More building maintenance, less building insurance

It’s easy to let things slide.

Sure, that coating on the floor of the parking garage needs to be replaced, but it doesn’t really need to be right now. It’ll be OK. You can just get the stains out if you need to. And that crumbling bit of mortar will probably last another couple of years.

Right?

Wrong.

Don’t just take our word for it—ask your insurance company. If you’ve never had to settle a claim that dealt with preventable damage, you might not think about it as much. But when something breaks, your insurance might not want to pay for it.

There are plenty of reasons to stay on top of building maintenance. Safety, price and pride all go into having a proactive mindset as opposed to just fixing things as they break. Your insurance cares too.

Insurance companies care about compliance and may well cut you a break on your premiums if you can prove you have a more proactive maintenance plan. Your provider expects you to do the maintenance that needs to be done to keep your building in good working order and reduce hazards.

When a claim comes, the insurance company will want to determine whether it was unavoidable or whether part of it was your fault for not maintaining the building. If you’re not staying on top of it, any disaster claim may not be covered.

Say you’ve been letting your roof go for a while—you know there’s a little leak, but you throw a bucket under it when the rain gets a little too hard. Then one day that section of the roof caves in and ruins a section of your workspace.

Your insurance company’s not going to be very excited about covering something that you knew about and didn’t fix. That’s a bit of an extreme example—a leak in the roof is hard to live with for long—but it’s not as wild as it sounds.

On the other hand, if you can prove you’ve consistently inspected, had a maintenance plan in place and applied regular sealants, you’ll probably be in full compliance to your insurance policy.

If you think your maintenance is up to snuff, talk to your agent and find out if you can get a reduction in premiums. Make sure your building maintenance crew has a proactive plan in place and isn’t just reacting to crises. And if you don’t have a plan in place, take steps to put one in now while you can. Speak to an expert if you need to. Contact JK Industries if you want to put a plan in place to safeguard your building against both small and catastrophic failures. We have the experience and the know-how to help.