Insurance Packages & Property Coverage for Every Industry

As a business owner, you have invested a great deal of time, energy, and money into establishing and growing your own brand. It takes commitment and patience to gain traction in your community and finally reap the rewards from all of your hard work. With so many risks facing business owners, you never want to risk hurting or losing your investment due to a loss. Physical hazards such as fires, flooding, or mechanical failure threaten your current location and equipment and could cost thousands of dollars to repair or replace. Liability risks are ever-present with any industry whether due to employee or owner negligence through the course of operations, from marketing to human resources to recordkeeping.

Covering all of these potential threats may feel cumbersome, which is why our team of licensed commercial insurance professionals is here to support you. At Nicholson & Associates, we understand how far-reaching the risks can be in running any business, and we have the tools and expertise to keep you protected at every turn. Through our top-rated insurance carriers, we are able to offer property coverage for office equipment, commercial vehicles, renovations, and everything in between that you use to keep your business running smoothly. We also provide comprehensive commercial packages that incorporate a range of coverages so you can seamlessly get all the protection you need through one easy policy.

Builders Risk

All of the homes, offices, stores, and apartment complexes in our community started from a simple architectural plan. A team of professionals all came together to design, plan, and develop every inch of our residential and business community. As a commercial builder, you know that successfully completing a new build requires professionals from many different industries, such as engineering, plumbing, electrical, and anything in between. Builders Risk Insurance can offer the coverage you need during the construction phases so that you can focus on executing the project to the highest standards, no matter what is thrown your way.

Builders Risk Insurance, also called Course of Construction Insurance, protects the materials and building elements as the home or commercial space is being constructed. Unlike a standard commercial or residential policy, a half-constructed building is exposed to many unique hazards as it is being developed. Equipment may need to be left on a job site along with materials, which are potentially exposed to theft. Additionally, you can opt for coverage for liability associated with marketing, loss of income, or delays in completing the project. Builders Risk is an essential coverage for any construction project to make sure you are covered in case there are any bumps along the way.

Business Auto Insurance

Cars are essential to most business operations. Without vehicles, much of the commercial life we know today would not exist, and it would be challenging to accomplish routine tasks such as transporting goods, commuting to meetings, and running errands. Unfortunately, with so many drivers on the road, car accidents are increasingly common and leave businesses with potential damages on the road. Business Auto Insurance protects against unexpected damages or injuries caused by your business's vehicles.

Traditionally, Business Auto Insurance covers vehicles owned by the business that are used for commercial purposes and gives you the ability to cover physical damages to your vehicles. You have the option to cover the cars themselves in case of damage either while they are being driven or parked on your lot. You can also opt for Hired and Non-Owned Auto coverage to protect yourself or your employees while they are driving rented vehicles or their own cars for business purposes. By carrying coverage for any vehicles used for the business, you can safeguard your business and make sure physical damages in car accidents can be properly covered.

Business Owners Policy

For many business owners, there are some common similar exposures that you face. It can be cumbersome or perhaps more costly to obtain the right coverage through multiple insurance carriers. With a Business Owners Policy, you can have most or all of your insurance needs covered under one simple policy. This policy primarily combines both liability and property coverage in a single policy so you can easily protect your business against multiple risks. It often includes important coverages such as General Liability, Cyber Liability, Business Personal Property, Building Coverage or Tenants Improvements and Betterments, Business Income, and more.

No two companies are exactly alike, which is why we still take the time to fully understand your business. A Business Owners Policy often can protect you against the major risks, but there may be some unique elements that don't quite fit into the basic policy. Our commercial insurance agents understand these critical details that set your business apart. Together we can review your full operations and identify potential exposures to fill in any gaps with custom-added coverage options or even supplemental commercial coverage to keep your business fully covered. With a customized Business Owners Policy, you can seamlessly protect yourself, your staff, your customers, and your business.

Commercial Package Policy

Even businesses in the same industry may be vastly different from each other. Finding the right coverage for your business can be tricky and may require a range of coverages to fully protect your company. A Commercial Package Policy gives you greater control and ease of protection by combining essential Liability and Property coverage under one policy. Unlike a Business Owners Policy, a Commercial Package Policy can be tailored even more to a range of businesses and doesn't face the same industry restrictions or coverage limitations. This makes it a great alternative for certain business owners in more complex industries.

