Will my insurance cover my shade sail? It’s a question that comes up regularly, so here’s a guide to help you understand your business insurance and shade sails. We understand it’s time-consuming and confusing trying to deal with insurance and we can give some general advice. There is a huge variety of policies around, so for detailed information specific to your policy, it’s best to contact your insurance provider.
Which policies cover shade sails?
Your business insurance policies are not as complicated as they look when it comes to your shade sail. At home, insurance companies divide things into the separate categories building and contents. Most business insurers, however, have the building and contents together and have a separate category for the stock you’re selling instead. These policies are usually called commercial property insurance, or business building and contents insurance. These policies can apply if you work from home as well, but there can be exclusions, so ask your provider about home-based business insurance options.
When is the shade sail covered?
As a business, you probably need several different insurance policies and insurance companies often pack policies together for more comprehensive cover. But when you’re looking for specific information for your shade sail it can be difficult to find. Start by going through the defined insured events in your policy, look for any exclusions or conditions for shade sails. For example, CPU will not cover the loss or damage to shade cloth in the event of a storm but AAMI will cover shade sails (grouped with other miscellaneous outdoor structures) in storms with a capped payout of up to $25,000 for a single incident. Where your policy doesn’t list shade sails it generally means that your sail is insured in any event the policy covers. For example, if the policy included vandalism or malicious damage cover and someone graffitied the sail you’d be able to make a claim.
Be aware of the insured events you are covered for, business insurance policies often split up insured events. To get coverage for all the events you want you may need to add an extra or upgrade your policy. Allianz separates material damage and theft, so if for example, a burglar does damage to your property while attempting to steal from your business, even if they don’t take anything you couldn’t make a claim under material damages, you would need theft cover to make a claim.
But what if the commercial space is rented?
In the event that the shade sail on your rented premises is damaged, who is responsible for insurance? You and your landlord should both have commercial insurance policies and who has to pay for the repair or replacement of the shade sail comes down to your lease agreement. Your lease should spell out clearly who is responsible for the building, external or common area fixtures, equipment, and maintenance.
If you have installed your shade sail since you’ve been renting the premises, your lease should have a section on modifications and improvements which can tell you who is responsible. For example, if the lease stated that any improvements had to be approved by the landlord and would become a part of the property and were not to be removed at the end of your tenancy, the landlord and their insurance would be responsible for any repairs or replacements.
Is a shade sail signage or advertising?
You might have seen your insurer offering optional extra cover for the replacement of signage or advertising. Generally, these policies are an extension on broken window cover and only refer to the replacement of glass or perspex windows that have been printed on. Other signage or advertising material usually falls under general business building and contents insurance. Even if your shade sail has been printed on or branded it would not generally be considered signage or advertising by your insurance company.
Insurance repairs and replacements with Commercial Shade Sails
If your shade sail has hail, wind, storm or fire damage and is covered by your insurance policy we can help. Commercial Shade Sails can provide an insurance quote to replace your shade sail. Our expert shade sail fabrication team are committed to delivering insurance replacements quickly and within your budget.
Our superior quality shade sails are designed for the unpredictable Australian weather. We combine hard-wearing fabric and high-strength, marine-grade stainless steel fittings and perimeter cables so our shade sails are resilient, stable and long-lasting. With our unrivalled 10-year warranty on the fabric and stitching, your insurance replacement is in safe hands with Commercial Shade Sails.