ASPECTS COVERED BY A COMMERCIAL POLICY

Depending on the sections taken up, commercial insurance covers business risks such as
[a] fire, storm, flood, earthquake, lightning damage to commercial buildings, contents of such buildings, plant and equipment [except computers and laptops];
[b] fire, storm, flood, earthquake, lightning damage and loss due to theft, of office contents [except computers and laptops], including loss of documents and plans which may lead to a claim against the policy holder [a plan is destroyed in a fire and a building contractor sues the insured for loss of his turnover due to the delay caused by redrafting those plan];
[c] loss of profits when a business comes to a standstil as a result of fire, storm, flood, earthquake, lightning damage;
[d] theft of business assests by an outsider from the insured risk address, if [b] is not taken up;
[e] money stolen by an outsider from the business premises;
[f] shopfront window glass for which the insured may be responsible even if the premises do not belong to the insured;
[g] fidelity cover when a loss is suffered due to an insider, i.e. the dishonesty of an employee, a partner or a director of the business;
[h] loss or damage to goods in transit due to fire, collision and/or theft;
[i] business all risks - loss or damage to valuable items taken away from the insured risk address regularly, such as cellphones, handheld computers, memory sticks, financial calculators, tools, and any piece of equipment used at sites;
[j] accidental damage to an expensive piece of equipment which is not specified and not already covered in terms of [i] above;
[k] public [outsider] liability, when the insured is held liable for damage or injury to a member of the public [example: an estate agent’s heavy billboard sign falls off it’s frame, for whatever reason, and flattens a car parked below the billboard – this is covered], the insurer will deal with the claim and the legal costs as well, but excluding cover if damage or injury was caused in the course of the insured’s business or profession [example: a tree felling service chops down a tree, it falls over and flattens a car parked nearby – this is not covered as it is due to the insured’s own incompetency];
[l] employer’s [insider] liability, when the insured is held liable for damage or injury to an employee, the insurer will deal with both the amount claimed and the legal costs involved;
[m] group personal accident, covering the costs of employees’ injuries with no questions asked about who may be responsible, in the same way as a medical aid;
[n] electronic equipment, covering loss of or damage to computers and laptops, reinstatement of data, costs to rectify incompatibility following repair or replacement of computers/laptops. If this section is taken up, fax machines, printers, scanners can be added to the section and deleted from any other section to avoid duplication of insurance;
[o] motor traders, covering only their own or their clients’ losses as well, at their premises or while a car is taken on a test drive away from their premises;
[p] machinery breakdown, when income is dependent upon a specific piece of machinery, cover can be arranged for the lease of an alternative piece of machinery and even for the loss of profit as a result of the mechanical breakdown of that piece of machinery;
[q] stock deterioration covers losses due to electrical failure [but there are limits, meaning that the failure must be due to an accident, not to the unavailability of electricity and it must last longer than 24 hours];
[r] motor losses – damage to or theft of vehicles, the insured is also indemnified against claims made by the public in case the driving of the insured car causes damage to another vehicle and, finally, there is no limit on who drives a commercial vehicle as long as he/she is legally licenced.