Does your Small Business need Fire Insurance?

by Ronel Forbes

October 4, 2022

In the Philippines, business accidents happen rather frequently. The necessity for fire insurance is growing every year because there aren’t enough fire stations in the nation and bad safety measures that never actually operate. And with the frequency of natural disasters like floods, cyclones, and forest fires rising, businesses across India run the risk of suffering permanent harm.

Hotels, apartment buildings, hospitals, and factories are frequently burning down in cities or being destroyed by floods and tsunamis. These events can result in property losses in the tens of crores, completely ruining small enterprises like stores, cafes, and retail shops.

Business owners must have some sort of security for their commercial property in this unpredictable environment. Typically, fire insurance is where this search comes to a conclusion.

Does your Small Business need Fire Insurance

Importance of Fire Insurance

Your business might benefit from fire insurance in a number of ways. Contrary to what the name might imply, fire insurance actually offers a lot more protection for your company than just fire. It enables you to pay for damaged goods costs, repair or replace broken fixed assets, pay for theft or robbery incidents, safeguard your company from terrorist attacks, and much more.

Let’s examine several elements that, regardless of the size of the firm, make fire insurance mandatory:

1. A safety net financially – Fire Insurance offers financial compensation for any loss of assets like stock, furniture, machinery, buildings, equipment, and tools. Any unintentional harm to these assets can have a significant negative impact on a company’s profitability. In fact, equipment used to put out fires, floods, riots, or terrorist attacks as well as other control measures may wind up harming your property.

You may repair and recover from all of these damages with the aid of fire insurance.

2. Protection from a wide range of hazards – Fire Insurance provides protection against a wide range of risks, including riots, strikes, terrorist attacks, missile testing operations, and collision damage. Any loss or damage brought on by cyclones, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, tornadoes, or landslides is particularly covered.

This comprehensive coverage guarantees that your company is protected in practically every scenario.

3. Reopening a business after a loss – Devastation from fire and other hazards can occasionally result in the total closure of the damaged property. Your main factory or headquarters may be on this land, and it may also be your sole source of revenue. Even if it isn’t, stopping all corporate operations in one location might result in a large loss of revenue, resource waste, and increased expenses.

This in turn may cause your firm to shut down entirely. Fire Insurance can aid by providing you with temporary housing to house the essential operations of your business while your damaged workspace is restored and rebuilt. Additionally, it can assist you start up operations after a bad incident by covering startup costs (up to a specified level).

4. Important asset protection – Fire insurance policies provide up to a specified dollar amount of protection for items including computer programs, floating stocks, furniture, manuscripts, business books, money, and securities. Additionally, other costs like building extensions and modifications as well as the fees for architects, engineers, and other professionals are also covered.

In reality, up to a certain value, personal effects of directors, officials, or guests are also insured. With this level of coverage, you can pretty much count on your company recovering from losses to virtually any asset.

Safety Measures

The insurance provider assesses the insured’s efforts to minimize damage to the insured property during the claims process. As a result, you must adhere to all safety guidelines and keep sufficient security measures in place at your company’s location.

According to the required fire safety regulations, smoke detector systems and fire alarms must be placed in your insured premises, building, or property. These systems need to be periodically maintained and monitored.
Every workplace or industry needs to have a fire extinguisher or some other type of suppressor material. Workers should receive enough instruction on how to use a fire extinguisher.
To prevent any theft or burglary, the building must have a strong locking system.
You must not leave the insured property vacant for longer than 30 days because doing so could void your insurance policy.
You must notify the fire department, police, or any other relevant public authority right away in the event of a fire, flood, strike, or any other insured danger.

Upkeep of Your Insurance

Here are some pointers for keeping your fire insurance coverage in good shape.

Make sure all of your structures and sites are covered by your policy by reviewing it every year. Verify that the addresses listed in the policy are accurate.
If you own several buildings, you might want to consider covering them all under a single policy with a broad cap. A single policy will be less expensive than multiple separate ones.
Create and update a plan to prevent fires. Teach your employees what to do in the event of a fire. An active fire prevention program may qualify you for a discount from your insurer.

Conclusion

Provides Comfort and Ongoing Security

Litigation risk is decreased by thorough coverage. Business owners’ insurance, also known as BOP, enables you to quickly recover after a natural disaster. As previously noted, having sufficient insurance also enhances your credibility, safeguards your workers, and positions your small business for unforeseen events.

For many years, MGS Insurance has assisted numerous business executives, including yourself, with their various insurance requirements. We offer the services you require to keep your business operations going successfully, including personal lines insurance for bars, taverns, and other businesses. For cutting-edge business protection solutions, get in touch with us right away.