Small Business Guide To Commercial Insurance

8 Business Personal Property consists of furniture; fixtures, machinery, and equipment not permanently installed; inventory; or any other personal property owned by and used in your business. Personal Property of Others refers to property that is in your business’s care, custody and control. The type of business you operate will determine if you need to protect the personal property of others. Covered Causes of Loss Whether or not a property loss is covered depends upon the policy language, exclusions, and endorsements. You can choose the covered causes of loss in your property policy. Causes of loss are divided into two main categories: specified perils and open perils. Specified Perils consist of a list of each peril to be insured against, such as fire, explosion, windstorm, vandalism, et cetera. You can usually request basic specified perils or broad specified perils coverage. Broad specified perils coverage adds to the list of covered perils found under basic specified perils. Open Perils coverage covers all losses unless they are specifically excluded. Earth movement (including earthquake) and flood are two common perils that are excluded under open perils coverage. Since open perils coverage offers more comprehensive protection, it is more costly than a specified perils policy.