Use dotted terms for definitions. You can also browse the glossary.
Before you decide
- Match each exposure to a coverage part rather than assuming a package covers everything.
- Rebuilding cost, purchase price and loan balance answer different questions.
- An exclusion or sublimit can matter more than the headline limit.
Five questions for each exposure
Start with who owns the asset, what could damage it, who could make a claim, how the business loses income and which expenses continue. This produces a usable insurance map before a product name enters the discussion. A duplex with furnished units and a detached garage has different scheduling questions from an unfurnished apartment building with retail space.
NAIC describes business packages as combinations of property, interruption and liability coverage. Its overview also identifies coverages commonly outside a basic package. Use that distinction to request the actual coverage parts; a bundle is not proof that every exposure has been transferred.
Build the map
| Exposure | Evidence to collect | Coverage question |
|---|---|---|
| Building and attached fixtures | Rebuilding estimate, systems and roof details | Valuation, covered causes, exclusions and ordinance/law |
| Owner furniture and equipment | Inventory and ownership records | Separate contents limit and settlement basis |
| Injury or damage to others | Entities, operations and premises | Insured parties, liability limits and defense |
| Unavailable rental income | Leases, rent roll and continuing expenses | Trigger, measurement and restoration period |
| Flood, earthquake or breakdown | Address and equipment information | Separate form or endorsement, if available |
Read causes and settlement separately
A broader covered-cause form still contains exclusions. A replacement-cost label still has limits, conditions and possible exceptions for a roof or other property. Write down both the event covered and the method of payment. Do not infer one from the other.
Keep lender requirements in a separate column. A lender accepting a certificate does not establish protection for every owner interest. Likewise, a purchase appraisal includes land and market factors; do not derive a building limit by simply subtracting an assumed land percentage.
Worked scenario: a furnished duplex
An owner lists the structure but forgets $18,000 of owned furniture and appliances. Instead of assuming the building limit includes all movable property, the owner sends a room-by-room inventory and asks where each item belongs. The partner identifies the relevant property definition, limit and valuation provision. The $18,000 is an illustrative inventory, not a recommended limit.
Then test a second event: a guest is injured while the building remains usable. That is a liability inquiry rather than a building-repair or lost-rent calculation. One address can create several independent coverage questions.
Keep a decision record
- Record coverage part, form/endorsement number and insured entity.
- Save limits, sublimits, deductibles and valuation assumptions.
- Mark unresolved exposures as unknown, with a named follow-up owner.
- Revisit the map when use, ownership, building condition or work changes.
Sources & scope
- NAIC: Small business insurance
General property, liability and package-policy definitions. Product eligibility and exclusions require the actual form.
- Travelers: Commercial property insurance
Carrier description of physical assets and optional exposures; not a universal unit-count eligibility boundary.
- Travelers: Landlord versus homeowners insurance
Carrier-specific explanation of property use and coverage differences; actual forms vary.
Sources checked October 24, 2026. General descriptions do not replace the policy, endorsements, declarations or an insurer’s coverage determination. Examples are hypothetical unless explicitly identified otherwise.
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