What should I send when an owner hires a property manager?
Share the management agreement, address, occupancy, and each entity’s duties. Ask how proposed forms list the owner’s building interest, manager’s services, and property held for others.
Include who leases units, collects rent, arranges repairs, and handles tenant requests; ask the broker to reflect those tasks in the applications.[1][2]
Read the Housing and Real Estate Insurance Buying Guide
Sources and Further Reading for Housing and Real Estate
- Commercial Insurance Guide — California Department of Insurance. Form 700, revised June 14, 2024; commercial property, building ordinance or law, time element, inland marine, commercial general liability, and workers compensation sections.
California DOI overview of building and business property, loss of rents, ordinance-or-law, general liability, and builder’s risk.
- Small Business — National Association of Insurance Commissioners. What’s general liability? and What does general liability not cover?, lines 29–54; Other types of business liability insurance, lines 55–63; What is workers’ compensation?, lines 158–163.
NAIC buyer explanations of property, general liability, professional E&O, and workers’ compensation; not policy wording.
- Cybersecurity for Small Business — Federal Trade Commission. NIST Cybersecurity Framework section on managing cybersecurity risks and deciding whether cybersecurity insurance is appropriate.
- National Flood Insurance Program Summary of Coverage: Commercial Property — Federal Emergency Management Agency / National Flood Insurance Program. January 2024 General Property Form brochure: eligible property, PDF pages 2–3; coverage and deductibles, pages 3–4; exclusions, page 7; policy contract note, page 9.
NFIP General Property Form categories, separate building/contents treatment, and stated exclusions; eligibility and policy wording still need confirmation.
- Waterfront Resilience Story Maps — Port of San Francisco. Waterfront Resilience Story Maps overview and linked subarea resources.
Port of San Francisco subarea planning context for waterfront flood and earthquake studies, not parcel-specific insurance evidence.
Spot, a product of Tools for Enlightenment, publishes this guide and works in the commercial insurance market. This is general buyer education; policy terms, the actual contract, and applicable law determine coverage and requirements.
Updated 2026-09-28. Editorial Policy
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