Every tenant, every parking space.
Coverage for strip malls, neighborhood shopping centers, retail plazas and commercial condominium associations.
By Sam Alishahi · CA Insurance License #4348151 · Reviewed November 2026 · How this page is researched
The common areas are yours
A shopping center owner is responsible for the buildings, parking lots, sidewalks and common areas where shoppers slip, trip and park. Tenant mix matters: a restaurant or bar changes the fire and liability picture for the whole center, and vacancies affect property coverage.
Lenders set property and earthquake requirements, and leases define what tenants insure. I place shopping center coverage with carriers that write retail real estate, from single strip malls to multi-building centers.
- Building and common areasStructures, signs, lighting and parking lots.
- Premises liabilityShoppers and visitors in common areas.
- Lost rentsRent lost while a covered loss is repaired.
- EarthquakeOften required by lenders on older centers.
What underwriters will ask
Having these ready means I can go to market on the first call. The quote form asks for the same things, and anything you don’t know yet can wait.
- Property: addresses, buildings, year built and construction.
- Tenants: tenant list with businesses and square footage.
- Values: building values and annual rents.
- Common areas: parking, lighting, security and maintenance.
- Loan: lender insurance requirements.
- History: current policies and claims.
Do you owe shoppers a security guard?
After an assault in a center's parking lot, the case California courts start with is Ann M. v. Pacific Plaza Shopping Center (1993) 6 Cal.4th 666. A tenant's employee was attacked at work in a secluded area of the center, which had hired no security guards. The California Supreme Court held that, under the facts of that case, the owner did not owe a duty to provide security guards.
The court also restated the baseline. Landowners must maintain land in their possession and control in a reasonably safe condition, and a landlord's duty includes taking reasonable steps to secure common areas against foreseeable criminal acts of third parties. For a duty to hire guards, the court required a high degree of foreseeability, which it said can rarely, if ever, be proven without prior similar incidents of violent crime on the premises.
Delgado v. Trax Bar & Grill (2005) 36 Cal.4th 224, a bar case about a proprietor's duty to its patrons and invitees, refined that rule:
- A sliding scale. Where preventing a crime would impose a great or onerous burden, heightened foreseeability, shown by prior similar incidents, is required. Where harm can be prevented by simple, minimally burdensome means, ordinary foreseeability is enough.
- Responding to events in progress. A proprietor can owe a duty to respond to events unfolding in its presence with reasonable, relatively simple and minimally burdensome measures. The opinion's examples include telephoning the police or 911, and an escort by existing security personnel to a car in the parking lot.
- Having security is not, by itself, an assumed duty. The court said choosing to have a security program does not mean the proprietor has assumed a duty to protect invitees from third-party violence.
These are California decisions; other states differ. Before I submit a center, I ask for the incident history at the address, what security and patrol is in place today, and who on site is told to call 911. Those facts shape the general liability submission and how much umbrella to ask for above it.
Federal security planning for open centers
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) lists shopping centers among public gatherings, places where people gather freely together for a specific purpose. It says these sites are increasingly vulnerable to violent attacks and criminal activity because of their relative accessibility and large number of potential targets, and that they often have minimal security. Its advice: connect with local authorities, develop incident response plans, train staff and volunteers, and report concerns to emergency authorities. Tools it offers owners:
- Security Planning Workbook. CISA describes it as a comprehensive resource to help owners and operators develop a foundational security plan, flexible and scalable to suit most facilities.
- Vehicle Ramming Self-Assessment Tool. Built by CISA in partnership with the Chicago Police Department's Crime Prevention and Information Center. You add areas of interest, such as a special event area, and answer questions on vehicle-accessible entrances and their size, pedestrian density, whether pedestrians can escape, and whether they have a clear view of an approaching vehicle. Results rate Elevated, Moderate or Some Concern, list options for consideration, and can be exported to a Word report.
- Active Assailant Security Resources. Action guides on attack methods and suggested protective measures, linked from CISA's public gatherings page.
A finished plan and an assessment report are documents you can hand an underwriter who asks what security planning the center has. If you host seasonal events or a market in the lot, run the tool on that area too. How policies for these incidents are written is on the active assailant page.
Shopping center insurance, answered
Who insures the parking lot?
Usually the owner, since common areas are under the owner's control. Leases may shift some responsibility to tenants.
How do restaurant tenants affect insurance?
Cooking operations raise the fire exposure for the whole center, so carriers look closely at tenant mix.
Do lenders require earthquake coverage?
Some do, especially on older or larger centers. Check your loan documents.
What do underwriters rate on?
Location, construction, tenant mix, vacancies, values and claims history.
Do you offer shopping center insurance outside California?
Yes. Clients across the country send the same quote form. Sam Alishahi is licensed in all 50 states and Washington, DC and places policies there directly. The shopping across carriers works the same way. Rules, minimums and markets differ by state — see insurance requirements by state.
Official sources
- Ann M. v. Pacific Plaza Shopping Center (1993) 6 Cal.4th 666, Supreme Court of California
- Delgado v. Trax Bar & Grill (2005) 36 Cal.4th 224, Supreme Court of California
- California Civil Code section 52
- California Civil Code section 55.31
- California Civil Code section 55.32
- California Civil Code section 55.54
- California Civil Code section 55.56
- California Vehicle Code section 22500.1
- CISA: Securing Public Gatherings
- CISA: Vehicle Ramming Self-Assessment Tool
Send the rent roll. I'll shop it.
The addresses, tenant list and current policy are enough to start.
Alishahi Insurance · Saman Alishahi, independent insurance broker, California License #4348151. General information, not a quote or a promise of coverage; coverage depends on underwriting and the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy actually issued. Some policies may be placed with nonadmitted (surplus lines) insurers, which are not members of the California Insurance Guarantee Association (CIGA).
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