When you're a business owner, you've reached a level of making your dreams happen, doing a job you love, and creating or providing something you're very proud of. Wouldn't you want to protect all of this after working so hard to get to where you are? Today, we are going to be talking about commercial property insurance! 

Hello Charleston, North Charleston, Summerville, and all of our readers in South Carolina and beyond! Welcome back to the Abri Insurance Blog! We hope you're doing well, and are properly covered for every aspect of your personal and professional life. No matter where you are in life and no matter how careful you are, accidents are bound to happen. Mother nature decides when a natural disaster is going to happen, and human error is a way of life. Being from South Carolina, we know the realities of the weather, once hurricane season is here, a hurricane of any magnitude or a tropical storm could happen when you least expect it. We've briefly touched on homeowners insurance in our blog, and we've talked a good deal about hurricane insurance. You spend time and money investing in your home's safety during these times, why wouldn't you do the same for your business, no matter its size? This also includes when you work from home, a proper business insurance policy will cover your business both on and off your personal property. Think about what your company produces or offers. Think about how devastating it would be to lose anything in your office to hurt or stop your business, even for a short amount of time. Think about how damaging it would be if your work from home situation was brought to a halt due to an accident, flood, fire, vandalism, and much more. Not only would your home be damaged, you could potentially be harmed, and your income could also be put in jeopardy. That's where commercial property insurance comes into play. You've worked so hard to have your own business, why wouldn't you want something working just as hard for you? 

What Is Commercial Property Insurance? 
The basic definition of commercial property insurance is that it covers every physical aspect of your company. It's something that every company needs no matter its size and no matter if you lease, rent, or own the building your company runs out of or if you work from home. It's important to have because so many small businesses and startups simply don't have the cash flow to cover anything if damage or disaster would happen to any of their business assets. According to fundera.com, there are currently 28.8 million small businesses in the United States, employing over 55 million people. When it comes to all businesses in the United States, 99.9% of them are small businesses. With these kinds of numbers, that's a huge part of every community that needs protection from whatever might happen. For many business owners, they know it's not a question of if something will happen, but when. Being prepared for when something will happen is one of the best things you can do for your employees and your company. Generally, many businesses will have a commercial property plan that is bundled with other forms of insurance to make sure it is the most well-rounded plan with the most protection possible.

What Does Commercial Property Insurance Cover? 
Before getting in too deep, it's very important to understand that you need to buy the right kind of insurance plan for your company. Buying a cookie-cutter plan that's not specifically tailored to you will be a waste of money and a waste of your time. Make sure that when you sit down with us at Abri Insurance that you share with us exactly what your business is, what you do every day to operate successfully, and what moving parts the company is made up of. This way we can create a plan that covers exactly what you need, so you're only paying for what you need. Also, when disaster strikes, a tailored insurance plan will help you recover from the whole process. It will not leave you with giant gaping holes that you'll have to cover yourself.

As we mentioned before, commercial property insurance is used to cover and protect your company's equipment and property from the risk of accidents and disasters. One of the best things that commercial property insurance helps is to protect your building, what's inside of it, along with fences, doors, outdoor signage, and even exterior fixtures. The plan itself covers all of that and all of your physical assets from vandalism, fire, explosions, burst pipes, water damage, theft, and storms. This is everything your common policy will cover. This means it will help cover the loss and damage of things like your office equipment, computers, inventory, other's property, important documents, and more. However, there are still some things that everyday plans won't cover like earthquakes and floods. This will need to be added on if these elements are common to where you work and live. Also, there are multiple different kinds of commercial insurance, since there are so many different kinds of risks your face when you own a business. Depending on what kind of business you own, you might need a few more additions than your peers or fellow business owners do, and that's okay! Safety first! 

Compare a big tech corporation to a big coal corporation. A coal company would not need to protect its documents and information stored on its cloud as a tech company would. On the other hand, a tech company would not need to have the type of intensive coverage for their employees and machinery that is used in a coal mine that a coal company does. However, this is why it is so common to see commercial insurance plans bundling multiple options. What are the different types of commercial insurance that you can find? 

