Commercial Landlord Insurance

Ashburnham provide commercial landlord insurance to property owners who let the premises for commercial use by third-party businesses. Flexible, comprehensive, and cheap landlord insurance for commercial properties can be hard to come by, but with Ashburnham, you can choose the level of cover you require using our online policy form.

What does Commercial Landlord Insurance cover?

A good commercial let property insurance policy will cover more than just the building, which undoubtedly is your most valuable asset, but also protect you against other financial risks associated with letting the commercial property to third-party businesses.

Buildings

Covers the financial cost of repairing a property’s structural damage. We cover both accidental and malicious damage as standard, in addition to environmental damage (e.g. flood, storms, etc).

More about landlord buildings insurance

Contents

Recommended for commercial properties in which you provide fixtures or furnishings with the tenancy. This will protect the landlord from the costs of repairing and replacing stolen or accidentally damaged contents.

More about landlord contents insurance

Malicious Damage

Covers the intentional damage caused by a commercial tenant, one of their customers, or any other malicious persons to the landlord’s property.

More about malicious damage by tenant cover

Loss of Rent

Optional cover for loss of rent is available in the event that the property becomes uninhabitable following an insured peril. An example could be a fire or flood making the premises unusable.

More about loss of rent insurance

Public Liability

Indemnifies the property owner against liability if the business, one of its customers, or a member of the public is injured on the premises, including cover from the financial costs of any claims made due to the negligence.

More about landlord public liability insurance

Legal Expenses

Indemnifies the expenses in pursuit or defense of any disputes connected to a landlord’s property that require legal protection.

More about legal expenses insurance

What is Commercial Property Insurance for Landlords?

Many buy-to-let landlords choose to invest in commercial property as opposed, or in addition to, residential. Letting commercial premises requires larger investments, both financially and in regard to time and management, but in return can yield higher profits than residential.

Benefits include a higher guarantee of a longer tenancy, resulting in less void periods and more financial stability in terms of rent. Landlords will often require long-term lease agreements from their commercial tenants where 5-year or 10-year leases are not uncommon. Even with more flexible leases, the average lease length in the UK is over 7 years.

To reduce void periods between tenancies, for commercial properties that are harder to lease, landlords may opt to issue property licences at a lower cost than a property lease while seeking long-term tenants. Property licences cover shorter periods of time (usually a maximum of 6 months) with shorter notice periods (typically a month).

In both cases of commercial property leases and licences, the landlord will still have the same insurance responsibilities. As with any landlord insurance, the property owner is responsible for insuring the building. Whereas the commercial tenant is responsible for their own employers’ liability insurance if they employ staff, and any furnishing and fixtures that they themselves have installed. If you provide any fixtures with the tenancy (such as racking systems, counter tops, kitchen appliances, and seating), then landlord contents insurance will cover these items in the event that they are stolen or accidentally damaged by the commercial tenant or any members of the public. As well as other risks including environmental, escape of water, riots and more.

Commercial landlords are responsible for the safety of the building structure, as well as things like gas and electricity. Where multiple businesses occupy the property, with some shared facilities such as toilets, lifts, and stairwells, it is the landlord’s responsibility to maintain these areas. These responsibilities are quite often outsourced to a property management company, and costs are covered by the businesses paying service charges in addition to their rent.

For mixed use properties (for example: above-shop flats), mixed use property insurance combines the residential and commercial use under a single landlord insurance policy.

Whether you let a large industrial warehouse or a small local takeaway, we can help you to protect your investment. Different businesses will have different risks, depending on the type of trade and the location of the business. A commercial property insurance policy will usually include the permitted use of the premises, as specified when the policyholder first obtained a quote. If the type of business operation changes, then the insurance policy may be void. Businesses must keep the landlord informed of any changes, as the trade type is a big factor when calculating the premium due to the different risks involved. For example, the risk of fire at a food establishment with a large kitchen will be higher than that of a jewellery shop.

Businesses we can cover:

• Food and Drink Manufacturers
• Food Establishments
• Hotels and Guest Houses
• Manufacturing, Repair and Servicing
• Miscellaneous Risks
• Motor Trade
• Offices
• Printing Trades
• Shops
• Surgery
• Warehouse, Storage and Supply
• Pubs, Clubs, Halls and Leisure Centres

Don’t see your type of business listed? Not to worry! Just give us a call and ask!

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