Commercial Insurance

Contractors have unique insurance requirements. Many contractors qualify for a package type policy which means in addition to unique and specialized coverage, a contractor will receive extra coverage’s that fill in the gaps.  Package coverage generally includes commercial general liability, property coverage such as offices or shops, equipment greater than $5000 which is specifically listed on your policy with the declared value and serial number, and tools of any one item less than $5000.  Your tool value must reflect the maximum value of tools that may be off-site not just at your shop.

Surety bonding can be broken out into two major categories, commercial or license surety bonds and contract surety bonds

Commercial/Licence surety bonds are needed to qualify for a license in various industries, such as electricians or auto dealers. The commercial surety bond is a guarantee of compliance to licensing requirements, and is needed when applying to provincial authorities for a license.  At Cornerstone Insurance our surety experts have access to Canada’s leading surety companies and can usually provide same day service with your standard license bonds.

Contract surety bonds are for contractors who want to bid on projects where the project owner has requested bonding. Initially you must establish a bond facility with a surety company, once that is done you are able to obtain bid bonds, allowing you to include the bid bond with your project tender. Upon successful award of the project, you may be asked to provide a labour & material bond (or payment bond), as well as a performance bond. These bonds, sometimes collectively referred to as “ final bonds” guarantee faithful execution of the construction contract as awarded.

Cornerstone Insurance has a vast expertise in all areas of surety bonding, our experienced surety experts excel at helping our clients both secure and enhance their bond support.

In Saskatchewan, your license plate and registration provide basic protection for you and your vehicle.  The coverage provided by the license plate is a $200,000 liability limit and a $700, $500 or $2,500 physical damage deductible for your vehicle depending on the class of license plate.

Many vehicles are used for business, such as contractor operations or hauling goods and passengers for compensation.  It is important to consider purchasing an extension auto policy to provide additional coverage for your vehicle and its operations.  What your vehicle is used for, and class of license plate it requires may legally require you to carry increased liability limits, and possibly even cargo insurance.  With an auto policy, you can lower your collision and comprehensive deductibles, add Road Hazard glass coverage, wildlife waiver of the deductible, loss of use coverage, increase your liability limit and other valued coverage’s.  Availability of all coverage options varies depending on the vehicle’s use.

When it comes to insurance of your Retail Business it is important you carry liability insurance, this is to protect you if a third party such as your customers are injured or suffer property damage due to your business operations.  This liability would cover your defense cost and settlement made against you.  The second part of retail insurance would be your building, if you own it you will want to have it covered as well as any contents you have in the building as contents are not automatically covered with your commercial insurance policy as it is your home policy. Stock and equipment are other important items you must consider when insuring your operations.

For retail operations business interruption is a great coverage to have in place, this is used when your business suffers from an insurable loss and will replace any income that may have been lost or reduced due to the loss. Business Interruption coverage has both unlimited and limited coverage options.

Retail insurance is generally available on a package, which means there is additional coverage’s added to create a policy best suited for your business.

When it comes to office insurance it is important to carry liability insurance this coverage cover if you are found negligent for property damage or bodily injury to a third party – your client.  This coverage responds to your legal defense and settlements made against you. Next is property insurance, if you own your office building you will want to make sure it is properly covered. Unlike home insurance, your property insurance does not automatically include coverage for your office equipment and contents, items such as your photocopier to your favorite pen and is something that needs to be added. As a professional, you may be part of an association that provides professional liability insurance.  This is coverage for the decisions you make that affect your clients. However, the professional liability does not include coverage for your business assets or general liability exposures. Office insurance is often available on a package basis.  This means in addition to the important core coverage’s you will also get a ton of add-on coverage’s that can help in the event of a major loss to your business.

First, you will want to make sure you have the proper commercial liability in place – covering you for any property damage or bodily injury to a third party you are found negligent for.  Liability insurance for the food industry is critical, imagine if a customer was to become ill after consuming food for the restaurant or was injured due to being intoxicated and over-served. Next is the property, if you own the building you will want to insure the asset.  Unlike home insurance, your contents (stock & equipment) are not included with the building and that is something you must consider when putting the proper insurance in place. Restaurants are also exposed to food spoilage for example if your power is interrupted due to an insured loss you may suffer a loss of food products that aren’t kept cool or frozen.  Specialized coverage called equipment breakdown exists for the situation as such. And last business interruption coverage, this is used when your business suffers from an insurable loss and will replace any income that may have been lost or reduced due to the loss. Business Interruption coverage has both unlimited and limited coverage options.

If you are a small or large contractor operating in the oil and gas sector, contact Cornerstone Insurance today! We have the products to provide specific coverage tailored to your offered services to ensure that you are protected. Insurance requirements and coverage’s become very unique and specialized for each business and the operations that they perform in this industry. Some of the insurance coverage that a company may require include general liability, professional/errors and omission liability, and tool/equipment coverage. You may also require a commercial auto insurance policy to provide your vehicle with higher liability limits if it will be traveling to and from job sites.

If you are in the business of owning property, we have coverage for you as well. From apartment buildings, condo associations, commercial reality to buildings under construction, Cornerstone Insurance will be able to find the best offer.

As an apartment building owner, it is important to protect yourself against liability exposures from owning the property.  This would respond for legal defense costs and court settlements made against you as the owner of the property if a third party is injured or suffers damage to their property on the property premises.   Tenants should carry this important coverage as well, but their coverage will not protect you as the property owner.

