Business Insurance

Building Coverage

GHM Agency offers free construction cost estimators to help you determine how much coverage you should carry on your building(s). Although your policy requires you to carry 80% of the replacement cost of your building (some require 90%), we suggest you carry enough coverage to replace your building 100% should it be destroyed by a covered loss. If you would like us to do a cost estimator of your building, please let us know.

Boiler & Machinery/Equipment Breakdown Coverage

One very important coverage you should consider purchasing is Boiler & Machinery and Equipment Breakdown coverage. This insurance provides coverage for certain losses that are excluded under most property policies. For example, loss from 1) explosion of pressurized vessels and boilers, 2) mechanical breakdown of equipment caused by a covered accident, 3) arcing or burnout of electrical/electronic equipment caused by overload or surge resulting in damage to the electrical components of a building or business personal property.  We strongly urge you to add this coverage to your policy if you do not already have it.

Business Auto Liability

You should know that most insurance carriers offer up to $1,000,000 of business auto liability and uninsured motorist.  If you or one of your employees driving a covered vehicle are ever responsible for a serious auto accident, you want to be certain that your business has as much liability and uninsured motorist protection as possible so to protect your business assets.  If you would like a quote to increase these important coverages, please contact us and we will be happy to help you.

Ordinance or Law, Demolition, Debris Removal

Most property policies provide a limited amount of coverage for Ordinance or Law, Demolition, and Debris removal.  Ordinance or Law provides coverage if your City or Town requires a higher standard of construction after a loss occurs.  Demolition coverage provides funds to knock down the portion of the building that remains after a loss and Debris removal provides coverage to remove the portion of the building still remaining along with the debris of the damaged portion of the building.

Business Personal Property

You can purchase coverage for your business personal property under most business policies.  You should carry enough coverage to replace your property at 100% of its replacement cost.  We would be happy to review your business personal property limit with you.

Tenant Improvements

If you rent or lease you should know that any improvements you make to your space are not automatically covered by your insurance. And damage you or your employees cause to the space is not covered either. Coverage for these exposures can be added to most property policies.

Replacement Cost Coverage

One coverage you can add to your business policy is Replacement Cost Contents (RCC). In the event of a covered loss to your business personal property, RCC eliminates depreciation. Without RCC, your claim would be settled based on the depreciated value of your property at the time of the loss. Our agents can assist you with any questions you might have about Replacement Cost Coverage.

Employee Practices Liability

This important coverage protects you if you are sued for harassment, discrimination,  or wrongful termination.  None of your other policies cover this exposure automatically so it is necessary to purchase a separate policy.  Please contact us for more information about Employment Practices Liability Insurance.  We would be happy to put together a quote for your consideration.

If your business were to suffer from a covered catastrophic loss, there would likely be a loss of business income.  For example, if there were a major fire that destroyed your business facility, would cash flow slow down or cease entirely?  If the answer is yes then you should add this important coverage to your policy. Let our agents assist you with determining the amount coverage you need at a price that is affordable to you.

If you provide employee benefits to your employees, this coverage is a must.  It is a separate rider that must be added to your general liability policy as it is not automatically provided.  This coverage provides protection should you neglect to add an employee or a dependent to an employee benefit program, they have an uncovered claim, and you are sued as a result.  Call us if you'd like to discuss this in more detail.

Every business has its own set of exposures that must be determined and underwritten.  There are so many variations to general liability they cannot all be addressed in this section.  However, we would like to let you know that general liability does not cover losses related to harassment, discrimination, wrongful termination, employee benefits, and other types of occurrences, nor is there professional liability, Directors & Officers, or fiduciary liability protection under a general liability policy.  Because of the many variations of general liability insurance, we encourage you to contact our office to discuss your specific business activities.  Please note that most insurance carriers offer general liability limits of up to $1,000,000 under most policies.

Many folks don't realize that an earthquake fault runs through Maine.  And most business insurance policies exclude loss caused by earthquake but coverage can be added by endorsement.  Loss from flood is also excluded under most business policies.  If you would like information on how to insure your business for losses caused by earthquake or flood, please contact our office.

An umbrella liability policy provides you with a higher limit of liability over and above your general liability, business auto liability, and employers liability.  Limits of liability can go to $10,000,000 and higher.

Broadening Endorsements

There are a variety of broadening endorsements that are offered by various insurance carriers.  Usually several coverages are packaged together in an endorsement and offered at a modest price.  Broadening endorsements are not added automatically and must be requested by our clients.  Please contact us if you would like more information about the broadening endorsements that are offered by your insurance carrier.