Commercial Property
Protects the building, tenant improvements, stock, and equipment you depend on — and replaces the income you lose while the space is unusable.
Who needs it
Building owners, and any tenant who has invested in a build-out, carries inventory, or would stop earning revenue if the space closed. A landlord's policy covers the landlord's building — not your contents or your income.
What it covers
In practice, not in policy language.
- Building and structure
- For owners: the structure itself, with limits set to replacement cost rather than market value.
- Tenant improvements and betterments
- For tenants: the build-out you paid for. This is the line most often left off a policy and most often needed.
- Business personal property
- Inventory, furniture, fixtures, computers, and machinery, whether at your location or temporarily off-site.
- Business income and extra expense
- Replaces lost net income and pays the cost of operating from a temporary location while your space is restored.
- Equipment breakdown
- Covers mechanical and electrical failure of HVAC, refrigeration, and production equipment, which a basic property form excludes.
- Water damage and sprinkler leakage
- A leading cause of loss in older Manhattan buildings, including damage originating in a neighboring unit.
Not covered here
Where this policy stops
Knowing the edge of a policy matters as much as knowing what is inside it.
- Flood, which requires a separate flood policy
- Earthquake, unless specifically endorsed
- Wear, tear, and gradual deterioration
- Employee dishonesty, unless crime coverage is added
- Loss of income from a cause the property form does not cover
Before you ask for a quote
What underwriters will want
Having these ready shortens a quote from days to hours. Partial information is fine to start — we will tell you what is still missing.
- 01Building age, construction type, and number of stories
- 02Roof, wiring, plumbing, and heating update years
- 03Sprinkler, alarm, and central-station monitoring details
- 04Replacement cost values for building, improvements, and contents
- 05Twelve months of projected revenue for business income limits
- 06Occupancy of the whole building, including other tenants
Questions we get
Asked most often about commercial property.
My landlord insures the building. Why do I need property coverage?
The landlord's policy protects the landlord's interest. It does not cover your build-out, your inventory, your equipment, or the income you lose while you cannot operate. Those are yours to insure.
How much business income coverage should I carry?
Enough to cover the time it would realistically take to reopen — permits and construction in Manhattan often push that past a year. We build the limit from your revenue and a realistic restoration period, not a round number.
Can property and liability be combined?
Often yes. A Business Owner's Policy (BOP) or a commercial package policy bundles property and general liability, and usually prices better than two standalone policies.
Get commercial property quoted.
Call 212-239-6388 during office hours, or send the details through the quote form and a producer will follow up the same business day.
Other coverage