As an individual or organization, you likely have valuable papers and records that you’d like protected. This could range from sales records, customer order forms, contracts, and other documents that your business needs to operate efficiently.
Valuable papers and records can get damaged or destroyed because of fires, employee errors, sprinkler defects, and other perils. This is where valuable papers and records coverage comes in.
Records and valuable papers business insurance covers the costs of replacing damaged or destroyed documents. It also covers the cost of having these replacement documents signed, notarized, or made official for public purposes.
Valuable papers coverage has evolved over time. There’ve been additions to valuable papers and records insurance coverage to include a clause tagged “Cost of Research.” This extends the valuable papers insurance coverage to the cost of researching and restoring records on all media, especially if no duplicates exist.
Note that valuable papers and records insurance would only apply to losses that arise from the incident indicated in the policy document. Similar to other covers, valuable paper business insurance will only pay the costs up to the limit indicated for each insured.
It can be categorized into three types, depending on the documents insured.
It provides coverage to all papers and records owned by your company that can be replaced and reproduced. If a covered peril happens, you’ll receive money for the cost of research and extra labor for replacement or reproduction.
This covers any type of papers and records that cannot be replaced or reproduced. Examples are primary research data, confidential papers, and others. If a covered incident happens, valuable papers and records insurance for irreplaceable documents will cover the monetary value of what was lost or damaged.
Coverage doesn’t apply to all items automatically. Irreplaceable records and papers must be scheduled one-by-one in the terms of the policy.
This coverage insures documents containing information about products customers availed.
In the event of damage or loss, accounts receivable insurance will cover the money you would have collected from customers, cost of research, and cost of reproduction or replacement.
valuable papers insurance compensates you up to the cost of replacing or restoring valuable records and papers that have been lost or destroyed. Further, most carriers exclusively define valuable records and papers as those written, printed, or inscribed except money, security, data records, and data stored electronically.
A review of insurers offering this policy states the following as the valuable papers that are covered. These include:
Note that even if you have made duplicates of any of these papers, the insurer is mandated to cover the cost of their replacement.
Valuable papers and records insurance rarely covers soft copies of papers and records stored in computers.
In case of a data breach and important files are deleted, you can use cyber liability insurance coverage instead.
Cyber liability insurance offers electronic data loss coverage, depending on which insurance company underwrites it.
Valuable papers and records insurance is automatically included in commercial property insurance. Look at the quote of your commercial property policy and you’ll find a section there indicating the assigned limits for valuable papers and records as well as accounts receivable.
It is also included in a business owner’s policy. It’s because a BOP, in essence, is made by bundling commercial property insurance with general liability insurance.
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The average valuable papers and records insurance cost is $43.65 per month or $523.80 per year. Several factors will affect just how much you pay in the insurance premiums. Most important is the assessed value of the paper or record in question.
In addition, here’s a table showing the cost of valuable papers and records insurance from the recommended carriers.
Cost per Month | Cost per Year | ||
NEXT | $17 | $204 | |
CoverWallet | $19.16 | $229.92 | |
Tivly | $21 | $252 | |
Thimble | $22 | $264 | |
Hiscox | $24 | $288 | |
Progressive | $25 | $300 | |
MiniCo | $30 | $360 | |
American Collectors | $49.20 | $590.40 | |
Chubb | $152.92 | $1,835.04 |
NEXT
NEXT offers policy bundle discounts and quick online application. NEXT’s commercial property insurance comes with a $5,000-$10,000 valuable papers and records insurance. This is offered as an automatic add-on.
Average cost: $17 per month
Our rating: 10/10
Pros
Tivly will hook you up with its partners that can provide coverage regardless of your business profile. Call Tivly now and compare the quotes of valuable papers and records insurance over the phone.
Average cost: $21 per month
Our rating: 10/10
Average cost: $22 per month
Our rating: 9/10
Hiscox’s valuable papers insurance coverage is available as an automatic add-on to its commercial property insurance. This provides a $2,500-$5,000 coverage for important business documents.
Average cost: $24 per month
Our rating: 9/10
They allow you to add a rider to your property protection policy that covers valuable papers and records. Note, however, that Progressive might require you to purchase a standalone policy if the value of the paper or records exceeds a predetermined amount.
Average cost: $25 per month
Our rating: 7/10
CoverWallet sells valuable papers and records insurance as an automatic add-on to the commercial property coverage of business owner’s policies. This company’s valuable papers and records insurance offers $10,000-$25,000 coverage.
Average cost: $19.16 per month
Our rating: 10/10
Founded in 1974, MiniCo offers this specialty product in partnership with AXA XL. With time, the insurer has evolved to gain an A+ rating from AM Best.
Through MiniCo Insurance, you will be able to protect your valuable papers and records at competitive premiums and $0 deductibles.
Average cost: $30 per month
Our rating: 6/10
For me this company has proven to be the best to do business with and worth my hard earned money. Contractors this is your company look no further.
Decent experience with Hiscox business insurance
Good company. Good and knowledgable customer service. If they don't know something they will pass you on to a more experienced rep that is more knowledgable. So far so good.
Best insurance ever
Coolest concept, I wish this was applied to other insurance products too.
Fastest ever online insurance quote and purchase! Also, great rates and professional customer reps that helps with whatever you need, if you need. Nice company!
