Insurance for facilities?

I just got off the phone with our insurer and they are having a heck
of a time trying to get an underwriter for us. It looks like they're
going to get it done -- but I can't believe it'd even be an issue.

We're really just renting office space and then allowing people to
come in and work.
(Some of) The underwriters are saying they need to know what each and
every member's company does as there's risk associated with it --
(like one of us might be testing fire retardant pajamas in the
facility).

Anywhoo -- anyone else run into trouble?
Anyone have any guidance on how they got their places insured to meet
the landlord requirements?
Any leads on coworking friendly insurers?

Kelly Brown
Office Space Coworking
www.officespacecoworking.com

Because we run our space as a Citizen Agency space that shares their office with others, we just make sure that everyone knows they are responsible for their own insurance.

But it would be a different story, if Citizen Space was a business.

T

···

On Wed, Sep 10, 2008 at 1:46 PM, Kelly Brown [email protected] wrote:

I just got off the phone with our insurer and they are having a heck

of a time trying to get an underwriter for us. It looks like they’re

going to get it done – but I can’t believe it’d even be an issue.

We’re really just renting office space and then allowing people to

come in and work.

(Some of) The underwriters are saying they need to know what each and

every member’s company does as there’s risk associated with it –

(like one of us might be testing fire retardant pajamas in the

facility).

Anywhoo – anyone else run into trouble?

Anyone have any guidance on how they got their places insured to meet

the landlord requirements?

Any leads on coworking friendly insurers?

Kelly Brown

Office Space Coworking

www.officespacecoworking.com


tara ‘missrogue’ hunt
coFounder
Citizen Agency (www.citizenagency.com)
blog: www.horsepigcow.com

phone: 415-694-1951
fax: 415-727-5335

We didn’t have any problems at all and I think you need to just find another insurance broker. We found ours through Biznik and have been very happy.

Jacob

···

On Wed, Sep 10, 2008 at 1:46 PM, Kelly Brown [email protected] wrote:

I just got off the phone with our insurer and they are having a heck

of a time trying to get an underwriter for us. It looks like they’re

going to get it done – but I can’t believe it’d even be an issue.

We’re really just renting office space and then allowing people to

come in and work.

(Some of) The underwriters are saying they need to know what each and

every member’s company does as there’s risk associated with it –

(like one of us might be testing fire retardant pajamas in the

facility).

Anywhoo – anyone else run into trouble?

Anyone have any guidance on how they got their places insured to meet

the landlord requirements?

Any leads on coworking friendly insurers?

Kelly Brown

Office Space Coworking

www.officespacecoworking.com


Office Nomads - Individuality without Isolation
http://www.officenomads.com - (206) 323-6500

We were required by our landlord to carry a couple million dollar policy. It
wasn't a problem to get through a local broker. We explained that we were an
office service and most folks would be doing office-type jobs. We never
mentioned our fire retardant pajama tester, but it only took a few days to
finalize. Plus, it was pretty darn cheap.

A broker should be able to figure it out. We ultimately ended up with The
Hartford I believe.

Our lesson very early on in the process was to forget about explaining the
rational behind coworking. If you tell them it's something new, folks seem
to get worried. If you describe coworking using a long understood business
vocabulary, things moved along smoothly.

Derek Young
Suite133

···

On 9/10/08 1:46 PM, "Kelly Brown" <[email protected]> wrote:

I just got off the phone with our insurer and they are having a heck
of a time trying to get an underwriter for us. It looks like they're
going to get it done -- but I can't believe it'd even be an issue.

We're really just renting office space and then allowing people to
come in and work.
(Some of) The underwriters are saying they need to know what each and
every member's company does as there's risk associated with it --
(like one of us might be testing fire retardant pajamas in the
facility).

Anywhoo -- anyone else run into trouble?
Anyone have any guidance on how they got their places insured to meet
the landlord requirements?
Any leads on coworking friendly insurers?

Kelly Brown
Office Space Coworking
www.officespacecoworking.com
>

We had requirements from our landlord as well. And we got a great deal from The Hartford. Explain that it’s shared workspace, that tends to move things along smoothly.

