Business Insurance  /  Property & Asset Protection

Property & Asset Protection

Protect What You’ve Built —
Your Property, Your Equipment,
Your Income.

A single event — a fire, a break-in, a hailstorm, a flood — can threaten your building, your contents, and your ability to operate all at once. We help business owners across Texas build protection programs that actually make them whole when something goes wrong.

Why Businesses Choose McKnight for Property Coverage

Most business owners don’t know what they’d actually lose until it’s gone.

A fire, a break-in, a hailstorm, a pipe that bursts overnight — these aren’t rare events for Texas businesses. What surprises most business owners isn’t the event itself. It’s the full scope of what’s at stake: not just the building or the equipment that got damaged, but the weeks or months they can’t operate, the payroll they still owe, the clients they lose in the meantime, and the gap between what their policy pays and what it actually costs to rebuild.

One of the most important distinctions we make with every property client is the difference between building coverage and contents coverage. If you lease your space, you might assume you don’t need property insurance — but everything inside that space is your exposure. Your equipment, your tools, your inventory, your furniture, your computers — none of that belongs to your landlord. That’s your investment, and it needs its own protection.

“You don’t have to own the building to have a serious property exposure. Everything inside it — and everything that moves in and out of it — is worth protecting.”

We serve businesses across Texas — from DFW to Houston, San Antonio, Austin, and beyond. Whether you own your building or lease it, whether you store everything on-site or move equipment between locations — we build programs that match how your business actually runs and what it would actually cost to recover from a loss.

Building owners and tenants both have exposure
We help both — whether you own your space and need structure coverage or you lease and need to protect everything inside it.

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Income protection, not just property repair
The cost of a loss is never just the damage. We make sure business interruption coverage is part of your program so a closure doesn’t also become a financial crisis.

Learn about business interruption →

Real people — actually reachable
When something happens to your property, you need help fast. When you call McKnight, a person answers — someone who knows your policy and can help you move forward.

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Real Risks. Real Scenarios.

The property situations that catch business owners off guard.

These aren’t hypotheticals. These are the situations Texas business owners call us about.

01
A fire shuts down operations for two months
The fire is out, the damage is assessed — but the building is unusable and the equipment needs replacing. Two months later you’re still not operating. Your property policy covers the damage. Without business interruption coverage, the income you lost, the payroll you still covered, the clients you lost — none of that comes back.

03
A hailstorm damages your roof and you’re underinsured
Texas hail can cause significant structural damage fast. If your property is insured for actual cash value rather than replacement cost, the depreciation deducted from your claim can be substantial. The difference between what the policy pays and what it actually costs to fix the roof comes straight out of your pocket.

05
Equipment breaks down and halts your operation
A critical piece of equipment fails — an HVAC system, a compressor, a refrigeration unit. Standard property insurance covers damage from fires and storms. It doesn’t cover mechanical or electrical breakdown. Without equipment breakdown coverage, you’re paying for repairs and lost productivity entirely out of pocket.

02
A break-in cleans out your equipment
Someone cuts the lock on your shop or yard overnight and takes everything. If your policy limits were set three years ago when you had half the equipment you have now, you’ll get a check that doesn’t cover what’s gone. Contents coverage needs to reflect what you actually have today — not what was convenient to insure when you first signed.

04
A flood isn’t covered — and you didn’t know that
Standard commercial property policies in Texas exclude flood damage. That’s not a technicality — it’s a significant gap for businesses in flood-prone areas across the state. If your location flooded and you didn’t have a separate flood policy in place, your standard property coverage won’t pay for the damage regardless of what you paid in premiums.

06
Property leaves the building and loses its coverage
Your commercial property policy covers assets at the location listed on your policy. Equipment taken to a job site, tools in a vehicle, inventory in transit — these may not be covered once they leave that address. A lot of businesses with mobile operations find this out the hard way. Inland marine coverage is what follows your property wherever the work takes it.

Coverage Recommendations

A complete property & asset protection program.

Property protection for a business isn’t one policy — it’s a set of coverages that work together to protect your building, your contents, your income, and your equipment wherever it goes. Here’s how we think about building a complete program.

Commercial Property Insurance

Covers the physical structure of your building against fire, storm, theft, vandalism, and other covered perils. If you own your building, this is the foundation of your program. Limits should reflect what it would actually cost to rebuild — not what you paid for it.

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Business Personal Property

Covers the contents of your business — equipment, tools, inventory, furniture, and computers inside your space. Critical for tenants who don’t own their building. Your landlord’s policy covers the structure. Not a single item inside it that belongs to you.

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Business Owner’s Policy (BOP)

Bundles commercial property and general liability coverage into a single policy at a discounted rate. Designed for small and medium-sized businesses — often the most cost-effective starting point for a complete protection program. Additional coverages can be added on top.

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Business Interruption & Extra Expense

Replaces lost income and covers ongoing expenses when a covered loss forces you to close or scale back operations. The cost of a property loss is never just the damage — it’s everything that stops while you recover. This coverage bridges that gap.

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Equipment Breakdown

Covers mechanical and electrical failure of covered equipment — HVAC systems, compressors, refrigeration units, production equipment. Standard property insurance covers damage from fires and storms. It doesn’t cover a machine that simply stops working. This does.