• Commercial Property: This is what we are talking about today, the protection of your physical assets. 
• General Liability: This covers any injury and property damage caused by the business operations and products or any injuries that happen on the company's property. 
• Professional Liability: This covers errors in job performance or damage done by lack of performance and general neglect of doing one's job properly. 
• Commercial Auto: This covers the vehicles used for a company's performance and operation. 
• Employment Practices Liability: This covers situations when an employee's rights have been violated within the company like sexual harassment, discrimination, and wrongful termination. 
• Commercial Umbrella: This is an increased liability for the companies that need it. 
• Workers Comp: This covers the care of an employee hurt on the job and covers lost wages and medical bills. 
• Cyber Liability: Helps with very sensitive situations if personal information is leaked due to acts of cybercrime. 
• Business Interruption: This covers a company's business and its employees if production is stopped or halted due to natural disasters. 

Please note that unless you specifically set your plan to do so, your commercial property insurance won't cover your assets when they are off of your property. They will usually not be covered when they are over 100 feet from your office. If you need protection on things like your work equipment, computers, cameras, and anything else you take off your property to work elsewhere, please speak to your insurance agent to make sure you have the coverage you need. 

How Much Does Commercial Insurance Cost? 
Just like there isn't a one plan fits all situation for every company, there is no one size fits all price either. How much you will be paying will depend on a lot of factors. 

• First of all, the location of your company will come into play, along with what natural disasters are common in that area. The location will also include what kind of neighborhood you're in.
• Next, you will need to consider the value of the property you are covering as well. This covers the value of your business's building, even if you don't own it. It also includes everything inside of it that you do own and is part of your everyday operations. 
• You will also need to consider the condition of the building you're working out of. How old are the appliances and the HVAC system? What about the bathrooms? Also, think about the electrical systems and their age, and if they will need to be replaced in the future or not! 
• Your price will also depend on the industry you're working in and the occupancy. High-risk companies like laboratories will need more coverage than a restaurant. 
• You will need to consider the fire and theft protection that is already installed in your building, or not. If your building was built with fire retardant materials, you could be saving money.
• Finally, the price will also depend on the overall deductible that you select and your coverage limits.
• All of these aspects that you need to think about will determine how much you will be paying every year for your commercial insurance! 

There is still so much more to consider when it comes to commercial property insurance, this is just scratching the surface. As you know, there are so many working parts to your business and your industry. This will lead to needing a lot more coverage than you might think. For veteran business owners make sure to stay up to date with your policies and to let them grow alongside your company. For our new business owners, please do your research, and make sure to sit down with us at Abri Insurance to make sure you get the best insurance plan possible for your company! Until next time, please don't hesitate to reach out to us if you have any questions or comments. We are here and excited to talk about your insurance policy! We're Abri Insurance and we are here to make sure you have the best coverage for life in the Lowcountry! 

While traveling might look a little differently this year, it's always smart to be prepared.

Traveling throughout 2020 has been such a strange and unique experience, and hasn't looked like anything we've ever seen before. For most, traveling has become something we've put on the back burner and will come back to once it's safe to do so again. However, even with that in mind, the most important thing to remember is that traveling as we've always known it will be back again. We will be able to enjoy every aspect of traveling again someday soon and will be enjoying our regularly scheduled vacation plans again. For now, it's just on pause. Until then, since we all have a little time on our hands, it's a great time to learn a little bit more about the many ways to keep you and your family safe the next time you're on your dream vacations. While you're dreaming about packing up your favorite overnight bag and the stack of books you want to read by the pool, we encourage you to start adding travel insurance to those thoughts and considerations.

One of our favorite topics is, of course, insurance, and it applies to every aspect of your life. In the spirit of celebrating the joy of travel and counting down the days until your next (safe) big trip, we wanted to chat about the truths and misconceptions of travel insurance. Myths and misconceptions on any topic are a dangerous road to go down. They can, sadly, cause hundreds of well-meaning people and travelers to make some not so smart decisions. Thanks to these myths floating around out there, travel insurance has gotten a pretty bad reputation that it's not needed and that it's a waste of time and money. Please know that these myths and misconceptions are called that for a reason and have been getting in the way of guaranteeing safe and fantastic trips for millions of people every year. Also keep in mind that if you are planning on traveling internationally, travel insurance is a necessity, and we wouldn't ever recommend getting on a plane without it.

