Affordable Commercial Hurricane Insurance
What is Commercial Hurricane Insurance?
Every year from June to November, hurricane season starts in Florida, disturbing your peace and threatening your livelihood. Unfortunately, for a small business, commercial property insurance doesn’t cover hurricane damage. To protect your business, you need additional coverage with a commercial hurricane insurance policy. At Florida Insure, we provide a group of hurricane insurance coverages for small businesses, non-profits, religious organizations, and more. This page is your guide to getting the coverage you need and learning more about business insurance for natural disasters.
Does Commercial Property Insurance Cover Hurricane Damage?
Commercial property insurance protects your business property and its contents against structural damage from risks, such as wind, hail, and fire. However, while wind is covered, a standard policy doesn’t cover wind damage or flood damage resulting from storm surges or rising waters, like hurricanes. In most cases, you need a comprehensive insurance plan to cover the threat of hurricanes.
Do You Need a Separate Insurance for Hurricanes?
For hurricanes, you need a bundle of insurance coverage as the standard policy doesn’t cover hurricane damage. This bundle includes commercial property insurance, business interruption insurance, windstorm insurance, and flood insurance.
Does Hurricane Insurance Cover Flood Damage?
Standard home and commercial insurance policies do not cover flood damage including flood damage from hurricanes. To protect your property from these risks, you need to purchase a separate flood policy. This can be through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), or private insurers.
Note that while commercial property insurance may cover wind damage from hurricanes, it typically excludes damage from storm surges or rising water which is considered a flood. To have full coverage for all hurricane-related damage, you need to have both commercial property insurance and a separate flood policy.
Does Hurricane Insurance Cover Flood Damage?
Standard home and commercial insurance policies do not cover flood damage including flood damage from hurricanes. To protect your property from these risks, you need to purchase a separate flood policy. This can be through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), or private insurers.
Note that while commercial property insurance may cover wind damage from hurricanes, it typically excludes damage from storm surges or rising water which is considered a flood. To have full coverage for all hurricane-related damage, you need to have both commercial property insurance and a separate flood policy.
Why is Hurricane Insurance Important?
Hurricanes have become frequent and severe in Florida, that's why having dedicated insurance is the best course to ensure the continuity of your business. Here are some of the reasons why hurricane insurance is important.
Who Needs Commercial Hurricane Insurance?
Small business owners who operate in areas with extreme weather conditions, like Florida, Louisiana, and Texas, should add hurricane insurance to their insurance coverage. The damage caused by tropical storms, tornadoes, and hurricanes can be severe; and it’s usually not covered by standard small business insurance. If you live in a hurricane-prone, consider adding a hurricane or flood endorsement to your commercial insurance policy.
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Can I Purchase Hurricane Insurance Without a Commercial Property Policy?
Hurricane insurance isn’t available as a standalone policy. Instead, coverage for hurricane damage is added to existing policies through endorsements or riders. For businesses, that means to get hurricane coverage, you need to have a commercial property policy or a business owner’s policy (BOP) and then get additional hurricane coverage.
How Does A Commercial Hurricane Insurance Policy Define Hurricane Risk?
Hurricane risk is the potential damage that a hurricane can cause to your business. Commercial insurance policies address it by specifying covered perils, exclusions, and deductibles. For example, in a standard policy, wind and rain damage are included, while flooding and windstorms are excluded. In some cases, you might need to pay a specific deductible for hurricanes, which are calculated as a percentage of the property’s insured value.
Is Hurricane Insurance Different than Wind Insurance?
Wind insurance and hurricane insurance are two different types of coverage. Here are the key similarities and differences:
What Is Commercial Hurricane Insurance Coverage?
A commercial hurricane policy includes the following coverages:
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Commercial Property Insurance: Covers various types of damage, like rain and wind, to your business property and its structure, but doesn’t include flood damage resulting from storm surges or rising waters.
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Business Interruption Coverage: Compensates you for lost income and other operating expenses if your business has to temporarily shut down because of a covered event.
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Windstorm Insurance: Covers wind-related damage, like hurricanes. In high-risk coastal areas, standard policies may exclude wind damage, which makes carrying windstorm insurance crucial.
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Flood Insurance: Addresses flood damage that standard commercial property insurance doesn’t cover.
