Commercial Property Insurance

Commercial property insurance can provide a wide range of coverage for small businesses. Common items that your insurance company can protect include:

• Inventory
• Furniture
• Fixtures
• Equipment
• Business income
• Structural damage
• Broken windows
• Flooring

There are four basic types of coverage included with a commercial property insurance policy:

Goods, gear and inventory

A claim can provide financial help for your business property, including furniture, equipment and inventory for covered events. This coverage is also known as business personal property insurance or BPP insurance.

Business income interruption

This coverage can help protect you against losing business income and related expenses if you have to temporarily close due to fire, water damage or another event covered by your policy. It’s also known as business interruption insurance or business income insurance.

Equipment breakdowns

You can add an extra layer of protection that could help your business if your equipment is damaged from a power surge or mechanical failure.

Buildings

Commercial property insurance can help pay for repairs to real estate and your commercial building if you own it.

Your commercial property coverage can help pay for damage to your business property caused by fire, wind and hail. That can include damage related to weather events, including:

• Wildfires
• Tornados
• Windstorms

NEXT doesn’t offer insurance protection for earthquakes, volcanoes and floods. Flood insurance is often purchased through the federal government’s National Flood Insurance program.

Are man-made disasters covered?

NEXT policies can provide financial help after some qualifying man-made disasters, including rioting and vandalism.

Terrorism events can be added as optional coverage.

Commercial property insurance can cost as little as $17 a month for some low-risk businesses.

That total value of your business property and your operations will be factors in determining the exact price you’ll pay. When you get a quote, you’ll be asked about:

• The type of work you do
• The value of your business property
• Number of employees
• The state where you work
• Your claims history
• How high you set your limits
• Your work experience

Learn more about commercial property insurance costs.

A business owner’s policy (BOP insurance) combines commercial property insurance with general liability insurance.

When both are combined in one package, it can be less expensive than buying either separately. Business owner’s policies were created because many small businesses can benefit from both types of insurance.

A BOP can cover items included with commercial property insurance as well as general liability risks, such as slip-and-fall accidents and damage to other people’s property.

Larn more about business owner’s policy coverage.

Commercial property insurance can include protection against theft of your business property.

Goods, gear and inventory coverage — also known as business personal property — can help if someone steals property from inside or within 100 feet of your business.

You might also consider adding tools and equipment coverage if you frequently work at different locations. It can help protect equipment wherever you go. For example, if someone steals your power tools from a job site, your insurance could help pay for new tools.

This coverage from NEXT is only available to contractor and cleaning businesses.

Learn more about tools & equipment insurance.

Commercial property insurance can protect small business owners who rely on equipment, inventory or furniture to do business.

It can provide financial help if you:

• Run your business out of a physical location, such as a leased or owned office, store, garage or your home
• Own or lease equipment or inventory that could get stolen or damaged
• Would have to close your business if your property is destroyed or broken

Some of the most common types of businesses that purchase commercial property from NEXT include:

• E-commerce
• Retail business (brick and mortar)
• Restaurants
• Fitness
• Arts & Entertainment
• Beauty and personal care

You can file a claim anytime and from anywhere online or in the NEXT app.

You’ll be asked to share the details of what happened and to provide relevant photos and documentation.

We strive to make claims decisions within 48 hours so you can get back to focusing on your work.

Learn more about how claims work at NEXT.

Learn more about commercial property insurance with some of the most frequently asked questions we get about our coverage.

If you have additional questions, our licensed, U.S.-based insurance advisors are ready to help.

When you’re ready to explore coverage options for your business, you can get an instant quote online and purchase insurance within a few minutes.

Do I need Commercial Property insurance if I don't own the building?

If you lease or own an office or studio you might need commercial property insurance to protect what’s inside the building.

Commercial property insurance can help protect almost all of the things you need to do business, including your equipment, inventory, furniture and other items.

Let’s say you rent a space for your clothing shop or restaurant. If you were to turn the building upside down and shake it, almost everything that falls out could be covered by commercial property insurance.

Who is responsible for building insurance on commercial property?

Building coverage can help protect the structures on your property if you own real estate.

Building coverage is designed to help protect your physical building and can help pay for damage to the structure. If it’s paired with a general liability policy it may be known as a business owners’ policy or a BOP.

How do I know if I need Commercial Property insurance or a Business Owner’s Policy (BOP)?

A business owner’s policy (BOP insurance) combines two important types of business insurance — general liability insurance and commercial property insurance — into one package that is sometimes less expensive than buying the coverage separately.

BOP insurance has additional benefits:

• You can save money by bundling two policies into one
• You get coverage that’s tailored for small businesses like yours
• You can easily manage your coverage, add additional insureds and share certificates online 24/7

Commercial property only covers your goods, gear, inventory and structures that you own. A business owner’s policy covers all of these items and general liability risks.

Damage to other people’s property, injuries to customers or vendors and legal fees can be included with the liability coverage in a BOP.

If you know your business needs both general liability and commercial property coverage, you can sometimes save money by combining them in a BOP policy.

Is Commercial Property insurance mandatory or legally required?

Commercial property insurance is typically not legally required for your business.

However, oftentimes property owners will require you to have it when you sign a lease and a lender might require you to have coverage if you purchase property with a loan.

How much commercial property insurance do I need?

The amount of coverage you’ll need for commercial property insurance depends on your business and specific needs. Every business is unique and has its own set of variables, such as:

Property value

It’s important to know the estimated value of the property you would like to protect with your commercial property insurance. You can choose your coverage limit based on the value of the property you want insured.

Location

Where is the business located? Rates might be higher or lower depending on where your business is located.

Structure

This refers to the actual building itself and how it was made. New or upgraded structures can sometimes reduce rates.

Protection

Fire-retardant materials, sprinklers and alarms can help reduce rates. It can also help if the building is close to a fire station or hydrant.

Usage

What the building is used for determines who is in there on a daily basis. A lot of employees or customers usually indicate higher risk — and therefore potentially higher rates.

Can I add General Liability insurance as a package deal if I already have Commercial Property insurance?

Small business owners who have commercial property insurance can often benefit from general liability coverage.

A business owner’s policy (BOP insurance) combines both general liability insurance and commercial property insurance into one package that can be less expensive than buying the coverage separately.

You can get up to a 10% discount when you purchase more than one type of coverage with NEXT. You can add insurance directly through your customer account.

How do I determine the value of my business property?

It can be helpful to have a good idea of how much your business property is worth before you begin a quote for commercial property.

Knowing the value of your inventory and equipment will help you decide the amount of coverage you're looking for (so you don’t overspend on insurance).

Commercial property insurance policies are based on what it would cost to replace property or its actual cash value.

The replacement cost is the amount of money it would take to replace or repair your property if it’s damaged or destroyed.

The actual cash value is the amount of money it would cost to replace your property with items of similar value.

You can read more about actual cash value and replacement cost in this article.

Can I add an additional insured to my Commercial Property policy?

Yes, NEXT customers can easily add an additional insured and share their certificate of insurance with their customer account.

Any person or company you add to your policy is called an additional insured. They are named on your COI.

How do I file a Commercial Property claim?

If you are a NEXT customer, you can file a claim with your account online.

After we receive your claim, we will call you to get additional details. If you are not a NEXT customer, you can report a claim in our help center.