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Inland Marine

Covers property in transit, at job sites, at temporary locations, or anywhere away from your primary business address. Your commercial property policy stays at the address on the declarations page — inland marine follows your equipment wherever the work takes it.

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Common Mistakes We See

What your current property coverage might be missing.

01
Insuring for actual cash value instead of replacement cost
Actual cash value pays what your property is worth today — after depreciation. Replacement cost pays what it actually costs to repair or replace it. The difference can be tens of thousands of dollars on a single claim. Most business owners don’t know which one they have until they file.

03
Assuming flood is included in your property policy
It almost never is. Standard commercial property policies in Texas exclude flood damage. If your business is in a flood-prone area, this is a separate policy that needs to be in place before the water rises — there’s typically a 30-day waiting period after purchase before it takes effect.

05
Not updating limits as the business grows
Property limits set three years ago may significantly underinsure what you have today. As you add equipment, build inventory, or expand your space, your coverage needs to keep pace. A policy that was right when you signed it can leave you dangerously underinsured at renewal if nothing was updated.

02
Not having business interruption coverage
Property insurance pays to fix the damage. Business interruption pays for what you lose while you’re shut down — income, payroll, fixed expenses. Without it, you’re personally carrying the financial weight of recovery while your doors are closed.

04
Thinking you don’t need property insurance because you rent
Your landlord’s insurance covers the building. It covers nothing inside it that belongs to you. If there’s a fire and your equipment, inventory, and contents are destroyed, your landlord’s policy won’t pay you a dollar. Business personal property coverage is what protects tenants.

06
No coverage for property that leaves the building
Equipment taken to a job site, inventory in transit, tools in a company vehicle — these are generally not covered under your commercial property policy once they leave the listed location. If your business moves assets around regularly, inland marine coverage is what follows your property wherever it goes.

FAQ

Questions business owners ask us about property coverage.

Does commercial property insurance cover the contents of my business?
It depends on how the policy is written. Building coverage and business personal property coverage are two separate things. A policy that covers your building does not automatically cover what’s inside it at the same limits. Equipment, inventory, furniture, computers, and tools all need to be addressed specifically. When we build your program, we look at both exposures separately to make sure nothing is left unprotected.
I lease my space — do I still need property insurance?
Yes — and this is one of the most common misconceptions we encounter. Your landlord’s property insurance covers the building. It covers nothing inside it that belongs to you. If there’s a fire or break-in and your equipment, inventory, tools, and business contents are destroyed or stolen, your landlord’s policy won’t pay you anything. Business personal property coverage is specifically designed to protect tenants for exactly this reason.
What is a Business Owner’s Policy and is it right for my business?
A Business Owner’s Policy, or BOP, bundles commercial property coverage and general liability coverage into a single policy at a discounted rate. It’s designed specifically for small and medium-sized businesses and is often the most cost-effective way to get foundational protection in place. A BOP is a great starting point — but it typically doesn’t include business interruption, equipment breakdown, or inland marine coverage, which many businesses need on top of it. We’ll help you figure out whether a BOP is the right foundation and what else belongs in your program.
Does commercial property insurance cover flood damage?
In almost all cases, no. Flood damage is excluded from standard commercial property policies in Texas. This catches a lot of businesses off guard — particularly in the Houston area, along the Gulf Coast, and in other flood-prone parts of the state. Separate flood insurance is required to cover this exposure, and there’s typically a 30-day waiting period after purchase before coverage takes effect. If your business is in a flood-prone area, this needs to be addressed well before storm season.
What’s the difference between actual cash value and replacement cost coverage?
Actual cash value pays what your property is worth at the time of the loss — depreciation is deducted from your claim. A five-year-old piece of equipment worth $10,000 new might only pay out $4,000. Replacement cost pays what it actually costs to repair or replace the property today, regardless of age. The premium difference between the two is usually modest, but the claim difference can be significant. We always recommend replacement cost coverage for business property.
What does business interruption insurance actually cover?
Business interruption coverage replaces income you lose when a covered property loss forces you to close or significantly reduce operations. It typically covers lost net income, ongoing fixed expenses like rent and payroll, and extra expenses incurred to keep operating in a reduced capacity. It kicks in after a waiting period — usually 72 hours — and covers you for a defined restoration period. Without it, the financial burden of a prolonged closure falls entirely on you.
Does my property policy cover equipment that leaves my building?
Generally no — or only with very limited coverage. Commercial property policies protect assets at the location listed on the policy. Equipment taken to a job site, tools in a vehicle, or inventory in transit typically falls outside that protection. Inland marine coverage is specifically designed to follow your property wherever it goes — making it essential for any business that regularly moves equipment or materials between locations.
How do I know if I have enough property coverage?
Most business owners don’t know until they have a claim — and by then it’s too late. The key questions are: Are your building limits based on current replacement cost, not purchase price? Have your contents limits been updated to reflect your equipment and inventory today? Do you have business interruption coverage with a restoration period long enough for a realistic recovery? We work through these questions with every property client to make sure the coverage reflects the real exposure — not just what was convenient to write when the policy was first placed.

Get Started

Let’s make sure you’re covered for what it would actually cost to recover.

Whether you own your building or lease your space, whether you store everything on-site or move assets across Texas — we’ll take the time to understand your property exposure and build a program that actually makes you whole. No pressure. No jargon. Just straight answers.

Serving businesses across Texas  ·  In-person appointments welcome  ·  No obligation