Under a standard commercial building insurance policy, you will be provided with cover for a range of perils. The world peril means an event or cause, for example a fire, storm or flood. The policy will provide, in the event of a valid claim, a financial settlement or reinstatement of any damaged property if the structure of the building has been damaged.
Two of the perils that are usually covered are theft and malicious damage. Under theft cover, if someone breaks in and physically steals something from the tenants (or yourself if you occupy), they will in many cases cause more damage (in cost terms) going into or out of the building than the actual cost of the theft. It is therefore vital that you have this cover but also to make sure that not only theft, but attempted theft is covered. Again, people attempting to break in (ie through an expensive roller shutter) can cause a lot of damage.
In addition to the standard theft cover, you will also get cover for malicious damage. There is a fine line between malicious damage and attempted theft. For example, if a building has a window smashed by a thrown brick, and it is not witnessed, then how do we know if it was someone attempting to break in or just a malicious act.
The law defines what is theft, under the theft act 1968 and all it’s subsequent revisions. If you cannot prove it is theft (which some insurers may ask you to do) then it needs to fall under malicious damage.
When you are locking for a commercial property insurance quote, you will find that both these perils (theft and malicious damage) are covered as they go hand in hand. It is important to make sure though that they are covered with a normal or nominal excess.