Crime Coverage
You can buy several types of coverage to protect your business from crime. Common crime coverages include:

• Loss of glass and money due to theft pays for damage to glass and any loss of money resulting from a break-in.
• Robbery and safe burglary, property other than money is a more limited form of coverage that does not include money or securities.
• Forgery or alteration protects your business against forgery or alteration of checks, drafts, promissory notes, or other directions to pay.
• Theft, disappearance, and destruction coverage insures money, securities, and other property against losses, both on your premises or in the custody of an employee or messenger while off premises.

A policy may pay losses from crime on either a “loss sustained” or “discovery” basis. Loss sustained coverage pays for losses that occur during the policy period, while discovery coverage pays for losses that occur at any time. Both types of crime coverage require that losses be discovered during the policy period or extended reporting period.

Flood Insurance
Some insurers may include flood coverage in their commercial property policies for areas with a low flood risk. However, most flood insurance in the United States is available only through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Some insurer may provide flood coverage as excess over the NFIP coverage.

To qualify for NFIP coverage, your business must be located within an NFIP-participating community. These communities have adopted federal building and floodplain management programs to reduce the likelihood of flood damage. “Special Flood Hazard Areas” are areas within NFIP communities that are at high risk for flooding. NFIP requires all structures within these areas to have flood insurance.

Note: More than a quarter of all floods in the United States occur in areas designated as low-to-moderate risk. You should consider flood insurance even if your business is outside a hazard area.

You can buy flood insurance through licensed insurance agents. For a list of agents selling flood insurance in your area, call NFIP

Windstorm and Hail Insurance along the Texas Coast
Insurers usually exclude windstorm coverage from commercial property policies for businesses in one of Texas’ 14 coastal counties or within certain areas of Harris County. If your business is in one of these areas, you will have to buy windstorm coverage through the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA).

TWIA is a “pool” of all property and casualty insurers authorized to write property coverage in Texas. The insurers share the claims risk for structures in areas with a high risk of windstorms. Buildings in these areas constructed, repaired, or remodeled prior to January 1, 1988, are automatically eligible for TWIA coverage. Those constructed, repaired, or remodeled after that date must pass a state inspection and receive a Certificate of Compliance (Form WPI-8) before TWIA can issue windstorm and hail coverage.

Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) inspectors will inspect your structure free of charge if you notify your local TDI Windstorm Inspection Office before beginning construction or repairs. The inspection will occur sometime during the course of the work. If you request a windstorm inspection after starting construction or repair work, you must hire a Texas-licensed professional engineer approved by the Commissioner of Insurance to inspect your building. You can get a list of approved professional engineers on the TDI website and at Windstorm Inspection Offices. For more information, call TDI’s Windstorm Inspection Division or visit our website




Authored by Texas Department of Insurance