Coronavirus: Will I Be Covered By Business Interruption Insurance ?
You took a business insurance, and you want to know at what extend this insurance could cover you in time of coronavirus?
You've come to the right place. In this guide, we compiled informations, so that you you can untangle the true from the false on the coronavirus and if you're covered or not by your business insurance.
How business insurance work?
Standard commercial policies cover your business against usually things such as fire, theft, work accidents.
Small businesses are not covered from infections, this is quite rare to be covered for this kind of situations.
Can you be covered by business interruption insurance?
First thing, let's examine the exact definition of this insurance.
This insurance protects you against an interruption in your business that will:
- Cause a drop in your revenue, or
- Cause a loss of income due to a particular situation, or event.
These situations are usually listed into the policy. This insurance can protect you against lost profit.
What business interruption insurance covers exactly?
Most contracts will list the exact things that are covered by business interruption insurance:
- Fire
- Flood
- Storm
- Accidents (employees accidents for example).
There a also policies that tare covering particular situations such as work interruption due to exceptional situations: police intervention, collapsing building...
The question that we can legitimately ask ourselves is: does business interruption cover work interruption caused by coronavirus?
Does business interruption cover work interruption caused by coronavirus?
Standard business policy will generally not cover covid 19, in case of work interruption.
As, all the situations must be listed, and generally infections or general disease are not in the list, small or biggest businesses won't be able to claim on this basis.
And if you have the notifiable disease extension, are you covered against covid-19?
If you added to your business insurance the extension that covers your business against notifiable or infectious diseases, it may work. But this type of extension is rare.
It is better to check directly with provider or broker to see the extend of the coverage.
The only problem is that diseases usually are listed on the contract. If you have disease extension and they are not listed, you can be covered.
Are there any extensions that can cover coronavirus if you have a business interruption insurance?
You can be covered if you took this particular extension "non-damage, denial of access".
This is quite a rare extension to add.
What means "non damage, denial of access"?
This add-on is referring to a loss of income resulting on a physical incapacity to go to the work place for example cordoned off areas. If denial of access is a consequence of covid-19, maybe this extension can work.
