Commercial Property Insurance
Commercial Property Insurance – Protect Your Business Assets
When you own a building, lease a retail space, or operate a small shop in Morristown or anywhere in Tennessee, commercial property insurance is essential. This coverage protects your physical assets—your building, contents, inventory, equipment, and more—from the kinds of unexpected disasters that could bring business to a halt. Whether it’s fire, theft, vandalism, or storm damage, business property insurance helps ensure you’re not left picking up the pieces on your own.
What’s Covered Under Business Property Insurance
A commercial property insurance policy covers much more than just your building:
- Building Coverage: If you own your business property, this insures the structure itself.
- Business Personal Property: Covers contents like furniture, computers, inventory, or tools—even if you lease your space.
- Inventory & Equipment: Whether it’s retail stock or restaurant kitchen equipment, these assets are included.
- Tenant Improvements: If you’ve put money into customizing a rented space, you can insure that investment.
- Business Interruption: If a fire or other covered loss forces you to close, this coverage helps replace lost income and ongoing expenses.
- Covered Perils: Common threats like wind, hail, fire, vandalism, burst pipes, and theft are typically included. Floods and earthquakes are not—but we’ll help you explore standalone coverage if needed.
Local Considerations for Morristown Businesses
In East Tennessee, commercial property insurance should account for specific local threats like high winds and sudden summer storms. Even though we’re not in a floodplain, flash floods from heavy rain are possible and require separate protection. Whether you own a historic storefront near Downtown Morristown or lease space in a business park off Route 11E, you need the right protection in place for your location and structure.
Building Owner or Tenant—You Still Need Coverage
If you own your building, you’ll need full coverage for the structure itself and everything inside. If you’re renting, you still need to protect your contents—furniture, computers, tools, and merchandise aren’t covered by your landlord’s insurance. We’ll also help you insure any leasehold improvements so you’re covered for the upgrades you’ve made.
How Property is Valued—and Why It Matters
We typically recommend
replacement cost coverage, which pays to rebuild or replace your building and contents with new materials at today’s prices. This ensures you’re not shortchanged by depreciation. We’ll work with you to determine accurate coverage amounts and explain important terms like coinsurance so you understand how your policy works in real-world scenarios.
Pairing Property with Liability for Better Coverage
Many Tennessee small businesses qualify for a
Business Owners Policy (BOP), which combines commercial property and general liability into one convenient, affordable package. If a BOP isn’t right for your business, we can set up a standalone commercial property policy and align it with your other coverage. Either way, we make sure there are no gaps.
More Than a Policy—We Help You Prepare & Recover
We’re not just here to sell insurance. Our team provides
real-world advice on risk management and property protection, from installing security systems to understanding building code upgrades after a loss. If something happens, we’ll walk you through the claims process, work with your adjuster, and help you rebuild quickly.
Get a Quote for Commercial Property Insurance
Let’s protect your building, your tools, your merchandise—everything that keeps your business running. Whether you're in Morristown, Jefferson City, Greeneville, or beyond, we’ll tailor a policy that fits. Share your property details (year built, size, location) and an inventory of your key business assets, and we’ll do the rest.
If I don’t own my building, do I need commercial property insurance?
Yes, even if you rent, you likely have business property to protect – like your equipment, inventory, or office contents. A commercial property policy (or a BOP) will cover those items. Additionally, if you’ve made improvements to a rented space (lighting, flooring, etc.), those can be covered. Your landlord’s insurance won’t cover your stuff; it usually only covers the building structure. So it’s important to have your own policy as a tenant.
Does commercial property insurance cover storm damage like tornadoes or hail?
Generally, yes – most commercial property policies cover windstorms, including tornadoes, and hail damage. If a tornado or severe storm damages your roof or breaks windows, your policy would pay for repairs. It would also cover related damage (like water damage inside due to a roof breach). The big exclusions to be aware of are usually flood (rising water) and earthquake, which are separate. We’ll clarify exactly what perils are covered or if you might need any additional coverage for specific risks.
How do I determine the amount of coverage I need for my business property?
For buildings, you should use the estimated replacement cost – what it would cost to rebuild the structure from scratch today (which can differ from market value). We have tools and data to help estimate that based on construction type, size, etc. For contents, consider the total value of all your equipment, inventory, and supplies at risk. We’ll work with you to list out major items and categories. It’s important not to underestimate – otherwise a large loss could leave you partially uncovered. We’ll guide you to a proper coverage limit that meets any coinsurance requirements and fully protects you.
My business equipment travels to different sites – is it covered by my property policy?
Standard commercial property coverage is usually for items at the insured location. If you have tools or equipment that move around (e.g., a contractor’s tools or a photographer’s cameras), we might need an inland marine or equipment floater to cover items off-site or in transit. Let us know what items are mobile and we’ll make sure they’re covered either by an inland marine add-on or an endorsement to your policy.
What about loss of income if my business has to close due to damage?
That’s where Business Interruption coverage (Business Income coverage) comes in. If a covered property loss (like a fire) forces you to halt operations, business interruption can cover your lost income, ongoing expenses (like payroll or rent), and even extra expenses to get you back up and running (like renting a temporary location). Many BOPs include this, but on a standalone property policy it can be added. We strongly recommend it because it can be a lifesaver – it helps your business survive financially during a closure. We’ll ensure this is included in your plan.