This combined insurance plan offers adequate insurance coverage for your business, so you’re ready for natural disasters. Our insurance agents can help tailor a policy that works best for your business, so you can have enough coverage without paying a fortune. Contact us now!
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How Much Does Commercial Hurricane Insurance Cost?
Businesses in hurricane-prone areas can expect to pay anywhere from $2,600 to over $4,000 per year for hurricane coverage alone. Note that the cost of commercial hurricane insurance varies widely, depending on several factors. The location of your business, the construction and age of the building, and the materials used in its construction all impact the premium you’ll pay. Even the distance of your business from coastal waters is a factor. Because the underwriting process is so complex, it’s difficult to estimate an average cost for a policy.
How to Choose the Right Hurricane Insurance Policy?
Get all the information you need about coverage limits and exclusions. Staying informed will help you make the right decision, protecting your business without breaking the bank.
Evaluate the deductibles. Hurricane policies may have specific deductibles, comprising a percentage of the insured property’s value. Understand how these apply to your coverage.
Get multiple quotes from different insurance companies and compare them before buying.
Research the insurance provider’s financial stability and claim-handling practices to ensure they are reliable during a disaster.
How to File a Hurricane Insurance Claim
- First, document the damage by taking photos and videos.
- Notify your insurance agent as soon as you can. Delays might affect the outcome of the claim.
- Make temporary repairs to prevent additional harm and keep receipts for any expenses you pay.
- Cooperate with the claims adjuster, sent by the insurance company or agency. Provide any information and documents they may need.
- Wait for the settlement papers. When they arrive, review them thoroughly and sign them.
Do Insurance Rates Go Up After a Hurricane Insurance Claim?
In areas where hurricanes are common, like Florida, insurance rates may go up based on the increased risk of property damage. Insurance companies need to account for the claims policyholders make, to make a profit and avoid financial loss. So, if commercial hurricane insurance claims are frequent, insurance rates increase for individual policyholders and on the market level.
Additional Protection Options Available for Your Small Business Against Hurricane Risk
Still worried about the danger of hurricanes affecting your business? We've come up with additional hurricane protection measures that you can apply for your small business.
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Commercial Hurricane Insurance FAQs
Businesses in areas where hurricanes are common can expect to pay anywhere from $2,600 to over $4,000 per year or $216 to $335 per month for hurricane coverage. It depends on the hurricane deductible. For instance, if it’s %2, you pay more on the higher side. Note that the cost of commercial hurricane insurance varies widely, depending on several factors, like the location of your business, the construction and age of the building, and more.
Hurricane insurance is expensive because it causes severe damage across a large area, potentially destroying an entire town, unlike other perils that can affect a single unit. For insurance companies, managing the risk of hurricanes is much harder than other covered events, which explains the higher cost.
It takes the insurance company around 14 days to respond to your claim, and 90 days to deny it, partially, or fully pay for it.
The time limit for an insurance company to settle a claim is 120 days from the day of filing.
You need commercial property insurance, flood insurance, wind insurance, and business income insurance to be prepared for most natural disasters. If your area is prone to earthquakes, you might also need earthquake insurance.
A small business insurance policy with a $1 million limit costs around $69 a month and $824 a year. Each business has different insurance needs, so the price will vary.
Generally, you should insure your business to protect it against damage you can’t afford to fix, like liability claims, property damage, work-related injuries, faulty products, cyberattacks, and so on. Insurance will cost you a small monthly fee but will pay a great amount if a covered unexpected incident happens.
It takes you between 24 and 48 hours to complete the process of buying insurance and getting your business covered. All you have to do is get the formal proof of insurance document, which is issued soon after signing off on an insurance policy.
Yes, small business liability insurance premiums are generally tax-deductible as they’re considered ordinary and necessary business expenses. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) allows businesses to deduct the cost of insurance policies that are common and appropriate for their trade or industry. This includes various types of liability insurance, such as General liability, professional liability, and product liability insurance.
1- Assess your business insurance needs.
2- Consider the risks you may face.
3- Get a personalized quote from a reliable insurance agency.
4- Choose the best rate and pick the coverages.
General liability insurance, also known as business liability insurance, protects your LLC when there are claims of bodily injury, property damage to someone else’s property, or advertising injury made against your company. It is the most important type of commercial insurance for your LLC, as it protects against incidents that can commonly happen any day inside your company.
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