Commercial rental guarantee
Shop, workshop or offices: the security required under a commercial lease quickly reaches six months' rent. An insurance guarantee preserves your operating cash.
Two minutes is all it takes: tell us who you are and what needs covering. We come back with compared quotes.
The essentials
For a commercial lease, the security is not capped as it is for housing: landlords commonly require three to six months' rent, sometimes more for fitted-out premises. For a company setting up, that means tens of thousands of francs immobilised, precisely when fit-out works, stock and the first salaries are due.
The commercial rental guarantee replaces this deposit with an insurance surety: the insurer stands surety towards the landlord, and your cash stays in the business. The annual premium is calculated on the guaranteed amount and on the company's profile; if the insurer indemnifies the landlord, it then exercises recourse against the company for the amount paid.
The guaranteed amount, the release conditions and the interplay with the lease's other securities, bank guarantee, joint surety of the partners, can all be negotiated. We compare the market's offers, check the lease clauses and size the guarantee precisely, so the security reassures the landlord without strangling the cash flow.
What this insurance covers
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Surety towards the commercial landlord
The insurer issues the guarantee certificate provided for in the lease, including for several months' rent: the landlord's requirement is met without a deposit.
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Cash kept in the business
No sum blocked at the bank: working capital stays committed to the activity, the fit-out works and the launch.
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Amounts suited to commercial leases
Guarantees are sized beyond the three months of housing, according to the lease: retail space, offices, workshops, storage.
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Taking over an existing deposit
A bank deposit set up at signature can be replaced during the lease, with the landlord's agreement: the liquidity returns to the company.
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Follow-up at the end of the lease
Return of the premises, final statement, release of the guarantee, then termination of the contract: we follow the chain so the premium stops at the right time.
Who it is for
- Companies signing a commercial lease: shop, restaurant, offices, workshop, storage space.
- Founders and self-employed people who do not want to immobilise their starting capital in a security.
- Growing companies adding a site that want to keep their cash in the operation.
- Commercial tenants whose bank deposit has been dormant for years and could return to the business.
How we support you
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Analysing your risks
What you have, what is missing, what overlaps: an honest assessment.
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Competitive tenders
Several insurers approached against a precise specification, compared item by item.
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Long-term follow-up
Set-up, renewals, claims: a single point of contact, year after year.
Frequently asked questions
How much security can a commercial landlord require?
Unlike housing, the law does not cap the security of a commercial lease: the amount is a matter of contract. Three to six months' rent is common, more for heavily fitted-out premises or a young tenant. The amount is negotiated at signature, as is the form of the security: that is the moment to propose an insurance surety rather than a deposit, and we support you in that discussion.
How does it differ from a bank guarantee?
A bank guarantee generally immobilises assets or eats into your credit limit; the insurance surety is paid through an annual premium and touches neither your cash nor your bank lines. Conversely, the premium is a pure cost, with no savings built up. The right choice depends on the cost of your capital: for a company whose cash is working, the insurance surety is often the more rational option.
What happens if the landlord calls on the guarantee?
The insurer pays the landlord the justified claims, unpaid rent, damage to the premises, then exercises recourse against the company for the amount paid. The surety therefore does not replace sound management of the lease: it replaces the deposit. In a disagreement with the landlord your means of objection remain, and company legal protection cover can take over.
Is the premium a deductible expense?
The surety premium is an ordinary operating expense, booked like the company's other insurance premiums. Its accumulated cost over the term of the lease must however be weighed against the return you draw from the cash left free: we put both columns into figures, lease by lease, before recommending a form of security.
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Jules Rossier, non-tied insurance intermediary within the meaning of Art. 45 of the Insurance Supervision Act (ISA), registered with FINMA under no. F01581788.