A Commercial Package Policy will often start with the basic essential coverage options, such as General Liability and Business Personal Property. From here, you can select the additional coverages necessary for your specific business. Our commercial insurance agents work alongside you to understand your operations and determine the risks involved so you can secure the right protection. Additional coverage options can vary depending on your individual needs, but the most common ones include Equipment Breakdown, Pollution Liability, Inland Marine Coverage, and Employment Practices Liability. Opting for a customized insurance policy like a Commercial Package Policy is a great way to obtain all of the essential coverage you need under one comprehensive policy.

Commercial Property Insurance

No matter the business, every single one requires some sort of space, equipment, and tools. Depending on the industry, you may even have inventory on hand or materials for manufacturing. If your commercial space burned down and you lost everything inside, it would likely be costly to get it back to the way it was before. Commercial Property Insurance protects the physical assets of your business against sudden physical losses so you can rebuild, repair, or replace whatever you need to get up and running again. The causes of loss can vary, though the most common include fire, burglary, theft, wind, and lightning, to name a few.

In the event of one of these losses or another sudden covered loss, Commercial Property Insurance can cover damaged or destroyed physical property. It often is used to cover the building if you own it and can protect the tools, equipment, inventory, or other business property you use to stay operational. Additionally, it also covers Business Income so you can maintain financial security after a loss if your space is unusable for a period of time. This coverage can make a huge difference in reopening your business after a loss. By carrying Commercial Property Insurance, you can protect your physical assets even in the worst-case scenario.

Crop Hail Coverage

The Pacific Northwest is fortunate to have such lush conditions to promote successful agriculture. Unfortunately, our local farms still face many challenges, including inclement weather such as hail. One storm can easily wipe out an entire season's harvest, which makes hail damage one of the most serious risks to farming operations. Crop Hail Coverage protects your farm income in the event your crops are destroyed due to hail damage. Depending on your policy, this coverage can also cover losses caused by other perils such as fire, wind, lightning, and malicious mischief. Based on your needs, our commercial insurance agents can find the right policy to cover the exposures of your agricultural operation so you can have peace of mind even in the face of disaster.

It is important to note that Crop Hail Coverage is different from Crop Insurance. Crop Insurance is a federal insurance option available to cover farms in the event of major crises like drought and disease. These exposures are not included in a Crop Hail policy, so it is important to secure the right coverage based on your unique conditions and challenges. As a farm owner, you can absolutely opt to carry both insurance coverages to fully protect yourself against potential exposures. Our commercial insurance agents can help you understand the differences between these policies and ensure that any potential gaps are covered.

Farm & Ranch Insurance

With such exceptional weather conditions and spacious land, agriculture is flourishing in the Pacific Northwest. Whether you are a casual part-time hobby farmer or a full-on agricultural operation, there are unique risks you will want to consider. Farm and Ranch Insurance provides the perfect blend of personal and commercial coverage for every farm owner so you can protect most to all of your needs under one policy. This policy protects your personal home and personal belongings as well as all of your farm buildings and farm equipment so you can easily obtain essential coverage in one simple place.

In addition to covering your physical property, Farm and Ranch Insurance comes with options to protect your farm income and living expenses if your farm is damaged or destroyed by a covered loss. Many farm owners rely on the revenue generated from their daily operations, and if something disrupts this, it could mean financial trouble. Farm and Ranch Insurance mitigates this issue by protecting lost income and covering additional living expenses if your farm is out of commission during repairs or rebuilds after a loss. This helps keep you afloat until you can get back to your agricultural passion.

Inland Marine Insurance

Many business owners rely on products, materials, or ingredients to stay operational. These essential items may need to be moved, shipped, or transported at some point during your operations, and it is important to make sure they are properly covered under those circumstances. Inland Marine Insurance covers tangible property and goods used in your business while they are in transit as well as when they are being used or presented offsite. This is a common coverage for businesses that sell at trade shows or other events to promote their brand and products. Inland Marine Insurance is essential for businesses that have any tools, equipment, products, or materials that are being transported in some way to make sure you don't have to come out of pocket if they are destroyed en route.

Inland Marine Insurance helps supplement property coverage if any of your physical assets are portable. Standard Business Personal Property coverage and Tools and Equipment coverage often come with limitations based on location, so your items may not be covered if you are taking them off-premises often. Depending on your operations, physical hazards may be just as present or more common away from your business location. Common causes of loss that are covered include theft and damage from fire, wind, hail, or water. By carrying Inland Marine Insurance, you can quickly recover from a physical loss to mobile items.

