Buying a property
Coverage bound and documented before closing, matched to your lender's requirements.
Commercial property
Mixed-use property insurance in California
For owners of buildings that combine apartments with ground-floor retail, restaurants, or offices.
Photo to come
Mixed-use street with apartments over shops, no legible signage
A mixed-use building is two kinds of property in one: people live upstairs, and businesses operate below. Insurers look at both, and at how they affect each other.
The ground-floor tenant often decides how an insurer views the whole building. A quiet office under four apartments is one kind of risk. A restaurant with a commercial kitchen under the same four apartments is another, because a kitchen fire can reach the homes above it. Insurers ask what’s on the ground floor, how the kitchen is protected, and how the commercial space is separated from the residential floors.
Some insurers that like apartments don’t want restaurants, and some that write retail don’t want habitational risk. That’s why mixed occupancy can narrow the field, and why a clear, complete submission matters. We describe the building accurately, read the commercial leases for their insurance requirements, and take it to insurers that write this combination.
What we place for mixed-use owners
- Property coverage on the building
- Loss of rents, residential and commercial
- General liability
- Umbrella and excess liability
What insurers look at
Having these ready makes a submission stronger.
- The mix of residential and commercial space
- Who the ground-floor tenants are, especially restaurants
- Fire separation between the commercial space and the apartments
- Sprinklers and fire protection
- Year built and updates
- The insurance requirements in the commercial leases
What lenders usually ask for
Lenders usually ask for replacement cost on the building, loss of rents covering both the apartments and the commercial space, liability and umbrella limits, and the lender named as mortgagee and additional insured.
Your situation
Refinancing
A new lender means new requirements. We update your coverage and paperwork to match.
Building or renovating
Builder's risk for the project, then a clean move to permanent coverage at completion.
Renewal or non-renewal
Start early, see your options side by side, and avoid a gap.
Common questions
What do you need from us?
Your current policies if you have them, a statement of values, five years of loss runs, and your lender's insurance requirements. Missing something? Start anyway.
How early should we start before a closing?
As soon as you're under contract. Insurers need property details and loss history to quote, and some properties take longer to place.
Can you deliver documents directly to our lender?
Yes. We send the binder, evidence of insurance, certificates, and endorsements to your lender and escrow.
Do you work with surplus lines insurers?
Yes, when the standard market can't place a property. We'll explain what that means for your coverage before you decide.
Have a date coming up?
Tell us what's happening and when. Your broker will reply within one hour on business days.