I insure Philadelphia-area strip malls and shopping centers as lessor’s risk: the building, the common areas and the rent stream on the owner’s policy, with each tenant carrying its own liability and naming the owner. What moves the placement here is snow and ice handling, vacancy, the age of the building and where it sits relative to the rivers. Flood is always a separate policy.
What a Pennsylvania underwriter asks first
- Hills and ridgesPennsylvania courts do not hold an owner liable for generally slippery conditions after a storm. The doctrine has exceptions that matter in a plowed lot.
- Comparative negligenceUnder 42 Pa.C.S. section 7102 an injured person recovers unless their negligence was greater than the defendants’, with damages reduced by their share. A defendant held at least 60 percent liable is jointly and severally liable.
- Two yearsInjury suits in Pennsylvania must generally be started within two years.
- Vacant storefrontsThe city requires a Vacant Commercial Property License once a commercial property has been vacant more than three months.
- FacadesBuildings six or more stories tall, or with any appurtenance more than 60 feet high, owe the city periodic facade inspections.
- Residual marketThe Pennsylvania FAIR Plan writes commercial buildings on a standard property policy, up to a per-location cap.
Hills and ridges, and the six-hour sidewalk rule
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court set out the test in Rinaldi v. Levine (1962). A person who falls on snow or ice has to prove that it had accumulated in ridges or elevations of such size and character as to unreasonably obstruct travel, that the owner had actual or constructive notice of that condition, and that the dangerous accumulation caused the fall. A general slippery condition is not enough.
That sounds like strong protection, and owners over-read it. The Superior Court’s opinions describe the doctrine as applying only to an entirely natural accumulation following a recent snowfall, and list exceptions: a localized patch of ice rather than a general condition, and ice caused by the owner’s own neglect, such as a defective drain. In a 2020 memorandum decision (non-precedential) involving a fall in a plaza parking lot, the court sent the case against the plaza owner and its snow contractor back for trial where an expert pointed to defects around the lot’s drains and plowed snow blocking them. Plow piles that melt and refreeze across a drive aisle are how the doctrine gets lost.
The city’s own rule is short. Philadelphia Code section 10-720 requires the owner, agent and tenants of any building to clear a path at least 36 inches wide on abutting sidewalks, including curb cuts, within six hours after the snow stops, and the path must be thoroughly cleared of snow and ice. Because the ordinance names tenants too, the lease should say who does it. I look for a written snow contract and a certificate naming the owner as additional insured on the contractor’s policy. Why that wording matters.
Security, bar tenants and dispensaries
- Security you promise is security you owe. In Feld v. Merriam (1984) the Pennsylvania Supreme Court found no general duty of a landlord to protect tenants against criminal intrusion, but held that a landlord who offers a program of security, such as personnel assigned to patrol the premises, must carry it out with reasonable care. That was an apartment-complex case; how it reaches a retail lot is a question for your attorney. Underwriters ask what security the leases and marketing promise, and whether it is actually delivered.
- Bars and restaurants. The Liquor Code makes it unlawful to sell or furnish alcohol to a visibly intoxicated person, and section 497 says a licensee is not liable to third persons for harm a customer causes off the premises unless that customer was served while visibly intoxicated. Those provisions are written about licensees, not landlords. Owners still get named over what happens in the parking lot, so the lease should require the tenant’s liquor liability and general liability to name the owner.
- Dispensaries. Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Program, signed into law in April 2016, is run by the Department of Health and includes dispensaries. Tell me before the lease is signed; many property and liability forms treat that tenancy differently.
Vacant storefronts and facade reports
A dark anchor or a row of empty bays changes both the city’s rules and the insurance.
- The license. L&I says you need a Vacant Commercial Property License if your commercial property has been vacant more than three months and no construction work is happening or scheduled. The owner must post a bond sized by the building’s square footage, and the license is renewed every year the property stays vacant.
- No plywood. Under section PM-304.19 of the Philadelphia Code, doors, windows and roof openings must be in good repair and secured against trespassers, and exterior openings cannot be closed with materials other than doors and windows unless the code official approves. L&I’s guidance is blunt: you can’t use boards or masonry to seal the openings.
- Facades. Owners of buildings six or more stories tall, or with any appurtenance more than 60 feet high, must have the facade inspected within ten years after the structure is finished and every five years after that. Fire escapes are on the same list. A one-story strip center is under the line; a Center City retail block often is not.
On the policy side, standard commercial property forms cut back coverage once a building has been largely vacant for a stretch, and vandalism and water damage are usually the first things to go. Tell me when a major tenant gives notice, not after the space is empty. How vacant building coverage works.
