The first rented site is the company coming of age – and the first place where two insurance worlds meet: the landlord's and the tenant's. A significant share of claims happen exactly in the no-man's-land between the two. This article helps draw that line.
- The building is typically the landlord's insurance's job – the furnishings, stock and tenant's fit-out are the tenant's.
- The lease agreement often explicitly requires cover – read the insurance clauses before signing.
- The tenant's liability for damage caused to the leased premises is a separate risk – that's what tenant's liability cover is for.
What's the landlord's, what's the tenant's?
The basic setup: the owner insures the building's structure and systems – the company's own world starts inside the walls: furniture, machines, IT, stock, and the tenant's fit-out (flooring, partition walls, cooling installed at the tenant's own cost). This last item is the one most often forgotten: it can represent significant value, and the owner's policy typically doesn't cover it. On the basics of your own property cover: premises property overview.
What does the lease agreement expect?
Lease agreements increasingly contain an insurance clause: they expect property and liability cover from the tenant, sometimes with set limits and a certificate of insurance. It's worth reviewing this before signing – it's harder to negotiate afterwards. On the routine of certificates of insurance: certificates of insurance for partners. And the reverse is true too: ask what the owner's policy covers – the answer prevents a lot of unpleasant surprises.
Tenant's liability
If the company's operations cause damage to the leased premises itself – an extension cord catching fire, a leaking dishwasher, damaged flooring – the owner or their insurer can claim it back from the tenant. That's what liability cover for leased property is for, which can be taken out as an extension to operational liability. A map of the liability world: liability overview.
The moving routine
When you change premises, there are three tasks: reporting the new address and values (change notification), the orderly closing of cover on the old site, and handling the overlap period – during the weeks of the move, there are assets in both places. If leasing ever turns into buying: buying your own property.
Want to go deeper?
This article is deliberately an overview: the detailed information – covers, exclusions, practical examples – lives on the area's own specialist site.
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