Coverage built around what moves through your operation.
From inventory and customer goods to forklifts, equipment and downtime, we’ll help you compare coverage for the way your facility operates.
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WHO WE INSURE
Warehouse operations we place.
Every operation below is placed by a HIFA commercial broker. Not listed? Still worth a call.
Distribution
Distribution Centres
Goods in transit, on the dock, and briefly belonging to nobody.
3PL
3PL Providers
Other people’s goods in your care. Warehouse legal liability.
Fulfilment
Fulfilment Centres
Peak-season stock spikes that a flat limit will not follow.
Cold Storage
Cold Storage
Refrigeration breakdown spoils stock before anyone is on site.
Self Storage
Self Storage
Tenants’ goods raise liability questions your own stock does not.
Wholesale
Wholesale Distribution
Fast turnover against a limit that was set months ago.
Specialty
Specialty Storage
Bonded, hazardous or high-value stock that changes the rating.
NOT SURE WHAT YOUR LIMIT SHOULD BE?
Send us your peak numbers, not your averages.
Send square footage, construction, sprinkler design and your peak stock value. A broker checks that against the real accumulation on the floor.
Want to talk now?
WHO THIS IS FOR
Is this you?
If any of these describe your business, a commercial broker is worth the conversation.
1
Third-party logistics providers storing customer-owned goods
2
Operations running forklifts and loading docks with visiting drivers on site
3
Importers and wholesalers holding large seasonal stock positions under one roof
4
Cold storage operations with temperature-sensitive product
5
Operators shipping and receiving with their own or contracted vehicles
WHAT CAN GO WRONG
The claims we see most in warehousing.
Common risks
Fire, where sprinkler protection does not match the commodity actually stored
Water damage from sprinkler discharge or roof failure ruining stock
Legal liability for damage to customer-owned goods in your care
Forklift and dock incidents injuring staff or visiting drivers
Refrigeration failure spoiling temperature-sensitive stock
Theft of high-value goods, particularly electronics and consumer product
Equipment breakdown halting shipping and receiving
Loss of income while stock is unusable or the site is closed
Coverage to discuss
Business Interruption
Stock and Inventory
Warehouse Legal Liability / Bailee
Equipment Breakdown
Crime
Availability, limits and extensions vary by insurer and by operation. A broker confirms what applies to yours.
WHAT WE’LL ASK YOU
The questions that change the policy.
An online form asks what you are. We ask how you operate before approaching insurers.
01
What is stored on site, and is any of it classed as hazardous?
02
How much of the goods on site belong to customers rather than to you?
03
What is the peak value of stock on site, and when in the year does that occur?
04
What is the sprinkler design, and what commodity class and storage height are you actually running?
05
What forklifts and dock equipment are in use, and who is licensed to operate them?
06
Is there refrigeration on site, how is temperature monitored, and is there back-up power?
Rather work through these with a broker?
REAL CLAIM EXAMPLES
Two situations worth understanding.
Sprinkler discharge over stored goods
A sprinkler head is struck by a forklift mast and discharges overnight, saturating pallets of packaged stock, much of it customer-owned. Property coverage may respond to your own damage, while warehouse legal liability may respond to the customers’ goods where you are legally liable. The split between the two is set long before the loss, by the limits you bought and the agreement you signed.
Illustrative only. Whether a policy responds depends on its wording, limits and exclusions, and on your storage agreement and any bailee coverage carried.
Refrigeration failure over a weekend
A compressor fails late on a Friday and the alarm dials a number nobody is watching. By Monday the chamber has warmed far enough that temperature-sensitive stock has to be condemned. Equipment breakdown may respond to the compressor itself, and a spoilage extension may respond to the stock. Whether goods belonging to customers are picked up depends on what else is in place.
Spoilage extensions carry their own sub-limits and often require temperature monitoring to have been maintained.
WHY HIFA
What a specialist broker does differently.
We separate your stock from your customers’ goods
Property coverage protects what you own. Goods held for customers need warehouse legal liability or bailee coverage, and the limit needs to reflect peak inventory, not average. A single blanket stock figure usually leaves a gap, and operators frequently discover this distinction only after a loss.
We size limits to peak, not to average
Inventory in a distribution business swings hard with season and contract wins. A limit set to the annual average is underinsurance for the months that matter most. The week before a seasonal push is what the limit has to survive. Peak season endorsements and reporting forms exist precisely for this, and we use them.
We measure downtime against what you depend on
An indemnity period is a guess unless someone has asked how long a replacement compressor, a run of racking or a dock leveller actually takes to source. We work that out with you before the policy is placed, so the business interruption period reflects the lead times you would really be facing.
WHAT AFFECTS THE PRICE
Two warehouses storing similar goods can price very differently.
What affects your premium
Building construction, age, roof condition and sprinkler protection
Commodity class stored and maximum storage height
Peak and average values of your own stock and customers’ goods
Security: alarm monitoring, fencing, camera coverage, access control
Refrigeration on site, its age and how temperature is monitored
Forklift count, dock configuration and operator training records
Fleet size and radius of operation
Claims history, particularly water and theft losses
What to have ready
Building details: square footage, construction, year built, roof age
Sprinkler design specification and current commodity stored
Peak and average inventory values, split between your goods and customers’
Rack layout and maximum storage height
Standard customer storage or warehousing agreement
Refrigeration equipment list with recent temperature logs
Fleet schedule and cargo values in transit
Security and monitoring details
WHERE WE WORK
The western GTA.
Distribution and storage along the 403, 407 and QEW corridor, in the industrial parks of Burlington, Oakville, Milton, Mississauga and Hamilton.
Common questions
What warehouse operators ask.
Does my property policy cover goods that belong to my customers?
Why do insurers ask so many questions about sprinklers?
How do I insure inventory that swings with the season?
Do I need cargo insurance if I use third-party carriers?
What is coinsurance and why does it matter to a warehouse?
Are forklift injuries covered under general liability?
READY TO TALK?
Cover sized to what is actually on the floor this week.
Send the building details, your peak stock values and your customer storage agreement. A broker comes back with what the market will do.
Want to talk now?