Warehouse and industrial building insurance claims in Illinois
One rack, three kinds of ownerEach tag names the part of the standard commercial form that answers for it.
- You own it
- Someone else owns it, you hold it
- Part of the building or its fixtures
A fire or a roof failure at a warehouse damages goods with several owners. We sort out which policy line pays for each pallet, and claim the building and your lost income with it.
The 100-foot line around your building
On the standard Building and Personal Property Coverage Form, a customer's goods in your care are covered in or on the building named in the declarations, or in the open or in a vehicle within 100 feet of the building or the premises, whichever distance is greater. Where each load sat on the day of the loss matters.
- A loaded trailer backed into the dock
A vehicle within 100 feet is inside the wording. Photograph where it stood and keep the yard log.
- A sealed container in the yard
Close enough, but "in the open" was read narrowly in one federal case: cargo locked inside sealed shipping containers was held not to be in the open. The court file below has the details.
- A truck parked in a lot you share with other tenants
Distance runs from what your declarations describe. If they name a suite, it runs from the suite, not from a neighbor's wall. If they show only a street address, the whole lot at that address is the premises.
Source: Donald S. Malecki, Business Personal Property of Others, Adjusting Today, Adjusters International, 2014.
Three ways a customer's goods can be paid for
Most warehouse policies are built on the ISO form CP 00 10, which covers buildings, your business personal property and personal property of others. Some owners also carry a separate legal liability form. Read your declarations against each column.
| The automatic extensionPersonal effects and property of others | A declared limitProperty of others in your care, custody or control | Legal Liability Coverage FormISO CP 00 40 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| When it applies | Only if the declarations show coinsurance of 80% or more. It does not apply to theft. | When the declarations show a limit for property of others. | Only when you are legally obligated to pay the owner as damages. |
| Does fault matter? | No. It is property cover. | No. It pays whether or not you are liable. | Yes. You must be found legally liable. |
| Who gets the check | Paid for the account of the owner. | The carrier pays the owner directly. | Sums you owe the owner as damages. |
| Value used | Actual cash value unless the declarations extend replacement cost. | Actual cash value unless extended. Where a written contract sets your liability, that amount, up to the lesser of replacement cost or the limit. | What you are legally obligated to pay. |
| How much | $2,500 at each described premises. | The limit you bought. | The limit you bought. |
Form descriptions from IRMI and the Adjusting Today article above. Your edition and endorsements may differ, so we read the policy you hold, not a sample.
How courts have read this wording
Three disputes over goods held for someone else, as the Adjusting Today article reports them. None is from Illinois, and each turned on its own policy, but carriers here use the same form.
AIU v. Mallay
- What was lost
- A customer's turbine, damaged while in the insured's care.
- What the policy had
- No limit declared for property of others.
- Result
- Covered only up to the $2,500 extension. The insured carried the rest.
Evergreen v. Tan It All
- What was lost
- A truck stolen from a shopping center common area.
- Where it was
- Within 100 feet of other buildings, but not of the insured's suite.
- Result
- Outside the coverage.
QBE v. FSI
- What was lost
- Cargo inside sealed shipping containers.
- The question
- Was the cargo "in the open"?
- Result
- Held not in the open, so no coverage.
These are reported results, not a reading of your policy. We work each claim under the wording you actually hold.
The papers a warehouse claim runs on
A carrier asks two things about every damaged pallet: whose was it, and what was it worth that day. Your own records answer both. We gather them into the claim in this order.
Declarations page with every endorsementShows whether property of others has its own limit, and the coinsurance figure.
Your brokerStorage agreements and warehouse receiptsProve whose goods they were and on what terms you held them.
Your office, per customerInventory report as of the day before the lossLocation by location, with lot numbers where you track them.
Your inventory systemBills of lading in and outTies each load to a date, a door and an owner.
Shipping and receivingPhotos of damaged pallets before anything movesWith a log of what went to salvage and what was thrown out, and when.
Your floor leadSprinkler and alarm inspection reportsThe carrier often asks for them after a fire or a water loss.
Your fire protection contractorMonthly sales and payroll for the past yearThe base for lost income and continuing expenses.
Your accountantBuilding, roof and lost income go in the same claim
The goods are one part. A warehouse loss usually reaches the structure and the business too, and each part has its own limit, deductible and proof. We present them together so nothing is settled early by accident.
The roof
Large flat roofs, rooftop units and skylights take hail and wind. See how we handle hail damage to commercial roofs and rooftop units.
Water from the system
A frozen branch line or a knocked head can soak a whole aisle. Read about fire sprinkler water damage claims.
A break-in at the dock
Stolen stock is proved with counts and receiving records. We cover commercial theft and burglary claims on their own page.
Shipping days you lost
When orders cannot leave, business interruption coverage for lost income can pay, from the waiting period your policy sets.
What Illinois requires before you sign with a public adjuster
Public adjusters must be licensed by the Department of Insurance. Check at (866) 445-5364 before you sign.
The written contract must be one approved by the Director of Insurance and state the fee.
Changed your mind? A certified letter sent inside that window ends the contract.
No solicitation while the fire department is still at the property, or between 7:00 PM and 8:00 AM.
The rules are on the Illinois Department of Insurance page for commercial property public adjusters. Our fee is a percentage set in that contract and paid from the insurance money, never in advance. Before you sign, read what an Illinois public adjuster contract must say. Owners rate our work 4.9 from 33 Google reviews; the reviews page has them all.
Tell us about the building and the loss
We read your policy and the carrier's first estimate at no cost, and tell you which parts of the loss each limit reaches.
- The address and what the building is used for
- What happened and on what date
- Whether customers' goods were inside, and roughly how much
- The declarations page, if you have it to hand
We work with warehouse, distribution and manufacturing buildings across Illinois. Call us Monday through Friday 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM, and Saturday and Sunday 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
Questions warehouse owners ask us
Do you handle warehouse insurance claims in Illinois?
Yes. We represent owners of industrial property in Illinois, along with retail, office and multi-family owners, and a warehouse's building, racking, stock and lost income fall within that work.
Does my commercial property policy cover customers' goods stored in my warehouse?
The standard Building and Personal Property Coverage Form can cover personal property of others in your care, custody or control when the declarations show a limit for it. Without one, the policy offers a $2,500 extension at each described premises, which needs coinsurance of 80% or more and does not apply to theft.
Are goods in a trailer in the yard covered?
Under the standard form, property of others is covered in or on the described building, or in the open or in a vehicle within 100 feet of the building or the premises, whichever distance is greater. Where the trailer stood, measured on your lot, decides it.
Who gets paid for a customer's goods?
On the standard property form the carrier pays the loss to the owner of the property. The Legal Liability Coverage Form works another way: it pays what you are legally obligated to pay the owner as damages.
What does a warehouse claim cost me?
No retainer. We take a share of what the carrier pays the business on this loss, at the rate fixed in your signed contract, so a claim that brings in no money brings us no fee.