Changing tenants · heaviest use · loss of rent
Insuring a multi-tenant business building through OOM Verzekeringen
In multi-let business premises the risk is determined not by your building, but by the tenant with the heaviest activity. One spray shop in unit seven changes the assessment of the whole building.
- Several insurers compared objectively
- 9.5 customer rating for a new policy
- AFM licence 12016589
- Personal 072 - 509 24 56, weekdays 9–17
Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Een bedrijfsverzamelgebouw verzekeren via OOM Verzekeringen.
The calculator and the quote form below are in Dutch. Prefer to do this in English? Email info@finassverzekert. nl or call 072 - 509 24 56 and we will take it from there.
Work out for yourself what it would cost.
Enter your details; you will receive a proposal within one working day.
- We compare the offerings of several insurers
- An adviser checks whether the cover suits your activities
- We arrange the switch, including cancellation
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
We act as an intermediary through OOM Verzekeringen among others, a company used for property with an unusual make-up or with owners abroad. Finass is not tied to one party: we compare several insurers objectively and let the choice follow from the tenant mix and the structural condition. For the structure of the cover, the buildings insurance for multi-let business premises is the starting point. For a portfolio of several properties, the buildings insurance for property portfolios.
What distinguishes it is that you have several risks under one roof, and that an insurer attaches one premium and one acceptance decision to that. An office unit, a gym, a furniture upholsterer and a car valeting business each have their own fire load, but share the same roof structure. If the heaviest unit catches fire, the whole building burns. Insurers therefore ask for an up-to-date list of tenants with their actual use, and not the description that appeared in the lease five years ago. If a tenant changes their activity, that affects your policy, not theirs.
The second theme is the boundary between the building and tenant's improvements. You insure the shell: structure, facade, roof, fixed installations. What a tenant has installed, such as a kitchenette, a suspended ceiling or a partitioned office layout, falls under their tenant's improvements. If that is insured nowhere, it stays unpaid after a fire and an argument arises over who repairs it. Record for each unit who insures what, and include that in the lease.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare buildings insurance (opstalverzekering).
What to look out for
Four points that go wrong more often in shared commercial property than in a single building.
The declared use dates quickly
Tenants change, and the new tenant rarely does the same as the last. A unit registered as storage that is now a workshop with welding changes the risk fundamentally. Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code requires a correct declaration and Article 7:930 of the Dutch Civil Code sets out the consequences if it was wrong. Include an obligation to report changes of use in the lease and check periodically what is actually happening.
Common areas and liability
Staircases, lifts, loading bays and the outside area remain yours. As possessor you are liable under Article 6:174 of the Dutch Civil Code for damage caused by a defect in them, even without fault: a loose stair tread, an unmaintained lift, a slippery ramp. That is not damage to the building and belongs on a property owners' liability insurance. Keep the maintenance and inspection reports, because they will decide the argument.
Loss of rent and the time to rebuild
A buildings policy pays for rebuilding, not for lost rent. If the building is out of action for a year, your finance costs continue without income. Loss of rent is a separate section with its own indemnity period; choose that period on the basis of the actual rebuilding time including permits. Without that section, clearance costs above the limited amount and the cost of temporary accommodation for tenants are also at your expense.
Vacant units
A partly empty building is a different risk: less supervision, a greater chance of vandalism and squatting, and frozen pipes in unheated sections. Many policies limit cover during vacancy to fire, storm and explosion and drop burglary damage, water damage and vandalism. Report vacancy yourself; waiting until the next renewal is too late if something happens in the meantime.
What does your premium depend on?
- Composition of the tenant mix: the heaviest activity determines the assessment
- Type of construction and fire separations: compartmentation between units limits the size of a loss
- Rebuild value of the whole complex: the basis, preferably supported by a valuation
- Occupancy rate: structural vacancy increases the risk
- Detection and firefighting provisions: fire alarm system, sprinkler and remote signalling
- Loss of rent included: period and basis of the loss of rent section
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | Basic | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| A fire in the welding shop in unit 4 spreads to the three units next door | Yes | Yes |
| A burst pipe on the upper floor lets water down into the units below | No | Yes |
| Burglars cut the copper roofwork off the complex at night | No | Provided that |
| The lift installation fails through wear of the cables | No | No |
| There is a crack in the concrete floor from settlement that has been going on for years | No | No |
| A lorry reverses into the entrance column while loading | No | Yes |
The perils are chosen for the whole complex. There is no separate section per unit.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
Do I have to know exactly what each tenant does?
Yes. The insurer accepts the building on the basis of the use you declare, and that use is the sum of all the units. A tenant who quietly installs a spray booth or stores large quantities of batteries changes the risk for everyone in the building. Set out an obligation to report in the lease and keep the list up to date with every change.
Who pays for damage to a tenant's fitting-out?
That depends on who installed the fitting-out and what the contract says. What the tenant installed is their tenant's improvements and belongs on their policy. If they fail to insure it, that is their problem, unless you have agreed otherwise by contract. Check at handover, therefore, who insures which part and record it in writing.
Is soil contamination after a fire covered?
Not on the buildings policy. Contamination of soil or groundwater, for example by firefighting water carrying dissolved substances, falls under environmental damage insurance. In a building with several users that is relevant, because as owner of the site you will be the one held responsible. See also the environmental damage insurance for property.
What if the sum insured turns out to be too low?
Losses are then settled proportionately and you bear the difference yourself. In multi-let premises that mounts up quickly, because over the years tenants add facilities that raise the rebuild value. Have the value reassessed periodically. Article 7:960 of the Dutch Civil Code also provides that the payout may not leave you in a clearly better position.
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