COMMERCIAL INSURANCE
Each business and type of enterprise has unique risk exposures depending upon their physical premises, operations, services and products. Therefore, it is very important that your businesses loss exposures are carefully identified and assessed before a program of insurance can be structured to address your unique needs.

The most cost effective as well as comprehensive approach to buying business insurance is to package all of your commercial insurances with one insurance carrier including your Property, Liability, Automobile and Umbrella policies. This can take the form of a Business Owners Policy (“BOP”) or a Commercial Package Policy for more complex risks. Within this packaged approach, other coverage can easily be added. The building blocks include:

Building and Contents Insurance - Property Insurance covers the risk of property loss in a variety of commercial situations, including commercial buildings, equipment, furniture, fixtures, inventories, business records, supplies and other physical items.

Flood Insurance - Flood Insurance insures the owner of a building for damages caused by flood to the building and its contents. Flood insurance is primarily written through the National Flood Insurance Program (“NFIP”) which was created in 1968. According to FEMA (http://www.floodsmart.gov/), a flood is defined as:

A general or temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of two or more acres of normally dry land or of two or more properties (at least one of which is the policyholder’s property) from:

• Overflow of inland or tidal waters; or
• Unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source; or
• Mudflow; or
• Collapse or subsidence of land along the shore of a lake or similar body of water as a result of erosion or undermining caused by waves or currents of water exceeding anticipated cyclical levels that result in a flood as defined above.

Flood insurance is provided on an Actual Cash Value basis through the NFIP. Coverage may be available from the standard market on an excess or DIC basis, depending upon the location and nature of the property.

Business Interruption – Business Interruption protects the owners from loss of income if your business can no longer operate because your building or premises are no longer usable as a result of a covered loss to the Property. Depending upon how the insurance is written, the policy also can reimburse you for operating expenses you incur even though you no longer use the premises, including additional expenses needed to restore the business to normal.

Equipment Breakdown – Property/casualty policy only covers damage to your equipment from "external" causes, such as a fire, wind or civil commotion. The policy does not cover damage from "internal" causes such as mechanical failure, electrical short circuit or "arcing" (faulty wiring or motor burnout). To protect against this risk a business owner should purchase "equipment breakdown" insurance. Equipment breakdown insurance is important because it covers the cost of repairing and replacing the damaged equipment, and frequently (but not always) includes "business interruption" and "service interruption" coverage, which will cover you against loss of business or income due to equipment downtime.

Crime Insurance –- It is important to insure a business against the various types of crime that the business may be exposed to. Most businesses carry insurance against Employee Dishonesty, Forgery and Alteration, Theft, Robbery and Burglary. As businesses use the internet and computers more, the purchase of coverage for Computer Fraud is increasing.

Commercial General Liability Insurance - General liability insurance consists primarily of liability coverage which protects an insured party against real or alleged bodily injury, property damage or personal injury claims made by third parties. These claims may arise out of: your owning or leasing premises; conducting your normal day-to-day operations; entering into contracts; providing your services; your advertising practices; and/or problems with your products.

Business Auto Insurance - Business Auto coverage insures the business for claims arising from the use of vehicles that are owned, leased, hired or borrowed. Business Auto insurance may be used to insure private passenger vehicles, trucks and other commercial vehicles designed for use on public roads.

Workers' Compensation and Employers Liability - Workers’ Compensation coverage applies to bodily injury and diseases arising out of and in the course of employment. Limits are statutorily set by each state. Any bodily injury must be accidental, and the term includes death resulting from the accident. Only occupational diseases, which are unique to the occupation, are covered.

Business Insurance available includes:

• Buildings and Business Property
• Business Interruption
• General and Products Liability
• Business Automobile Liability and Physical Damage
• Umbrella Liability
• Professional Liability
• Workers’ Compensation and Employers’ Liability
• Employment Practices Liability
• Crime
• Errors and Omissions
• Directors and Officers Liability

The Business Customers We Serve

Professional Practices

• Doctors
• Veterinarians
• Lawyers
• Accountants
• Architects, Engineers and Surveyors

Restaurants and other Hospitality Industry Segments

Financial Services

• Banks
• Investment Managers
• Hedge Funds
• Venture Funds
• Financial Advisors and Broker/Dealers

Retail and Mercamtile

Consulting and Service Firms