For the Bed & Breakfast or Country Inn Innkeeper

Additional Coverages Should Be Purchased With a Typical Commercial / Business Policy

I. Personal Property: A business policy is designed to cover business property. Without the proper endorsement, your personal belongings (clothing, items contained in your personal quarter, etc.) are not covered.

II. Personal Liability: A business policy was designed to cover a business - there is no personal liability coverage. Endorse personal liability coverage onto your policy to provide coverage for you and all resident relatives in the event you are sued for a non-business event (for example, while on vacation, you were playing golf and accidentally hit someone in the head with a golf ball).

III. Property Off Premises or in Transit: Make sure you have an endorsement to cover your property (business and personal) while it is away from your premises at another location or in transit (i.e. in your car, on a plane, at the airport), for instance, the items you take with you on your vacation. Be aware, there is usually no property coverage for your items while they are being displayed at a fair or exhibit.

IV. Loss of Use: A homeowners policy provides loss of use. In the event of a loss wherein you cannot live in your home, you will be provided the funds to obtain a place to live plus additional living expenses. A business policy does not provide loss of use coverage without a specific endorsement.

V. Loss of Income/Extra Expense: Loss of income coverage reimburses your lost income if you cannot operate due to a covered loss. Be careful with loss of income coverages as it is written on varying forms. The best loss of income form is "unlimited loss sustained". There are other forms that give you a certain percentage of your income each month up to an aggregate limit. Extra expense is a coverage which coincides with loss of income coverage and should be endorsed onto your policy. Be aware of coinsurance, find out if there is a coinsurance limit on the Loss of Income portion of your policy.

You may also wish to purchase Extended Business Income which comes into play after the property has been repaired, rebuilt or replaced and operations have resumed. The coverage will pay additional loss of income to help you get back on your feet during those first few months after you have reopened.

VI. Mechanical Breakdown: Mechanical Breakdown provides coverage for any mechanical equipment should it cease to operate for any reason (overheating, cracking, broken parts) other than old age. It will also cover steam boiler explosion which is excluded in all other policies.

VII. Spoilage Coverage: If you have a restaurant, you may wish to obtain spoilage coverage in the event there is a loss and your food begins to spoil.

VIII. Guest's Property: You should obtain an endorsement which will specifically cover your guests' property should it be damaged or stolen. A standard liability policy does not cover guest property - guest property coverage must be added by endorsement. The endorsement, however, raises the issue of legal liability and who actually has responsibility for the protection of guests' property. This would not be a "cut and dry" claim situation and you and your guest may not be satisfied with the results. Discuss this coverage with your agent.

IX. Crime Coverage: There is coverage available to reimburse you should your receipts (cash) be stolen or mysteriously disappear.

X. Off-Premises Power Failure: If you have a disruption of power due to a covered loss, you have no coverage without this endorsement. Likewise, you will receive no loss of income reimbursement (provided you have loss of income coverage) for an off premises power failure without this endorsement. Some off-premises endorsements will only come into play if the power loss is within 100 feet of your property. Determine which type of off-premises endorsement you have on your policy to make sure it is the most comprehensive available. Ask your agent to place on your policy the endorsement that will cover all types of power, water, and communication disruption regardless of where the loss occurred, and will include over-head transmission lines (for example, lines are down a mile away because of an ice storm) and not the more limiting endorsement on the market. Be aware, many off-premises power failure endorsements have a waiting period before coverage will be enacted. For instance, if your policy has a 72 hour waiting period, coverage will not go into effect unless your power is off for more than 72 hours. Be careful what you buy; try to obtain this endorsement with no waiting period.

XI. Accidental Breakage of Fragile Articles: Most policies do not automatically offer this; the fragile items must be specifically scheduled for accidental breakage. Examples of fragile articles would be mirrors, china, crystal, clocks, etc.

XII. Sign Coverage: You may have to specifically list your sign in order to have coverage. Ask your agent if there are any sign limitations on your policy.

XIII. Jewelry, Furs, Camera Equipment, Artwork, Gun Collections, Outdoor Structures (i.e.fences): Coverages for these types of items is usually limited. Check with your agent to determine what your policy offers; you may need to schedule these items.

XIV. Ordinance or Law Coverage: In some cases, should you have a partial loss to your building, your municipality may require you to demolish the existing undamaged portion and rebuild the entire building according to current ordinances (for example, fire codes or the ADA act). Without this endorsement, you will have no coverage available in order to demolish and rebuild; you will only have coverage to demolish the damaged portion and rebuild with like kind and quality. In other cases, after a partial loss, you may be required to bring not only the damaged portion of the building up to current code but, also, to make the changes to the undamaged portions of the building. Without this endorsement, you will have no coverage to complete any on the undamaged portion of the building.

XV. Liquor Liability: This is very simple: if you charge a fee for alcohol, you must have a Liquor Liability policy. However, the issue becomes complicated when you do not charge a fee for alcohol, but have alcohol available for your guests' consumption. The insurance policy excludes liquor liability coverage if you are in the business of "manufacturing, distributing, selling, serving or furnishing alcoholic beverages." Are you in the business of serving or furnishing alcoholic beverages - some Insurance companies say "yes," some say "no". Find out the position your company is taking and get it in writing from the company (not the agent) on company stationary.

XVI. Non-Owned Coverage: If an employee performs errands for you in their personal vehicle (for example, going to the Post Office, the Bank, the Grocery Store) and causes an automobile accident, you may be held liable as the employee is conduction company business.

In the event your employee caused an automobile accident and a third party was involved, the employee's injuries would be covered under your Workers Compensation policy and the damage to the employee's vehicle would be covered under the employee's personal auto policy. However, there is no coverage under your policy for any property damage or bodily injury to the third party. Non-Owned coverage would protect you in the event you are sued by the third party.

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