Myth: My credit card offers plenty of protection while I'm traveling, and I won't need any more protection than that!
Fact: First and foremost, your travel credit cards only cover a few basic things, and in almost every situation they won't cover much if any healthcare if you get sick or injured while you're out of the country. If you're traveling inside of the United States, it still is very much the same. While your healthcare will be out of network while traveling more than 100 miles away from your home, most likely, it will still be better than traveling globally without any health insurance.  If you choose to rely on your travel credit card as your travel insurance while you're away from home, please call and speak with your credit card company first, just so you know exactly what protection you'll have, if any! Even the best travel credit cards out there offer little more than protection for stolen items, loss of baggage, or a canceled trip. While some medical expenses could be covered, the coverage limit will be very low. The amount you could be spending out of pocket could be huge, and much more than you would be paying for a travel insurance plan. We urge you to speak with us or your insurance provider about some travel insurance on top of the protection your credit card offers. This way your medical needs, if by chance something does happen when you're away, can be taken care of much more affordably.

Myth: Travel insurance doesn't cover pre-existing conditions.
Fact: This is a moment where we need to pause and have you read the fine print on any travel insurance package. If you have a pre-existing condition, and you were healthy and stable before the start of your trip, travel insurance will help cover you for things you might need if something happens due to your pre-existing condition while you're traveling. If you need more medication or need to see a doctor because of it, travel insurance will help taking care of you with ease. When planning out a trip and you choose to sit down and talk with us at Abri or with your current insurance provider, make sure you pick an appropriate travel insurance plan with your specific needs and with your condition in mind. According to AAA, they encourage people to remember that the term "pre-existing" can be much broader than many people realize. Don't just dismiss the idea that your condition isn't included under the pre-existing bubble. Make sure to do your research! Also, please don't wait to get coverage for your pre-existing condition added to your travel insurance plan. You will need to apply for it between 10 days and a month of booking your trip, according to AAA.

Myth: Travel insurance is too expensive!
Fact: Remember, as we've mentioned before, if you get sick or injured 100 miles or more away from your home or when you're outside of the country, it can cost you much more than what you'll end up paying out of pocket for your travel insurance policy. According to AAA, travel insurance will cost 5-8% of your trips overall cost. So, yes, the more your trip costs the more you will be paying for insurance. However, if you can't pay the out-of-pocket expenses if your trip is canceled, if you have to rebook your flight or hotel last minute, then travel insurance is the way to go. In any of these last-minute situations, your travel insurance will be able to give you the protection you need financially and for your mental well being.

Myth: I have great health insurance already, so that will cover me on my trip! Travel insurance and health insurance are the same things, anyway.
Fact: This is a very big issue that's found across the board, and it is also a very false statement. Your personal health insurance won't provide protection or support with trip interruption, trip cancellation, damaged possessions, stolen items, lost items, emergency evacuation, or if there is a natural disaster where you've chosen to vacation and you're now dealing with the situation as an expatriate. Travel insurance, on the other hand, does. Also, while your health insurance might cover "customary" and "reasonable" expenses when you're abroad, most of your other costs won't be covered, according to AAA. This can happen when you're simply out of network when you're traveling in the US, too. Also, Medicare does not cover chargers that happen outside of the United States. So, if you have to be moved to a different doctor or specialist while you're traveling abroad (also called medical evacuation) it will not be covered under Medicare and nor will your other medical related issues. Also, if you're using insurance through your employer while traveling, you might be the only one it covers during your trip. While your spouse or child might be covered under this insurance while you're at home, this might not be the cause while you're traveling. This could put your loved ones at serious risk while traveling if all you have is your normal health insurance with you during your trip and not travel insurance.

Myth: I'm incredibly healthy and I'm a very safe person. Nothing will happen to me or my belongings while I'm traveling!
Fact: While you might be healthy and safe, there is so much about life and other people that you cannot control when it comes to traveling and what could happen. So much of what could happen during a trip that could put you in danger or cause you to leave and head back home because of an emergency has nothing to do with how healthy you are or how safe you live your life. You don't have control over the weather, over a canceled flight, or if someone chooses to steal your belongings or passport. Don't assume either, that even if you're just traveling over a short period that you're safe from these disasters. One bad day, one bad storm, or the loss of all your luggage in a matter of one flight can happen when you least expect it. There is no amount of specific time between when a disaster can and cannot happen!

We hope we've put your traveling plans in a new perspective after reading this blog! During these unknown times where traveling is already a gamble, travel insurance shouldn't be a question. Be prepared, travel safely, and make sure to put travel insurance at the top of your to-do list when making plans for your next trip. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out and chat with us! We are here for all of your insurance needs and questions! We are excited to work with you and love being a part of the Summerville community!