Insurance can be purchased to cover various loss exposures to the apartment building.  This can also include sewer backup, overland water (flood coverage), equipment breakdown or business interruption coverage.  Business interruption coverage can replace your lost rental income if your property suffers an insured loss and your tenant(s) moves out.

Contents coverage would need to be added as well to cover items such as the appliances in each suite of the apartment building or recreational equipment in a fitness room. Coverage under a policy varies and can be customized to meet your needs.  Contact Cornerstone Insurance today to discuss your options.

A condo association has specific insurance needs that include two core types of coverage: property and liability.

The liability will respond if the condo association is responsible for bodily injury or property damage to a third party on the condo premises.  This also covers legal settlements the association must make.

The Condo Association is responsible for insuring the entire building, including the common areas such as hallways, stairs, roofs, pools, garages, and driveways, as well as rec rooms and gyms. Other property coverage to consider would be sewer backup, overland water (flood) and equipment breakdown coverage.

In addition, the condo association board should carry directors and officers liability coverage.  As board members, those unit owners sitting on the board have additional liability exposures as a result of their work on the board.  These exposures are addressed by this important extension of coverage.

Contact Cornerstone Insurance today for more information on insuring your condo association building.

Liability insurance is financial protection for your business in the event that your normal business operations or activities injure a third party or property.  For example, a customer slips in an aisle of your store and is injured or maybe the food or product you created for your customer caused some type of harm.   This liability would cover your defense cost and settlement made against you.  Putting a liability policy in place is simple; we need to know what your business entails, who your customers are and your gross revenue. Liability insurance can often be combined with your property insurance to create a business insurance package policy.

Business vehicles are utilized for different business uses.  Transporting commodities is a very common use.  Extension auto policies can be obtained to cover off any physical damage and liability for the vehicle, but when it comes to covering the commodities, cargo insurance is what you need.

This insurance provides coverage for physical loss or damage to the cargo (owned and non-owned) while in transit, being loaded or being unloaded.  Limits for cargo insurance are set by both by provincial regulation and by the value of the commodities transported.

Certain classes of Saskatchewan license plates legally require cargo insurance to be in place.  This includes, but is not limited to, class A plates.  Minimum limits are based on the registered gross vehicle weight.

Errors & Omission Insurance (E & O) is supplementary liability insurance that enhances professional businesses and their owners by safeguarding against a loss in the event of a lawsuit due to a negligent act, error and omission by the professional or company.  E & O insurance can also provide slander libel and breach of contract.  This coverage is most appropriate for anything that gives advice, makes educated recommendations, design solutions or represents the needs of others such as accountants, educators, engineers, consultants, real estate agents, physicians, etc.  Errors and omissions coverage kick in where your commercial general liability does not and provides coverage for contract performance disputes, service errors or any other professional liability issues. These policies are designed to cover the large legal defense costs that are incurred trying to prove liability or innocence.  This would also provide coverage for settlement on the final judgment.  There are many different forms of professional liability and multiple factors to consider when purchasing E & O coverage because there is not one standard policy that encompasses every professional.

This coverage is for any corporation, private or public company, association or not for profit organization that has a board of directors and officers.

Unlike commercial general liability, that provides coverage for claims arising from property damage and bodily injury, directors & officers (D&O) policy is specialized to provide coverage for a wrongful act, such as an actual or alleged error, omission, misleading statement, neglect or breach of duty committed by a director or officer of the board.

A D&O policy provides coverage for legal defence costs and indemnity coverage to the entity listed on the policy declarations which may include: Individual directors and officers; Reimbursement to the organization for a contractual obligation; Protection for the organization or entity itself.

Without this coverage, you are exposing your own personal assets to the decisions the board is making. No matter the size of board you sit on you are still exposed to litigation costs that could potentially arise from the decisions you are making as part of your work on the board.

The Manufacturing  business segment encompasses a vast variety of production from; food and beverages to steel and metal products ect.  With the various  types of manufacturing, a detailed evaluation of your business as a whole is required. A sample of typical coverage’s that would be required (but not limited to) are:

• Liability; inclusive of products liability – protection of property and or physical damage that may be caused by the business during production or as a result of described business operations
• Building, stock and equipment-insurance limits sufficient to cover your business and production equipment as well as the completed stock and materials
• Production machinery breakdown-  coverage for the production machinery in the event of a loss by an insured peril
• Business Interruption- insure the business income in the event of a loss by an insured peril

Family farming is becoming a thing of the past, more commonly being replaced with corporate farms.  Many insurance packages exist for insuring farms of any size, including Corporate Farms.  These packages are specially designed to meet farmers’ needs, of any size.  Property coverage to include could be dwellings, farm buildings, contents, tools, machinery, and equipment – just to name a few.  Other important coverage options for farm operations can include; voluntary firefighting insurance, grain, fertilizer and chemicals, and livestock.  Farmer’s General Liability is similar to other commercial liability, but specialized for the risk exposures that farmers face,  such as custom farming, products hazard (damage arising out of crops or goods or products manufactured, sold, handled, or distributed), crop overspray and liability from bodily injury or property damage caused by farming operations.  Liability also provides for legal defense and payment of claims from which you are deemed liable for damages.  Vehicles used for Corporate Farms may need additional Personal or Commercial Auto insurance.