Many commercial insurance policies contain what’s called a “protective safeguards endorsement.” This gives the property owner a break on its insurance premiums if the owner protects the property through a fire alarm, automatic sprinkler system, fire safety service contract, or other method of preventing harm.

Sounds like a good idea, right? It can be … but the trick is that these endorsements typically say that the owner must maintain the system in good working order at all times, or notify the insurance company right away if there’s a problem the owner can’t control. Otherwise, the insurance company won’t pay for any losses.

That means the owner must be extremely careful about maintaining its systems. Also, the owner must be extremely careful about not letting a tenant do anything to compromise the systems. If a tenant is allowed to make minor alterations without the owner’s approval, for instance, how will the owner know if the tenant does something that unintentionally affects a sprinkler system?

These endorsements can be a money-saver, but property owners need to think long and hard about the potential negative consequences.