Mixed-Use Building Insurance in NYC

The short answer

A mixed-use building is usually insured on a commercial package: the building, the owner's liability, and loss of rents, often with an umbrella on top. The insurer looks closely at the commercial tenant. A dry cleaner, a restaurant with a cooking line, or a nail salon is priced and underwritten differently from an office or a clothing store. Getting the tenant right on the application is the first step.

Buildings we place

Walk-ups with one or two stores and apartments above
Corner buildings with a restaurant, deli or bodega on the ground floor
Buildings with offices or a medical office in the commercial space
Buildings with a vacant store between tenants
One building or several, owned in your name or in LLCs

What the program usually includes

Building. The structure against covered causes of loss, valued for what it would cost to rebuild.
Liability. Covered claims arising from the building, the common areas and the sidewalk.
Loss of rents. Residential and commercial rent lost while covered damage is repaired.
Equipment breakdown. A boiler or other building equipment that breaks down suddenly.
Ordinance or law. The added cost of meeting current code after a covered loss, up to the limit on the policy.
Umbrella. Higher liability limits above the primary policy.
Workers compensation and disability benefits. If you have a super or porter on payroll.

The commercial tenant matters

Your lease should ask each commercial tenant to carry its own liability policy and to name you, and often your managing agent, as additional insured. Ask for a certificate every year and keep it on file. If a customer is hurt in the store, the tenant's policy is usually the first place the claim should go. When certificates are missing or expired, your own policy can end up carrying claims the tenant should have carried.

Tell the insurer when a store changes hands. A new restaurant in a space that used to be a retail shop is a change in the building's risk.

New York City specifics

In New York City, the owner of a building is generally responsible for keeping the sidewalk in front of it safe. Sidewalk falls are a common liability claim on city buildings. Open violations, the age of the boiler, and the years the roof, wiring and plumbing were updated all come up in underwriting. Have them ready.

Common questions

What insurance does a mixed-use building in NYC need?

Most owners carry building property, general liability, loss of rents and an umbrella, often in one commercial package. Many add equipment breakdown and ordinance or law. If there are building employees, New York workers compensation and disability benefits are required too.

Should my commercial tenant name me as additional insured?

Usually, yes. Most commercial leases ask the tenant to carry liability insurance and add the building owner, and often the managing agent, as additional insured. Collect a current certificate every year.

Does a restaurant tenant change my building insurance?

It can. A tenant with a cooking line is a different fire risk from an office or a store. Tell the insurer what the tenant does, and tell us when a new tenant moves in.

Is a mixed-use building insured as residential or commercial?

A mixed-use building with apartments and a store is usually written on a commercial policy, even when most of the units are apartments.

How much is mixed-use building insurance in NYC?

It depends on the building, the commercial tenants, the limits, the deductibles and the loss history. We do not publish prices. Send the declarations page for a free review.

What should I send for a quote?

The address, the unit count and a rent roll, what each commercial tenant does, the year built, building system updates, current declarations pages, loss runs, and lender requirements.

Talk to a broker

Get a free policy checkup Get a quote

Or call (516) 226-7969, Mon to Fri, 9 to 6 ET. SimpleINSURE Brokerage LLC, 900 Stewart Ave Ste 210, Garden City, NY 11530. NY DFS License BR-1984615.

Coverage descriptions are general summaries. The issued policy governs. Coverage is subject to the insurer's underwriting and the terms of the policy.

Mixed-use building insurance in New York City