Landlord Package

As a landlord, you face many unique challenges and risks. Leasing out your space commercially or residentially requires a great deal of trust in your tenants and anyone involved in managing the property. A Landlord Package can ease the stress of potential risks by covering losses caused by tenants, contractors, or sudden unexpected physical disasters. This policy pays for the loss of rents after a covered loss and can protect you in a legal dispute regarding your rental activities. While you may be diligent in choosing honest and ethical tenants and contractors, miscommunication can easily arise and result in a lawsuit, whether justified or groundless. Carrying a Landlord Package can keep you properly protected during the normal course of your leasing operations for both commercial and residential properties.

Another important element of a Landlord Package is physical damage and loss of income. This policy covers physical losses to your property including fire, lightning, wind, and hail so you can repair or rebuild the space. During this phase, a leased space may not be livable or workable for your tenants, which could mean a loss of rental income for you. With a Landlord Package, you can continue to receive income while your property is being worked on to remove the financial impact of a physical loss.

Ocean Marine Insurance

On both the national and international scale, so many of the products we use are brought to us overseas. From raw materials to manufactured goods, many companies rely on ships to transport cargo to buyers or resellers. Ocean Marine Insurance safeguards these items while they are being transported across the ocean by ship. Considering the many potential risks present on a sea voyage, this coverage is essential for any business that is transporting physical property overseas.

Ocean Marine Insurance not only covers the cargo itself, but can also protect the vessels being used for transportation and associated liability. An important consideration is that anyone with an insurable interest in the property or transporting vessel can purchase Ocean Marine Insurance to protect their investment. This means you do not have to specifically own the watercraft or goods being shipped. Ocean Marine Insurance is comprehensive and flexible in this way by covering many potential exposures and ensuring that negligence or physical losses don't financially impact you.

Public Entity Programs

Our local communities are built upon many public programs and services, including road maintenance, parks and recreation, fire protection services, and education. As a public entity, you face a multitude of exposures that threaten the livelihood of your essential services. Public Entity Program coverage can mitigate this risk by protecting your interests and safeguarding against the hazards that are present to your organization. This coverage often focuses on liability risks and covers public entities in the event they accidentally cause injury or damage to others.

Since public entities can be quite diverse, it is important to understand the unique risks posed to your organization. Our commercial insurance agents are well-versed in common and individual exposures facing a range of public entity programs, and are here to help you find the right coverage. Honing in on these nuisances allows us to provide the proper protection for your organization, management team, and often your board of directors to keep everyone covered in case of negligence or a lawsuit situation.

Trucking Insurance

Without commercial truckers and trucking companies, many of the goods we rely on wouldn't be available in our communities. A trucking operation comes with great privilege as well as great risk. Trucking Insurance covers a wide range of exposures facing your business, your commercial vehicles, and your dedicated truck drivers so you can have peace of mind every step of the way. This coverage is designed to meet the needs of most every trucking company and often includes a combination of both liability and property protection to seamlessly cover every element of your operation. Commercial Auto coverage is an essential part of Trucking Insurance and provides protection for negligence on the road as well as physical damage to your trucking vehicles. With accidents on the rise and the damage potential of commercial trucks, this is a critical coverage to carry with any trucking enterprise.

Additionally, Trucking Insurance protects against potential liability off-road with Non-Trucking Liability and General Liability. This helps cover your business in the event someone is injured or their property is damaged due to a non-vehicle related incident. Your drivers can be covered even if they are not under dispatch, which can help expand your protection and cover negligent acts. Trucking Insurance truly has every option you need to keep your trucking operation running smoothly even in the event of a loss.

Workers Compensation

As much as we all strive to keep our employees safe, accidents and illnesses on the job can still happen. Workers Compensation helps protect not only your employees but also your business in the event one of your workers becomes hurt or sick at work. This coverage pays for medical expenses, lost wages, and rehabilitation costs for any employee that is accidentally hurt during the course of employment. It can also extend to temporary disability in the event your staff person is unable to work for a period of time after their injury, and even covers death benefits to families if an employee is killed on the job. Workers Compensation is essential in keeping your employees protected and helping them recover from a work-related illness or injury.

Workers Compensation is also a safeguard for business owners as well. Most injuries or accidents may seem unpreventable or incidental, but it could be discovered that employer negligence is the root cause. In the event your business is found liable for your employee's injuries or illness, Workers Compensation can protect you against lawsuits and ensure you have the necessary coverage to continue your operations. Workers Compensation is a mandatory coverage for good reason; it is essential in protecting your staff and your business in the event of an unexpected or preventable accident or injury.