Empty the business into the parking lot. What does it cost to buy it all again tomorrow?
Commercial · Updated September 2026
Ask what it would cost to buy everything again tomorrow: computers, monitors, phones, furniture, shelving, inventory, machinery, hand tools, power tools, signage, point-of-sale equipment, security systems, fixtures, and every improvement you made to a space you lease.
Tenant improvements are the most commonly missed. The flooring, the partition walls, the electrical work, the built-in counter — if you paid for it in a leased space, insuring it is your responsibility, not the landlord's.
Most owners land at two to four times their first guess.
The same distinction that matters on a homeowners policy matters more here, because business equipment depreciates on paper far faster than it does in reality.
A ten-year-old commercial mixer, lathe or lift may have little used value and still cost a great deal to replace with a working equivalent. Under actual cash value, the settlement reflects the depreciated figure and you fund the difference at exactly the moment cash is tight.
Replacement cost coverage is worth the premium difference for most operating businesses. Confirm which basis your policy uses — it is on the declarations page and it is frequently not what the owner assumed.
This is the question that catches contractors. A contractor with a hundred thousand dollars of business property coverage assumes his equipment is insured. His eighteen-thousand-dollar skid steer attachment is stolen off a job site, and the claim runs into a problem: commercial property coverage is generally tied to the described premises.
Property that travels — tools, equipment, materials in transit, equipment at job sites, rented or borrowed equipment — belongs on an inland marine policy, often called contractors equipment coverage. It covers property on the move and away from your location, which is where a contractor's property actually lives.
Scheduled equipment lists specific items over a threshold value; unscheduled or blanket coverage handles the general tool inventory up to a per-item and total limit. Get the thresholds right, because a two-thousand-dollar per-item limit does nothing for a twelve-thousand-dollar laser level.
Contractors installing materials into a project have another gap: materials purchased and delivered but not yet installed, and not yet the property owner's responsibility. An installation floater covers that window.
Similarly, property in transit — materials in the back of the truck between the supply house and the job — is generally not covered by either the commercial property policy or the auto policy.
Equipment lists go stale. New purchases are not automatically covered above blanket limits, and equipment sold years ago is still being rated. Update the schedule annually, keep serial numbers and photographs, and send us receipts for major purchases as they happen.
A current schedule with serial numbers also makes a theft claim dramatically easier to settle, and gives police something to work with.
Generally not under standard commercial property coverage, which is tied to your described premises. Tools and equipment away from your location need inland marine, often called contractors equipment coverage.
Enough to replace everything you own, including tenant improvements you paid for in a leased space. Most owners underestimate by a factor of two or more.
For most operating businesses, replacement cost. Equipment depreciates on paper much faster than it does in usefulness, and ACV settlements leave a gap exactly when cash is tight.
Usually only if the policy is written to include rented or borrowed equipment. Rental agreements typically make you responsible for damage, so this is worth checking before you sign one.
Property in transit is generally not covered by your commercial property or auto policy. Inland marine coverage handles it.
Questions about your own situation? Call 417.623.8300 or send us your current policy. We are licensed in Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma.
Questions about your own policy? Send it over and we will go through it with you.