Lessons Learned - Off-Premises Property

Your losses may not be covered

One lesson often learned very painfully is loss of property stored somewhere other than at your office premises. Be sure to keep your insurance broker advised if you move property, or if a client has not taken title to an expensive piece of equipment. These are the types of situations which should trigger your memory to call your insurance agent:

• Warehousing, even temporarily, of any valuable property
• Demo equipment at a client’s site (and you still own it)
• Equipment/property on approval for a lengthy period at a client site
• Property storage at any employee’s home
• Lending or rental of equipment (and you still own it)

Many insurers offer some nominal amount of “unscheduled location” coverage ($10,000 is customary). Often we are called for large theft or water losses from a location about which we were never advised. That location of loss is then deemed “unscheduled” and only the incidental value of $10,000 can be collected.Keep your agent in the loop.