Owner Occupier- Do I need 2 insurance policies?

[Jane Osbourne]

Hi

I own my property which I run my cafe out of. This is my first time owning a business within my own property.

What I’m trying to understand is do I need 2 insurance policies? 1 for the building/property and 1 for the business?

It seems like I’m paying for 2 things which sort of cover each other and has doubled my total insurance costs.

Thanks in advance for your help.
Jane

 

[mattt]

The building should only be covered once whether it's a stand alone policy or part of a package. If you have a multi-unit building and your business rents out one of those units your business policy would only need to cover liability and business property. Your separate building policy would cover the building. I would talk to your agent about your exact situation and they might be able to package it all together. Whether it's that much cheaper I don't know.

 

[Markthebroker]

I have a lot of clients with situations like yours. You should talk to your agent, and if he/she is even half competent, you'll have your answer.

 

[Jane Osbourne]

I have got an agent but I still wonder if they advise I need 2 policies simply to get more premiums.

 

[Markthebroker]

I have got an agent but I still wonder if they advise I need 2 policies simply to get more premiums.

If you don't trust your agent, then you probably need a new agent.

Writing two policies may be more premium, but is also double the work.

Depending on the details, if the building and the cafe are owned by the same legal entity, no, you don't need separate policies for any reason I can think of.

If the building and cafe are owned by separate entities, or their are other tenants, then yes you may need separate policies.

Either way, if you don't trust your agent enough to believe them, you need a new agent. I would never work with someone where I thought I needed to double check their work on an anonymous internet forum.

 

[Jane Osbourne]

Thanks for the replies.

It’s not that I dont trust the agent necessarily I just wonder since I initially requested the 2 policies myself was that the best way of going about it and I’m only beginning to think it through more thoroughly nkw.

The building is a standalone building and has 2 tenancies. 1 occupied by me and one by a tennant.

I have 2 entities 1 which owns the building and 1 which trades as the cafe.

Thanks again

 

[Markthebroker]

Again, Jane, if you are coming here to question what your agent is or isn't doing, and you're unsure if you are insured properly, and not getting answers from them, then you probably need a new agent. I would never write insurance for someone that they didn't need, regardless of what they requested. Furthermore if they had questions, I would answer them.

If there are two different entities, and two different tenants, then it's very likely you need two policies. It could perhaps be possible to write on one policy, but without details, I couldn't say.

-Mark

 

[Jane Osbourne]

Again, Jane, if you are coming here to question what your agent is or isn't doing, and you're unsure if you are insured properly, and not getting answers from them, then you probably need a new agent. I would never write insurance for someone that they didn't need, regardless of what they requested. Furthermore if they had questions, I would answer them.

If there are two different entities, and two different tenants, then it's very likely you need two policies. It could perhaps be possible to write on one policy, but without details, I couldn't say.

-Mark

Thanks Mark you are right. I appreciate the advice.

 

[fed up]

Hi Jane, without a doubt you need 2 policies to protect you (the owner of the building) and your business (a tenant). I will assume that the owner of the business is a different entity than the business (Jane LLC vs Jane's Donuts) and you would want to build a wall for each. Also you stated that you have an additional tenant in the building and you want to make sure your business (Jane's Donuts) is not affected by any action against Jane LLC.

 

[Markthebroker]

Hi Jane, without a doubt you need 2 policies to protect you (the owner of the building) and your business (a tenant). I will assume that the owner of the business is a different entity than the business (Jane LLC vs Jane's Donuts) and you would want to build a wall for each. Also you stated that you have an additional tenant in the building and you want to make sure your business (Jane's Donuts) is not affected by any action against Jane LLC.

It's possible she could get it all on one policy, I've done it before, since there is common ownership between the two entities. It's hard to say, without getting into more details.