Ida, the Schuylkill and winter weight
The National Weather Service office for Philadelphia calls the remnants of Ida, on September 1, 2021, one of the area’s worst natural disasters ever observed, with numerous rivers in major flood and some at their highest crests on record. NOAA’s gauge for the Schuylkill River at Philadelphia crested at 16.35 feet on September 2, 2021, above the 15.5-foot major flood stage and second in its historic list only to 17 feet in 1869. The same storm produced an EF-2 tornado in Upper Dublin Township, Montgomery County. In winter, the storm of January 22–24, 2016 left 22.4 inches at Philadelphia International Airport.
For a retail center that translates into three coverage points. Flood is excluded from standard commercial property policies and is bought separately, through the NFIP or a private flood market; how flood coverage works. Wind and hail may carry their own deductible: the Pennsylvania Insurance Department’s consumer guide explains percentage wind and hail deductibles for homeowners, and I have not found equivalent published guidance for commercial buildings, where the deductible is set policy by policy. And an older building repaired after a large loss has to meet current code, which is what ordinance or law coverage pays for.
The Pennsylvania FAIR Plan
The Insurance Placement Facility of Pennsylvania, the state’s FAIR Plan, has operated since October 28, 1968 for owners who cannot get basic property insurance in the voluntary market. It writes commercial properties on the Standard Property Policy, with windstorm or hail, vandalism and sprinkler leakage available as added coverage. Its rules cap all insurable property at any one location at one million seven hundred fifty thousand dollars, with lower building maximums by construction type and fire protection, and reduce the limits by one third when a building is vacant.
Its eligibility rules also treat a building vacant or unoccupied longer than thirty days as ineligible unless it is boarded up and secured, with listed exceptions. Since the city restricts boarding, a vacant Philadelphia building needs that sorted out with L&I and the underwriter before anyone relies on the Plan. It is property coverage; liability, loss of rents and excess limits are placed separately.
Lessor’s risk, certificates and loss of rents
A lessor’s risk program depends on the leases doing their share.
- Tenant certificates. Each tenant’s general liability should name the owner and manager as additional insured on a primary basis, with a current certificate on file.
- Loss of rents. Set the limit from the actual rent roll, including reimbursed taxes and common-area charges, and a realistic permit and rebuild period. How income coverage works.
- Umbrella. With joint and several liability possible at 60 percent of fault, I pay attention to the excess limit on any center with a large lot.
What to send me
- Address, year built, stories, construction and square footage, with roof age and type.
- The tenant schedule, with each use and lease dates, and any bar, restaurant, dispensary or vacant bay marked.
- For vacant space: how long it has been empty, the city license status and how it is secured.
- Lease insurance clauses and current tenant certificates.
- The snow contract and the contractor’s certificate.
- Facade or fire escape reports, if the building is tall enough to need them.
- Declarations pages and five years of loss runs, plus the flood zone if you know it.
Common questions
Who insures shopping centers and strip malls in Philadelphia?
Standard commercial carriers write most occupied centers as lessor’s risk, and surplus lines markets take older, partly vacant or loss-heavy buildings. The Pennsylvania FAIR Plan writes commercial buildings up to its per-location cap when the voluntary market declines.
What is the hills and ridges doctrine in Pennsylvania?
It is the rule that an owner is not liable for generally slippery conditions; the injured person must prove snow or ice built up in ridges or elevations that unreasonably obstructed travel, that the owner had notice, and that it caused the fall. Courts apply exceptions for localized ice and for ice caused by the owner’s neglect.
How soon do I have to shovel a commercial sidewalk in Philadelphia?
Philadelphia Code section 10-720 requires a path at least 36 inches wide on abutting sidewalks, including curb cuts, within six hours after the snow stops. It applies to the owner, agent and tenants.
Do I need a license for a vacant storefront in Philadelphia?
If the commercial property has been vacant more than three months and no construction is happening or scheduled, the city requires a Vacant Commercial Property License with a bond, renewed each year. Vacancy also changes your property coverage, so tell your broker early.
Does my shopping center need a facade inspection in Philadelphia?
Only if the building is six or more stories tall or has an appurtenance more than 60 feet high. Those facades must be inspected within ten years of completion and every five years after.
Does commercial property insurance cover flood from the Schuylkill or Delaware?
No. Flood is excluded from standard commercial property policies and is bought as a separate policy through the NFIP or a private flood market.
Is a Pennsylvania landlord liable when a bar tenant overserves a customer?
The Liquor Code’s liability provisions are written about licensees. Owners are still named in suits over parking lots and common areas, so the lease should require the tenant’s liquor and general liability policies to name the owner.
General information about insuring retail centers in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania as of November 2026, not legal advice. Court decisions, the Philadelphia Code, L&I licensing and inspection rules and FAIR Plan limits change; confirm current requirements with L&I, the FAIR Plan and your attorney. Coverage depends on underwriting and the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy actually issued.