It’s common for a commercial property management companies to require insurance certificates for tenants and work done by contractors. However, it’s also important to make sure you, on behalf of the property management, understand what’s covered in that certificate. Seeing your company’s name on the certificate does not guarantee insurance in every situation.
Consider the following possible situations that can arise from insurance claims, and you’ll realize why you should pay close attention to those insurance certificates:
Additional insurance issues
Sometimes, having your commercial property management company’s name listed with “additional insureds” is not enough. There are situations where there are additional requirements to truly being an additional insured, and may require another agreement or contract. Make sure to read the requirements for insurance claims before accepting insurance certificates from contractors or tenants.
Liability coverages
Make sure you know what the upper limits of liability the insurance certificate covers. If it only covers $1M in damages, and something with the contractor or tenant project goes wrong causing damage beyond that, you very well may be forced to cover the rest. This amount should be stated on the contract, so you should read this over in addition to insurance certificates.
Endorsements
Did you know that there are two types of endorsements when it comes to having a party verified as an additional insured? One endorsement is for operations while the tenant or contractor is still in the building, and the other is for when the tenant or contractor has left the building. Both endorsements are required to ensure complete coverage in regards to insurance certificates. Even though it’s a requirement, you generally have to ask for both endorsements from the insurance broker.
If your commercial property management company follows those guidelines, they are less likely to run into costly issues with insurance claims over insurance certificates. Always read everything thoroughly, and know the limitations and requirements.
Call Crockett for your property management needs.
This is where Crockett Facilities Services, Inc. (CFSI) can help. We service all types of HVAC equipment, including packaged terminal air conditioners (PTACs), air handling units (AHUs), rooftop units (RTUs), chillers, boilers, heat pumps and mission-critical computer room air conditioners (CRACs).
Over the years, we have fine-tuned and customized our preventive maintenance practices to ensure the best performance possible, extending the life of your HVAC equipment.
To learn more about winter building preparation, please contact us at 202.600.2787 or sales@crockett-facilities.com. Our PM contract customers receive priority service with 24/7 emergency service in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC.