Why Is Your Insurance Broker So Important When You Invest In Real Estate?

The insurance broker is an essential part of the team you assemble when you purchase your real estate property. You must look for an experienced professional who strives to find personalized options for your business or investment. What you don’t want is someone who is just interested in selling you the most expensive policy and collecting premiums.

A broker with years of experience can offer coverage pertaining to certain laws and requirements that clients are probably unaware of. For example, in Napa, California, all new single-family homes are required to have interior fire-retarding sprinkler systems installed. With this requirement in place, a policy providing only replacement coverage would be inadequate. A broker in that area would be familiar with such a requirement and would advise his clients to consider coverage for an increased cost of construction in the event of damage. This way, if the home is ever damaged and needs to be rebuilt, the required installation of the sprinkler system will be covered by the insurance.

Brokers can also advise clients on other types of coverage that are commonly overlooked. One example is the non-owned and hired auto coverage. If you have an employee that is making a delivery or deposit for your business in their own car and gets into an accident, you could be held liable if attorneys find out that the employee was on an errand for your business. The non-owned and hired auto policy would cover your defense costs and claims in this type of suit.

If you own a business and have just one employee, your broker may also suggest that you consider employment practices liability, which would cover any claims of wrongful termination, discriminatory actions, or sexual harassment filed against you. Whether these claims are legitimate or not, it still offers peace of mind should a lawsuit be filed. If you have an employee that handles large amounts of money for you, consider insurance that covers employee dishonestly, including embezzlement or theft.

Finding an insurance broker you trust can help you ensure you will be fully covered. The benefit of having a broker’s advice is that your insurance coverage can be custom tailored to your needs.