Ever thought about debris removal costs?

An often overlooked, but important, part of the property coverage in every business insurance policy is coverage devoted to debris removal. Most business owners, and insurance agents for that matter, tend to take this part for granted, without giving any real thought to the coverage and it's potential importance should a claim occur requiring it's implementation. If a major property loss occurs, there often tends to be a large amount of debris. The more debris from the loss, the cost to remove it increases. This doesn't take into account costs associated with types of debris removal. If the insured is in an old building, there may be hazardous material that needs to be removed, possibly asbestos, which would further drive up the cost of removal. It's important to remember that in most policy forms the coverage limit for debris removal is part of, not in addition to, the overall limit for covered property. If you don't take this into consideration when setting up coverage you may find yourself with insufficient limits in the event of a major loss. Consider the cost of debris removal when establishing your limits at the beginning. Some factors to take into consideration are age of the building, proximity to other buildings, type of structure and materials used in it's construction, and possible existence of any hazardous materials. There isn't a one size fits all approach to this, but one possibility is to ask a local contractor to provide an estimate, assuming a total loss. This value can then be increased or decreased each year like other insured values.