-Alex

···


Alex Hillman
im always developing something
digital: [email protected]
visual: www.dangerouslyawesome.com

local: www.indyhall.org

On Wed, Sep 10, 2008 at 5:31 PM, Derek Young [email protected] wrote:

We were required by our landlord to carry a couple million dollar policy. It

wasn’t a problem to get through a local broker. We explained that we were an

office service and most folks would be doing office-type jobs. We never

mentioned our fire retardant pajama tester, but it only took a few days to

finalize. Plus, it was pretty darn cheap.

A broker should be able to figure it out. We ultimately ended up with The

Hartford I believe.

Our lesson very early on in the process was to forget about explaining the

rational behind coworking. If you tell them it’s something new, folks seem

to get worried. If you describe coworking using a long understood business

vocabulary, things moved along smoothly.

Derek Young

Suite133

On 9/10/08 1:46 PM, “Kelly Brown” [email protected] wrote:

I just got off the phone with our insurer and they are having a heck

of a time trying to get an underwriter for us. It looks like they’re

going to get it done – but I can’t believe it’d even be an issue.

We’re really just renting office space and then allowing people to

come in and work.

(Some of) The underwriters are saying they need to know what each and

every member’s company does as there’s risk associated with it –

(like one of us might be testing fire retardant pajamas in the

facility).

Anywhoo – anyone else run into trouble?

Anyone have any guidance on how they got their places insured to meet

the landlord requirements?

Any leads on coworking friendly insurers?

Kelly Brown

Office Space Coworking

www.officespacecoworking.com

I second this comment. We have the hartford at redtap (redtap.com)
and we told them it was a retail/cafe, and the owners were the
business partners, and the co-workers were really just retail walk in
customers, so there's no 'splaining to do. If you've got a huge
space, then maybe they look at things a bit differently. The key is,
remember, your name or your business is on the lease presumably, so
therefore you need to carry the insurance to cover yourself, your
business, and the assets therein. In SF, we have lots of petty crime
like burglaries, theft, and vandalism. For the more expensive items,
like $3K laptop/computers, you want to make sure these are itemized or
included in the coverage you get. Remember, the $500 deductible is
great for keeping the costs down, but not great for covering petty
theft and vandalism that may occur. For example, a broken window will
cost you $100, and that is just an out of pocket expense, a loss. You
can't use your insurance for stuff like that.

···

On Wed, Sep 10, 2008 at 2:31 PM, Derek Young <[email protected]> wrote:

We were required by our landlord to carry a couple million dollar policy. It
wasn't a problem to get through a local broker. We explained that we were an
office service and most folks would be doing office-type jobs. We never
mentioned our fire retardant pajama tester, but it only took a few days to
finalize. Plus, it was pretty darn cheap.

A broker should be able to figure it out. We ultimately ended up with The
Hartford I believe.

Our lesson very early on in the process was to forget about explaining the
rational behind coworking. If you tell them it's something new, folks seem
to get worried. If you describe coworking using a long understood business
vocabulary, things moved along smoothly.

Derek Young
Suite133

On 9/10/08 1:46 PM, "Kelly Brown" <[email protected]> wrote:

I just got off the phone with our insurer and they are having a heck
of a time trying to get an underwriter for us. It looks like they're
going to get it done -- but I can't believe it'd even be an issue.

We're really just renting office space and then allowing people to
come in and work.
(Some of) The underwriters are saying they need to know what each and
every member's company does as there's risk associated with it --
(like one of us might be testing fire retardant pajamas in the
facility).

Anywhoo -- anyone else run into trouble?
Anyone have any guidance on how they got their places insured to meet
the landlord requirements?
Any leads on coworking friendly insurers?

Kelly Brown
Office Space Coworking
www.officespacecoworking.com
>

>

We were required by our landlord to have a policy which covers both
buildings and the lot. We have a friend who is an insurance agent with
Farmer's and hooked up with a good deal. We recommend to each of our
tenants that they obtain their own insurance also.

···

On Sep 10, 4:37 pm, "Alex Hillman" <[email protected]> wrote:

We had requirements from our landlord as well. And we got a great deal from
The Hartford. Explain that it's shared workspace, that tends to move things
along smoothly.

