Is My Business Protected From A Neighboring Fire?

Q: Is My Business Protected? If the anchor store in the shopping center where my business is located were to catch fire and burn down, can I be compensated by my insurance for my lost income?

I own a small boutique in a mall in my city. The mall is anchored around a large national chain store, which drives a lot of our traffic. Sometimes I worry that if anything happened to that store, my business would be seriously damaged. If, for example, the store were to burn down, would my business insurance cover my losses?

A: This is a great question and is a good example of why it is best to sit down with an insurance agent who is experienced at dealing with commercial insurance when you are building a business policy. 

Business income insurance, which is an option with most commercial insurance packages, is among the most valuable coverage options you can buy as a business owner. It will pay for lost income and ongoing expenses if your business is forced to temporarily close down due to a covered event occurring on your premises. One of the endorsements you can purchase with this policy is called coverage for dependent properties, and it is what would protect you in this particular case. 

Coverage for dependent properties is designed to help small business owners who rely on larger businesses for their traffic flow. Though the smaller business may not have suffered any physical damages, it is likely to undergo a sharp decrease in income if a larger “anchor” property temporarily closes down because of covered property loss, such as a fire. This is something that many small business owners never even consider until it is too late. 

This is just one of the many reasons that it is so beneficial for business owners to have a Trusted Choice® commercial insurance agent backing them up. These agents are well-aware of the risks that business owners in their community face and know the coverage options that will keep them protected.