As a real estate professional, when you think of ‘property damage’ the first thing that might spring to mind is the damage that can occur to your client’s properties. But what you may not consider is that damage can also occur to your own real estate office and contents – which has the potential to be both expensive and disruptive for your business. Whether it’s glass damage, water damage or damage to equipment, you could be left footing the bill to fix or replace any issues if you don’t have adequate office insurance in place.
Be aware of the common risks facing your business
Some common claims for real estate offices and professionals include:
- Broken glass: Often caused by accidental damage or vandalism
- Water damage: Commonly due to severe weather or leaking pipes on your property
- Damage to laptops and mobiles: Usually accidental, and occurring away from the office
It pays to minimise the risks
A smart first step is to minimise and manage the risk of property damage, so we’ve compiled some helpful strategies:
- Prevent vandalism
Help deter vandals and make it as unappealing as possible for them to vandalise your premises by:- Installing bright security lights and security cameras outside of your property
- Strategically placing plants and bushes to make it more difficult for vandals to reach their targets
- Cleaning up vandalism as soon as you see it to deter imitators
- Have a flood/water damage mitigation plan
While you can’t stop Mother Nature, there are things you can do to minimise the impact of a flood to your building:- Keep up to speed with Bureau of Meteorology alerts (especially if your office is in a high risk flood area)
- Avoid storing high value contents in below-ground areas
- Have a plan which details what you would need to do to get your business back up and running in the event of a flood/water damage
- Protect mobile equipment properly to avoid damage
- Transport laptops in individual, well cushioned bags
- Purchase durable cases for mobile phones – some of the latest cases claim to be shockproof even when dropped from distances
- Don’t leave a laptop/phone in a parked car during hot summer or cold winter conditions
- Don’t store water bottles/liquids in the same bag as the laptop/phone
Prepare for the risks, and protect with office insurance
Whether it’s caused accidentally or intentionally, property damage can have a big impact on the successful operation of your business. Being aware of the risks and implementing risk minimisation strategies sets a good foundation to protect yourself against the impact.
However, accidents and mistakes can always occur, so office insurance gives you a vital extra layer of protection by providing help with the costs associated with any damage, whether you own or rent the property. And that means you can continue to run your business and avoid financial loss in the face of any damages.
Aon is the approved insurance partner for EAC. You can now save on your premiums while protecting your own business through their professional indemnity and office contents insurance, while also look to grow your revenue through their Landlord insurance distributor program.
To learn more about minimising risk or to discuss your insurance coverage, please contact Aon’s Real Estate team on 1800 466 894.