Colorado hail does not care whether a building is a house or a strip center. What changes is the deductible. Commercial property policies along the Front Range increasingly carry percentage wind and hail deductibles, and on a commercial building that percentage turns into a number most owners cannot absorb out of operating cash after a single storm.
Most commercial property policies do not offer a flat hail deductible any more, so the only practical way to lower what you pay out of pocket is a wind and hail deductible buy-down: a separate policy that pays you a set amount after a qualifying wind or hail event. Premier Mountain Insurance now writes these on commercial property through Sola, with limits from $5,000 to $250,000 per building.
What a commercial wind and hail buy-down actually is
It is a stand-alone policy. It sits alongside your commercial property coverage rather than changing it. You choose a dollar amount of protection for each building. When a qualifying wind or hail event hits that location and your building sustains non-cosmetic damage, the policy pays that amount, and you decide where the money goes: the deductible on your property claim, a roof repair, a temporary fix while you wait on a contractor, or the tenant disruption that follows.
Because it is its own policy, it does not raise the limits or lower the deductible on your commercial property policy. It puts cash behind the deductible that policy already has. What qualifies as a covered event, and what is excluded, varies by form and by carrier, so read the policy you are quoted rather than assuming every buy-down works the same way.
What a percentage deductible costs a building owner
Percentage deductibles are calculated on the insured value of the building, not on the size of the claim. On commercial property, 2% is about as low as it goes. Most of our clients carry 5%, and we have seen 8%. That math is what catches owners off guard:
- 2% on a $2,000,000 building is $40,000 out of pocket
- 5% on a $2,000,000 building is $100,000
- 5% on a $5,000,000 building is $250,000
- 8% on a $5,000,000 building is $400,000
Colorado sits in what the industry calls Hail Alley. The stretch from Fort Collins to Pueblo takes damaging hail most years, replacement costs have climbed, and carriers have responded by moving wind and hail off a flat dollar deductible and onto a percentage. For an owner with one building that is a bad year. For an owner with six, it is a capital problem.
How much coverage you can buy
Sola’s commercial limits run from $5,000 to $250,000 per building. Per building, not per policy. A four-building industrial park can carry its own limit on each structure, and a portfolio can carry different limits at different locations depending on what each property policy’s deductible looks like.
Most owners size the limit to the wind and hail deductible they are actually exposed to. If your property policy carries a 5% deductible on a $2,000,000 building, that is $100,000 of exposure, and a $100,000 buy-down limit covers all of it. At 8% on a larger building the deductible can run past the $250,000 cap, in which case the buy-down offsets most of it rather than all of it. Some owners buy less and treat the buy-down as a floor rather than a full offset. Either approach is workable, and we will walk through both when we quote it.
How the commercial policy works when a storm hits
Sola built the commercial product to mirror its residential one, with a handful of differences that matter to a building owner:
- The commercial policy responds to wind gusts as low as 65 mph, though a storm at the low end of that range pays out less than the full policy limit
- Coverage includes HVAC units on the roof, often the most expensive thing a hailstorm touches on a commercial building
- Coverage extends to farms and grain bins
- There is no deductible on the Sola policy itself
Claims are typically paid within three to four days of filing when a roofing report and photos of the damage are provided. That timing is the practical point. You are not waiting on a property adjuster’s calendar to get the money that covers your deductible.
Where this coverage is available in Colorado
We would rather tell you this up front than after you fill out a form. Sola’s commercial program is not open in every Colorado county. As of August 2026, commercial quoting is unavailable in Arapahoe, Douglas, El Paso and Jefferson counties.
That closes out Littleton, Lakewood, Golden, Arvada, Wheat Ridge, Centennial, Aurora, Englewood, Greenwood Village, Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree, Parker, Castle Rock and all of Colorado Springs.
Commercial quoting is open in Denver, Adams County (Thornton, Westminster, Brighton, Commerce City), Broomfield, Boulder, Weld, Larimer, Elbert, Pueblo and most of the rest of the state.
If your building sits in one of the four closed counties, send us the details anyway. The deductible is still the problem worth solving, and we shop more than 30 carriers. Sometimes the better answer is changing the property policy itself rather than buying a second one, and we would rather have that conversation than leave you with a $40,000 deductible and no plan.
Who this is built for
- Owners of retail, office, industrial and mixed-use buildings
- Apartment and multifamily owners carrying a percentage deductible on a large insured value
- Real estate holding companies with several buildings across the Front Range
- Business owners who own the building their business operates out of
- Anyone whose renewal came back with a percentage wind and hail deductible for the first time
The named insured can be an LLC, a corporation, a partnership, a trust, a REIT, a non-profit or a government entity, so the ownership structure is rarely the obstacle.
What we need to quote it
Less than you would expect. There is no building inspection, no roof age questionnaire and no loss run required to get a number:
- The legal name of the entity that owns the property, and its entity type
- A contact name, title, email and phone number
- The business mailing address
- The address of every property you want covered
- How many buildings sit at those properties
- How much coverage you want per building
If you are not sure what limit to pick, say so on the form and we will look at your current deductible and recommend one.
Common questions
Does this replace my commercial property insurance?
No. It is a separate policy that sits behind the deductible on the property policy you already carry. You need both.
Can I cover more than one building or more than one location?
Yes. Multiple properties can go on one quote, and each building at a property gets its own limit. Lienholders can be listed as well, which matters when a lender is named on the mortgage.
How soon can coverage start?
The earliest start date is five days after the policy is written. Storms that have already happened are not covered, so this is worth putting in place before the season rather than during it.
What does it cost?
Premium depends on the limit you choose, where the building sits and how many structures you cover. The more useful comparison is not the premium on its own but the premium next to what your property carrier would charge to lower the wind and hail deductible directly. We quote both so you can see which one is actually the better deal for your building.
Do you write the rest of my commercial insurance too?
Yes. Premier Mountain Insurance is an independent agency in Littleton representing more than 30 carriers across commercial property, general liability, workers’ compensation, commercial auto and builders risk. A wind and hail buy-down is worth doing on its own, and it is worth doing as part of a program review.
Request a commercial wind and hail quote
Bree Royer and Laura Mortimer handle commercial quoting for Premier Mountain Insurance. Fill this out and one of them will be in touch within one business day. If you would rather talk it through first, call us at 303.922.1002.
Business insurance from a local Colorado agency
Premier Mountain Insurance is an independent agency based in Littleton, Colorado, working with business owners across the Front Range. We are not tied to one carrier, which means when a property renewal comes back with a deductible that does not work, we can go looking rather than explain why nothing can be done.