-Alex

--
-----
--
-----
Alex Hillman
im always developing something
digital: a....@weknowhtml.com
visual:www.dangerouslyawesome.com
local:www.indyhall.org

On Wed, Sep 10, 2008 at 5:31 PM, Derek Young <[email protected]> wrote:

> We were required by our landlord to carry a couple million dollar policy.
> It
> wasn't a problem to get through a local broker. We explained that we were
> an
> office service and most folks would be doing office-type jobs. We never
> mentioned our fire retardant pajama tester, but it only took a few days to
> finalize. Plus, it was pretty darn cheap.

> A broker should be able to figure it out. We ultimately ended up with The
> Hartford I believe.

> Our lesson very early on in the process was to forget about explaining the
> rational behind coworking. If you tell them it's something new, folks seem
> to get worried. If you describe coworking using a long understood business
> vocabulary, things moved along smoothly.

> Derek Young
> Suite133

> On 9/10/08 1:46 PM, "Kelly Brown" <[email protected]> wrote:

> > I just got off the phone with our insurer and they are having a heck
> > of a time trying to get an underwriter for us. It looks like they're
> > going to get it done -- but I can't believe it'd even be an issue.

> > We're really just renting office space and then allowing people to
> > come in and work.
> > (Some of) The underwriters are saying they need to know what each and
> > every member's company does as there's risk associated with it --
> > (like one of us might be testing fire retardant pajamas in the
> > facility).

> > Anywhoo -- anyone else run into trouble?
> > Anyone have any guidance on how they got their places insured to meet
> > the landlord requirements?
> > Any leads on coworking friendly insurers?

> > Kelly Brown
> > Office Space Coworking
> >www.officespacecoworking.com

What kind of insurance would an individual user of the space carry?

···

On Wed, Sep 10, 2008 at 4:39 PM, Matthew Wettergreen <[email protected]> wrote:

We recommend to each of our
tenants that they obtain their own insurance also.

--
Hassan Schroeder ------------------------ hassan.s...@gmail.com

Dear Folks!

Trying to find insurance for a coworking space in South Philly…and any guidance would be much appreciated! (Alex, I saw the Hartford mention…and I have a call in to them…waiting for an answer…)

THANKS!
Marina

···

On Wednesday, September 10, 2008 5:37:45 PM UTC-4, Alex Hillman wrote:

We had requirements from our landlord as well. And we got a great deal from The Hartford. Explain that it’s shared workspace, that tends to move things along smoothly.

-Alex


Alex Hillman
im always developing something
digital: [email protected]
visual: www.dangerouslyawesome.com

local: www.indyhall.org

On Wed, Sep 10, 2008 at 5:31 PM, Derek Young [email protected] wrote:

We were required by our landlord to carry a couple million dollar policy. It

wasn’t a problem to get through a local broker. We explained that we were an

office service and most folks would be doing office-type jobs. We never

mentioned our fire retardant pajama tester, but it only took a few days to

finalize. Plus, it was pretty darn cheap.

A broker should be able to figure it out. We ultimately ended up with The

Hartford I believe.

Our lesson very early on in the process was to forget about explaining the

rational behind coworking. If you tell them it’s something new, folks seem

to get worried. If you describe coworking using a long understood business

vocabulary, things moved along smoothly.

Derek Young

Suite133

On 9/10/08 1:46 PM, “Kelly Brown” [email protected] wrote:

I just got off the phone with our insurer and they are having a heck

of a time trying to get an underwriter for us. It looks like they’re

going to get it done – but I can’t believe it’d even be an issue.

We’re really just renting office space and then allowing people to

come in and work.

(Some of) The underwriters are saying they need to know what each and

every member’s company does as there’s risk associated with it –

(like one of us might be testing fire retardant pajamas in the

facility).

Anywhoo – anyone else run into trouble?

Anyone have any guidance on how they got their places insured to meet

the landlord requirements?

Any leads on coworking friendly insurers?

Kelly Brown

Office Space Coworking

www.officespacecoworking.com