Embroker sells a product that it doesn't honor. We purchased a combination D&O and EPLI policy. However, when it came to renewal, it told us that we only had D&O coverage even through our ACCORD certificate clearly mentions we have both. Basically they refused to honor the EPLI coverage and will leave you hanging with the bag. At time of renewal, they more than doubled our quote to get similar coverage. Basically BAIT & SWITCH. Unacceptable tactics. Easy to buy and pay but you may not be... Read More
Great platform. Terrible policy. There is no teeth behind it. No coverage. It's a fake policy that they sell. Sold us an EPLI policy that later we came to find out had no EPLI coverage. Amazing that they can get away with outright fraud. Check the positive reviews. They are all 'Anonymous' posted by Emroker staff. Stay away and find a real policy that will actually provide you coverage. We've been bitten by them and hope to find restitution via a lawsuit.
Paul Burns Insuranker
Policy Type: Business Insurance
Company name: Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies
It has been 70 days since I made a claim on the roof of my building. No one from the company will return calls. We are in hurricane season and located in Louisiana. My building is tarped to secure it.
Felicia Broadus Insuranker
Policy Type: Business Insurance
Company name: Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies
They are the worst, my truck was hit in January 23 and the claim adjuster has not been out to this very day! They have every excuse in the book as to why. They have not been to the collision shop. PLEASE AVOID THESE SCAM ARTIST!
Felicia Broadus Insuranker
Policy Type: Business Insurance
Company name: Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies
Avoid these SCAM ARTISTS! They don’t pay claims!!! Save yourself the trouble and money!
Kasey Arey Insuranker
Policy Type: Business Insurance
Company name: Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies
This company gives you a price that was in place for a year and when you have to use it there is fine print were they can go back and charge you more. Would not recommend them to any one. Crooks
John Murphy Insuranker
Policy Type: Business Insurance
Company name: Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies
Worst insurance comapny I have ever dealt with. A commercial vehicle represented by GUARD t boned my wife and daughters family vehicle in the middle of the day. Driver was cited and insurance claim insued. Fast forward 4 months and refusal of full amount of claim is still happening. Driver was found guilty, repairs started on my vehicle and when it comes to the final bill and diminished value we cannot get any help. I am out a family car, have an injured and traumatized wife and children,... Read More
Harshadray Patel Insuranker
Policy Type: Business Insurance
Company name: Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies
Extremely bad service, when you call , will make you wait on the phone for ever (over an Hour) and still no one to answer , so you end up hanging up. To cancel the policy, bounce you from one department to the other. They are supposed to refund from the date other insurance started and after sending the proof of other insurance policy, still they did not refund based on that actual date instead they use the date i managed to get hold of them. They charged me $7000.00 for a year's insurance on... Read More
Aaron Wensel Insuranker
Policy Type: Business Insurance
Company name: Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies
Guard Insurance is terrible. They were so bad I cancelled them because them couldn't figure out why I would never get a paper copy of the bill . Verified my address with them and still intermittent billing. I cancelled them in March through my local broker. Today 6/27 I get a letter in the mail from a collections company saying I owe 87.97. This was the first myself or my broker heard of owing this money. Here is some advice for this failure of a company send me a god damn bill and I will pay.... Read More
Michael Swink Insuranker
Policy Type: Business Insurance
Company name: Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies
My employer had to have workers compensation by law. He obtained a policy through this Berkshire Hathaway GUARD and they failed me. I fell from a ladder and fractured my spine in 7 different places, my clavicle in 4 places, and the base of my skull. Going to my Dr visits I was prescribed medication for pain and the insurance company placed a pre-authorization hold on me picking up the medication from Walgreens. The hold lasted 5 days! My weekly benefits have never been on time, right now... Read More
Liberty Mutual is one of the more simple companies to deal with. I had to file a claim for my business owner policy after I caught one of my employees stealing a large amount of products from my business. Liberty mutual paid the claim fast and with no efforts. I wish the legal process was as easy…
For me this company has proven to be the best to do business with and worth my hard earned money. Contractors this is your company look no further.
Decent experience with Hiscox business insurance
Very pleased with Hiscox - their small business insurance rates are very good and they specialize in small business which gives me a peace of mind as a small business owner. So far so good!
Their customer service is absolutely fantastic. Very patient, knowledgable and provided excellent explanation of the purchased policy. I would highly recommend this insurance company to anyone that's looking to protect their business from unexpected expense. Thank you Hiscox for doing a great job for my business!
STAY AWAY! I wouldn't recommend hiscox small business liability insurance to anyone. Better not waste both your money and your time. Hiscox customer service is extremely unpleasant, not organized and not professional. It is the worst company we have dealt with in almost 25 years in business!
Good company. Good and knowledgable customer service. If they don't know something they will pass you on to a more experienced rep that is more knowledgable. So far so good.
Extremely fast and simple. Wasted a lot of time and money until I found these guys! I feel like my business is in good hands now.
Hiscox's the best! My business is insured with them for over 12 years and am not planning to switch!
Excellent experience with Hiscox BOP for my coffee shop. They provided all it needed.
My HI barbershop is well covered with their great BOP product for 5 years already! not planning to switch!
Best insurance ever
Coolest concept, I wish this was applied to other insurance products too.
Great experience
Didn't relate to the concept much, but it makes sense if you need insurance to go
It doesn't really feel sustainable to me and doesn't offer business interruption, product liability and commercial property insurance. They have no local agents and despite their technology first approach you cannot file claims online. Additionally, product manufacturers are not covered by Thimble and they don't provide enterprise solutions.
As a contractor that works 3 times a week for a few hours, Thimble gets really handy for me and saves me money. I have no use for these massive business insurance coverages offered by traditional insurance companies.
Excellent concept which is useful to many small businesses!
Been waiting for this type of solution for a long time!
Love their business insurance solutions for freelancers! Great app!