Many charter schools have found it to be more cost-beneficial to purchase their building instead of leasing. If your charter school is considering the same, please keep the following tips in mind:

Purchase the Right Amount of Coverage

It is vitally important that school administrators purchase the right coverage limits for the policy when it comes to charter school property insurance. There should be enough insurance to rebuild physical structures or replace interior contents in case of fire, theft, or other covered events. School administration should not use tax valuations or real estate marketing values. Instead, they should work with their insurance agent or broker to fully value everything that would need to be replaced if it was destroyed. Knowing replacement figures beforehand will take the stress out of shopping for pricing and services once a disaster occurs. It is always better to have more insurance than not enough.

Consider Excluded or Additional Types of Property Insurance

Charter school property insurance covers specific perils listed in the policy at the time it is written. Certain types of events are not included in standard property coverage. Most property policies do not cover flooding or hurricane (windstorm) damage. These natural events require separate policies. If a charter school is in a high-risk area for flooding or hurricanes, it will often be required by landlords or mortgage holders to obtain and maintain these additional property policies. It is best to evaluate the potential risk for the school location and then determine if extra insurance is important.

Another property insurance policy that does not come in standard programs is business interruption insurance. This coverage will help charter schools pay expenses when their company is closed for repair or replacement due to a covered or insured event. This additional insurance can be added by endorsement to standard property policies.

Evaluate Coverage for Compliance

When a standard charter school property policy is written, it typically does not include repairing or replacing a structure in compliance with local building ordinances or codes. Older buildings are often grandfathered in as existing structures; however, these buildings do not always comply with local codes. Should a covered natural disaster or event happen, the standard property insurance policy would not be required to upgrade to code specifications. This situation can be handled by purchasing compliance or ordinance insurance coverage as an endorsement or separate purchase.