Reasons Why A COI is Important to Commercial Real Estate Agencies and Tenants Alike

Whether you’re the property owner, the tenant, or the agent, the real estate industry benefits well from having a certificate of insurance (COI). Because like any type of insurance, those involved are given the protection they need from any emergencies, accidents, or less predictable instances to come. But what specific advantages do these people get when they have a COI involved?

COIs have their own fair share of liabilities when it comes to claims. But because of the vast amount of claims that may arise from every lease or sale, this type of insurance is crucial. Here are some of the major claims that a COI can assist you with (once it’s included in the liabilities list)…

A good number of real estate properties are posted online for added market visibility. But although this is a quick and easy way to gather the attention of buyers and prospects, this may also lead you into advertising disputes. These disputes may include something about the company’s logo, tagline, theme, and other related advertising and copyright claims.

Physical injury, no matter how mild or fatal, is inevitable in any industry. Whether it’s an injured client or an employee who files a claim, your company will need to provide them with the necessary expenses if the injury happens in your business’ premises or if you have provided them with the service where the injury occurred. This is where general liability insurance comes in handy. Through this type of insurance, your business will be able to cover an injured person’s attorney’s fees, medical bills, funeral expenses (should the injury be fatal), court-ordered ruling. For employee injuries, your COI must have workers’ compensation insurance.

Another accountability that general liability insurance can cover are property loss and damages. This type of insurance is suitable for property repairs and replacements. It’s also a good solution for covering legal fees that you may incur during an accident or a thieving incident. Some of the other insurances related to different kinds of damages are cyber liability insurance (for the expenses for resolving cyberattacks, hacking, data breaches, and customer notification of the incident), commercial auto insurance (for resolving company/business vehicle issues such as weather damage, crashes, vandalism, and theft), and errors and omissions insurance (for covering fees incurred by lawsuits and other legal matters).

For the reason that we live in a world where lawsuits are just as inevitable as the accidents that produce them, it is very important to have all the documents needed to make sure your insurance covers these blowbacks. Legal expenses will rack up for as long as the proceedings are ongoing, making it a race to have insurance liabilities in place. To make sure your business is protected with the proper documents, it’s best to find an all-in-one system that effectively scans, reads, and stores all the important insurance certificates that can strengthen and support your claims. Keeping your records in place will remind you of every angle to look at during a lawsuit whether it’s dates of transactions to the names of those involved.

In the leasing industry, two insurances are among the most popularly used. These are liability and property insurances. Liability insurance covers mostly damages such as physical injuries, third-party properties, and operations damages, product damages, and advertising problems among many others. On the other hand, property insurance provides coverage for any damages to property from the insured’s personal property to the building owner’s real property. Repair costs to shoulder the damages are also covered by property insurance. Property insurance also comes in 3 forms: basic, broad, and special. Basic property insurance mostly entails fire and extended coverage. The coverage includes instances of fire, explosion, smoke, windstorm, lightning, hail, sinkhole collapse, volcanic eruption, riot, civil commotion, sprinkler leakage, vandalism, or damages caused by vehicles and aircraft. The broad property insurance covers the damages included in the basic form along with damage from the weight of snow or ice, water leaks, collapses, falling objects, and glass breakage among many others. The special form of property insurance covers damages caused by nuclear hazards, war and military action, movement of the earth, pollutants, water damages (flooding, seepage, or leakage), dishonest acts, boiler and machinery failure, boiler and machinery failure, faculty design or workmanship, wear and tear, lack of maintenance,  governmental action, ordinance or law, and utility services.

Having a highly-dependable COI tracker that lets you keep up with the requirements and demands of your business can help you save time, effort, and money that you will have to spend even with insurance. Book a demo with us today and experience seamless certificate tracking that only COI Tracker can provide!