Serving British Columbia for over 50 years
(604) 731-4684
Your Building: Your policy pays to rebuild or repair the structure of your building, or other structures on the premises, if it is damaged or destroyed by fire or another peril included in your policy.
Your Improvements: Your policy pays to repair or replace physical improvements that you made to the building that you occupy as a tenant if damaged or destroyed by fire or another peril included in your policy.
Your Business Contents: Your policy pays to repair or replace your furnishings, equipment, inventory, or other contents of a commercial nature, if it is damaged or destroyed by fire, theft or another peril included in your policy.
Your Loss of Income: Your policy pays the loss of net income resulting from shutdown of your business due to insured damage to your Building, Improvements, or Business Contents.
Public Liability Protection: This coverage protects your business against loss arising from your legal responsibility of bodily injury or property damage that your business causes to others. Typically losses arise out of slip and fall type incidents on the premises and activities of employees going about their business, as well as arising out of alleged defects in products sold or construction or repair operations after they are completed.
Glass Breakage: Property insurance covering breakage of building glass (typically windows) regardless of cause.
Flood: A peril typically excluded in property insurance policies which can usually be included, unless located in a flood plain, for an additional premium and with a substantial deductible.
Earthquake: A peril typically excluded (along with other earth movements) from property insurance policies, excepting ensuing fire. In most cases, earthquake coverage must be purchased by endorsement to the basic property insurance policy for a substantial additional premium and a large deductible.
Building Replacement Cost: A property insurance term that refers to one of the two primary valuation methods for establishing the value of insured property for purposes of determining the amount the insurer will pay in the event of loss. (The other primary valuation method is actual cash value). It is usually defined in the policy as the cost to replace the damaged property with materials of like kind and quality, without any deduction for depreciation.
Building By-Law Protection: Basic property insurance excludes any additional cost of construction resulting from municipal bylaws that regulate construction. These additional costs can be included, often involving an increase in the amount of insurance.
Equipment Breakdown: Coverage for loss due to mechanical or electrical breakdown of nearly any type of equipment, including photocopiers and computers. Coverage applies to the cost to repair or replace the equipment and any other property damaged by the equipment breakdown. Resulting business income and extra expense loss is often covered as well. Equipment breakdown insurance is increasingly replacing traditional boiler and machinery (BM) insurance, in part simply because the title is more descriptive of the coverage provided.
Food Spoilage: Coverage for the contents of freezers and refrigeration equipment arising out of equipment breakdown, and often other power interruption events.
Money and Securities: Coverage for loss of money and securities from within the insured's premises or from the insured's bank or safe depository.
Employee Dishonesty: Coverage for employee theft of money, securities, or property, written with a per loss limit, a per employee limit, or a per position limit.
Depositors’ Forgery: Covers loss due to dishonesty in writing, signing, or altering checks, bank drafts, and other financial instruments.
Electronic Data Processing: Property insurance for electronic data processing (EDP) equipment (computers), computer programs, and data. Typically includes coverage for perils to which such property is especially susceptible: mechanical breakdown, electrical injury, and changes in temperature and humidity.
Accounts Receivable: Insures against loss of sums owed to the insured by its customers that are uncollectible because of damage by an insured peril to accounts receivable records.
Records and Valuable Papers: Coverage that pays the cost to reconstruct damaged or destroyed valuable papers and records. "Valuable papers and records" usually is defined to include almost all forms of printed documents or records except that money or securities; data processing programs, data, and media are usually excluded.
There are three primary components in Business or Commercial Insurance.
1. Property
The basic property coverage is the replacement value of your building, building improvements and equipment, as well as the cost of replacing raw stock or stock of merchandise held for sale.
Your GNK representative will work with you to estimate the replacement value of your building based on its size and construction features; at the same time, it is often cost effective to obtain a professional appraisal. You and your accountant will need to determine the value of improvements, equipment and stock. Insurance on stock can be arranged to take seasonal fluctuations into account.
Property coverage deductibles range from $500 to as high as $5,000. The higher the deductible the lower the premium! Some businesses choose to self-insure with a higher deductible and save on premium costs.
2. Business Interruption due to loss of use of premises, equipment or stock
Your GNK representative will work with you and your accountant to forecast the amount required to replace profits and continuing expense arising out of damage to property. It is important to recognize the need for forecasting future profits and expenses since it could be the case that an insured loss of property occurs in the last week of the current policy term and the resulting loss of profits and expense is incurred during the following year: hence a two year forecast is required.
There are many forms of Business Interruption insurance to choose from and your business will have unique characteristics that our representative will take into account in tailoring your coverage.
3. Public Liability
Public Liability protection is often considered the most important component of any business insurance program. This coverage protects the business from claims by customers, and by other people that the business comes into contact with, who make claims against the business for alleged bodily injury or property damage.
Liability insurance pays for both the legal costs and the damages awarded to protect your business from financial ruin. Such claims can result in many millions of dollars if successfully litigated and huge amounts in legal costs even if the claims are ultimately unsubstantiated.
Coverage limits ordinarily run from $1 million to $5 million, but higher limits are available. The nature of your business and your contractual arrangements may dictate higher limits, but a minimum limit of $2 million is recommended.
TALK TO YOUR GNK INSURANCE CUSTOMER REPRESENTATIVE FOR FULL DETAILS OF VARIOUS COVERAGE OPTIONS SO TOGETHER YOU CAN CHOOSE THE PLAN THAT IS RIGHT FOR YOU.
At GNK Insurance we diligently build relationships with global insurance leaders.