So you’ve closed your business premises due to COVID-19 and it's unclear when you will reopen. You’ve locked up and packed away your stock, and now you’re working from home while you consider next steps. If the bricks-and-mortar side of your business couldn’t be further from your mind, who could blame you? You’re dealing with enough uncertainty at the moment without the additional question of what to do with your commercial property. That said, it is essential that you take steps to secure the property for the period of closure. Vacant properties are extremely vulnerable to threat, so failing to secure your building could prove costly.
If you don’t know where to start, don’t worry. We’ve made the process easier for you with our Commercial Property Closure Checklist. This list brings together a wealth of info from our blog to cover everything you need to know—from the top threats to look out for to insurance ins-and-outs, and tips for avoiding that derelict look that only attracts trouble. (Oh and by the way, this is a magical checklist: it either has five steps or one step, depending how you look at it!)
Step One: Arrange Live-in Property Guardians
Your only task is to pick up the phone and call Blue Door Property Guardians. We’ll secure your building with live-in guardians who protect the property with their 24/7 presence. Your job is done. No hassle, no cost. Enjoy your peace of mind and massive savings .
And if you’re wondering whether your commercial property is suitable for live-in guardians, it almost certainly is. If your building has a roof that doesn’t leak, electricity and a reliable water supply, give us a call. We’ve transformed even the most unlikely of spaces into safe, comfortable homes for our guardians in no time at all. And don’t worry, all our alterations to the property are temporary, so you need only give us a month’s notice before the building is entirely vacated, ready to be returned to you exactly as you left it.
Step Two: Check Your Insurance Policy
If you’ve skipped step one, your first phone call should be to your insurer. In case you weren’t aware, your standard insurance policy is unlikely to cover damage if the building has been vacant for more than a couple of weeks. This window will depend on your insurer, so it’s a good idea to ring them up and confirm how long your building is covered for once you’ve vacated.
If you intend to leave the property empty for an extended period, you will need to amp up your insurance policy and pay a higher premium for the duration. Insurers are clear on why vacant property insurance comes at a higher premium: empty buildings are known to be far more vulnerable to a range of threats than occupied buildings. Arson is potentially the most costly threat in terms of claim size, but your policy must also cover a wide range of threats including burglary, vandalism and squatting, not to mention damage resulting from maintenance issues that could crop up while you’re not there to intervene.
If you’d like to understand vacant property insurance in more detail, you’re in luck! We have a whole blog post devoted to the subject.
Step Three: Secure Your Property With Insurance Claims in Mind
So you’ve contacted your insurer and upped your monthly premium to include vacant property cover. (You haven’t? Go back to step two! Even better, go back to step one!)
Now that’s settled, time to ensure that your insurance will actually pay out in the event of a fire, break-in or maintenance disaster. Your boosted cover means your insurer believes it’s reasonable to expect some form of damage to your property while there’s no-one there to care for it (and if there’s one thing insurance companies are good at, it’s calculating risk). With this in mind, you should be thinking ahead to an insurance claim, too. In the event that you do need to make a claim, your insurer will expect you to demonstrate that you took steps to prevent the loss occurring. Providing the necessary evidence will be difficult unless you have well-documented security measures in place, as failing to secure your property can be a sign of negligence. Bear in mind that even if your property seemed secure when you closed up shop, you’ll need to make regular inspections to ensure that no breaches have occurred since you were last at the premises.
Making an insurance claim on a vacant property can be tricky, but we’ve covered all the ins-and-outs to help you stay a step ahead.
Step Four: Secure Your Vacant Property
If you’ve opted to leave your property vacant, your next step is securing your empty building against both deliberate and accidental damage. If you want to be thorough (which we highly recommend!) our blog post on the Top Ten Threats to Vacant Property will help you understand what you’re up against. To fully secure your property, you will need to hire a security company to provide manned guarding and regular patrols, as well as monitored CCTV and alarm systems. There are other actions you can take, like keeping the building exterior in good nick to avoid the ‘nobody’s home’ look that squatters and vandals look for.
For more ideas to help you secure your vacant building, check out our exhaustive list of tips here.
Step Five: Consider a Return to Step One
Even if you have vacant property insurance, securing your property is essential. Traditional security measures can cost thousands of pounds per year, and when you add those costs to your increased insurance premium, the figures can make you giddy. But what if you didn’t have to pay for either? Blue Door Property Guardians take away the need for security measures and vacant property insurance.
Closing your business can be stressful but closing up your commercial property shouldn’t be. Give us a call about securing your property for free. We’ll gladly take the problem off your hands so you can focus on the new opportunities that come your way.