Business insurance provides financial protection from losses you cannot control. This includes vandalism to your landscape in many cases. However, there are limitations to how much coverage you have as well as when this type of coverage applies. If you are unsure about any type of incident, contact your agent. He or she can offer immediate help. Here’s what business owners in Massachusetts should know.
Vandalism and Business Insurance
Business insurance provides property coverage. It helps protect your property from losses you cannot control or avoid. Vandalism generally falls into this category.
Vandalism occurs when someone purposefully damages your property. This could include removing signs. It may include destroying lights or spray painting structures. It might even include breaking structures. Your policy covers damage to your insured property from most forms of vandalism.
You will need to file a police report. For large scale losses, the insurance company will pursue legal action against the party responsible. And, the police may charge those responsible with the losses. In short, you want to be sure it was vandalism before taking action.
What the policy covers depends on the terms listed. In most cases, you need coverage applicable to your property. This includes damage to the structure and other features. However, some policies exclude landscaping and parking lots. Again, this depends on what your policy offers.
What Steps Should You Take?
First, document what happened. Gather information available from the incident. Do not clean it up just yet. You need to report the incident to the police. They will work to gather evidence from the events. And, then, they will work to find out who did it, if possible.
Your insurance agent also needs to see this information. They need to see the damage. They also then need to see the police report. If your policy covers the damage, the agent will provide you with steps to take. This includes removing the damage, cleaning it up, and making repairs.
Keep in mind that most policies do not cover things like people backing into your mulch or someone running over the grass on your lot. And, you are likely to have to pay a deductible as well. This may limit the benefit of filing a claim.
The more information you have, the better. Most of the time, your business insurance agent works closely with you to complete your claim. And, if your policy does not offer coverage, they will let you know this. There is no harm in contacting your agent.