Property Insurance

Types of property policies include personal dwellings, commercial property and inland marine (movable property). There are three coverage forms: basic, broad and special:

Commercial Property

Property Insurance protects the location of your business, including home-based business, against damage resulting from crime, fire or other peril (serious dangers/causes of loss). The purpose of property insurance for the small business is to provide critical financial assistance in the event of a loss, and to restore the business to its original state with as little disruption as possible.*

• The Basic form is a named peril, meaning it requires that the actual cause of possible losses be listed in the policy.


• The Broad form, contains the same causes as the Basic form, except the perils of vandalism is expanded, Braid forms also includes: falling objects, weight of snow, and water damage.


• The Special form is referred to as open perils because it does not list the covered loss, because all losses are covered minus specific exclusions.

Personal/dwelling

The Basic form insures against the following causes of loss:
Fire, lightening explosion, hail, riot, aircraft, vehicle, smoke, vandalism, and volcanic eruption.

The Broad form coverage expands the causes of loss insured under the basic form, it covers:
Burglary damage, falling objects, weight of ice, water damage, damage from electrical current and freezing.

*Resource: Insurance Information Institute