2016 (Permalink)

SERVPRO Works with Your Insurance Company After Fire Damage

When there is a fire, the resulting smoke, flames, and water can be devastating to a business and its contents. Fire insurance is essential for the survival of a commercial enterprise.  A few years ago, companies protected themselves from fire damage through a general insurance policy. The insurance industry has made many changes, including coverage for businesses. Today, most business owners can purchase a “commercial property” policy or a "BOP" (business owners policy). These are package policies that specifically covers damages caused by a fire and other disasters.
 
When there is a commercial fire damage event in Watertown, there are important steps to take to keep your insurance policy current. This information will help when SERVPRO restoration experts arrive:
 
• Annually review your policy and keep it up-to-date regarding your properties and their current locations.
 
• If you own multiple buildings, insure them under a single policy with a “blanket limit.”
 
• Keep a fire prevention plan and inform your employees about what they should know when and if a fire occurs. Many insurance carriers provide a discount for an active fire prevention program. SERVPRO offers a program ERP that helps keep important contact and structural information available to you on any mobile device.
 
Property owners may think that insuring their property for less than its real value will save them money. No, this is wrong! First, the policy will not cover the full costs of repairing or replacing your property. Secondly, most property policies contain an “agreed value clause” or a “coinsurance clause.” These are clauses that impose a penalty if the owner fails to under-purchase insurance that is a specific percentage of their property's value. Tennessee property owners can avoid this penalty for under-insurance, by covering their property for 100% of its value. Another step is not to insure your property based on the tax assessment or estimate provided by your insurance agent.
 
Many commercial property policies pay losses based on the actual cash value of the damaged property and not its replacement cost. After a fire, company property such machinery, valuable equipment, and furniture can also be expensive to replace. The best protection against significant out-of-pocket expenses under insurance policies is to insure them on a replacement cost basis. This type of coverage is more expensive than coverage based on the actual cash value.
 
SERVPRO of Wilson County is highly staffed with fire damage remediation experts. Not only is it our job to restore you to a pre-fire condition, but we also can help commercial business owners with their insurance paperwork and process. We are locally owned and operated, which means we are proud to be an active member of this community. Call us today at (615) 449-5000 so that we can help restore you back into the black.