Does Your Business Need Flood Insurance? | SERVPRO® of East Lansing/Haslett

6/7/2022 (Permalink)

If your home or business has been damaged by a flood, call your friends at SERVPRO of East Lansing/Haslett today!

Commercial insurance can be a complex thing. There are a lot of things that your business’
policy is likely to cover by default, including storm damage and fire damage—but unfortunately,
as far as the insurance industry is concerned, flood damage is a completely separate category.

Floods can occur due to heavy rainfall, pipe backups, overflowing bodies of water and other
hazards, and cause serious damage along the way. As little as an inch of floodwater can cause
around $25,000 in damage by some estimates, and if your insurance policy does not extend to
cover this, it will be an out of pocket expense for your business.

If you think you may need flood insurance, keep reading so you can determine what is best for
your operations.

Determining if Your Business Needs Flood Insurance

Consider your location specs. While it is not an entirely solid indicator, one of the best things
to consider when it comes to your flood risk is your business’ location and layout. If you are in
an area that is a known floodplain, that will certainly be a factor in your decision to purchase
flood insurance, but even if you are not, you may be at risk. If your business is located near a
body of water, or your layout is such that you have valuable items and equipment stored on a
ground floor, you may still want to consider flood insurance.

Consider what is covered by flood insurance. Policies can vary, but in general, the property
outside of your building is not typically covered—this would include property such as
landscaping and septic systems. Flood insurance also does not usually cover business vehicles,
but if you have these, you can typically add these on to your policy when you sign up for it.

Consider how much coverage you will need. Usually, commercial flood insurance will provide
up to $500,000 of coverage for your building, plus an additional $500,000 for its contents. If you need more coverage, you can purchase an excess insurance coverage policy, which will include additional cash value as well as business interruption insurance.

If your business is damaged by a flood, you can count on us to help. Get in touch today to learn
more about our commercial flood restoration options.