How Business Interruption Insurance Can Benefit Your Business
What if you are forced to close your Edmonton business due to fire, vandalism, or flood for an unspecified period of time? Did you know that business interruption insurance can financially protect your business when its temporarily forced to close?
Business interruption insurance provides financial support for your Edmonton business when it has to close temporarily after a loss that’s covered in your insurance policy. Would you be able to pay all your expenses, including payroll, without business interruption insurance? The answer is usually no.
Your Western Financial Group business insurance expert will give you top-notch commercial insurance advice and ways to save on insurance for your Edmonton business.
What is business interruption insurance?
Business interruption insurance helps recover lost business income and ongoing business expenses while your Edmonton small business is temporarily closed.
This type of insurance usually can’t be purchased as a stand-alone policy. Business interruption insurance is included under your commercial property insurance, or as an add-on to your business insurance policy.
What does business interruption insurance cover?
There are a number of losses that can force your Edmonton small business to shut down. Some examples are:
- Damage to your equipment from fire or vandalism
- A major reduction in revenue due to a client/supplier facing losses of their own
- A disruption in your supply chain
Business interruption insurance can help with these expenses:
- Payroll
- Rent
- Utilities
- Property taxes
- Alarm monitoring
- Relocation of your business
Most business interruption policies respond after 12 or 24 hours of consecutive closure of your business.
How business interruption insurance can help your Edmonton small business
A kitchen fire has forced the closure of your Edmonton restaurant for repairs. Your business interruption insurance covers the rent while the restaurant is closed.
Business interruption insurance also helps cover your employee payroll and utilities while your restaurant is being renovated after the kitchen fire.
Without business interruption insurance, would you have enough money set aside to rebuild your Edmonton if it experienced a major fire?
Who needs business interruption insurance?
Anyone who owns a business in Edmonton should consider business interruption insurance, including businesses running at a loss as well as non-profit organizations. Even if you are losing money, you still have expenses to pay.
Examples of Edmonton businesses that need business interruption insurance:
- Retail shops
- Restaurants
- Salons
- Offices
- Manufacturers
What doesn’t business interruption insurance cover?
Business interruption insurance usually does not cover:
- Pandemics, viruses, or infectious diseases
- Flood, earthquake or pollution damage
- Terrorism
- Income that is not listed on your financial records
- A government-mandated business closure
How much does business interruption insurance cost for Edmonton businesses?
There isn’t one set price for business interruption insurance for Edmonton businesses because every business is different.
The industry your business is in, your annual revenue and the value of your business’ commercial property, and any past claims would be considered in calculating the cost of your business interruption insurance coverage.
What is the indemnity period under business interruption insurance?
This refers to the length of time for which compensation is payable under a business interruption policy. It’s usually 12, 24, or 36 months. The indemnity period may be extended to provide additional coverage beyond the length of time it takes to restore your Edmonton business.
What other kinds of insurance do Edmonton businesses need:
- Commercial general liability insurance
- Commercial property insurance
- Course of construction insurance
- Pollution insurance
- Errors and omissions insurance
Commercial vehicle insurance is important: When you or your employees are on the road travelling for work, commercial vehicle insurance may cover your vehicles in the case of an accident. Your personal vehicle insurance will not cover you in the case of an accident if the work is related to your business.
Here’s an insurance checklist for your Edmonton small business:
- Do you have the best business insurance rate that suits your work?
- Do you have the right amount for your deductible and regularly review it to make sure it’s the right amount for you?
- Are you or your employees using personal vehicles for work?
What do I do if my Edmonton business has an insurance claim?
- Contact your broker immediately after any business-related mishap. Waiting to file a claim can confuse insurers about the severity of the damages to your business.
- Know your policy so that when you contact your broker you are familiar with what will be covered or not.
- Document the damage. Take photos right away and write down what happened.
- Do not throw away damaged goods after taking photos. Keep the physical evidence so that your adjustor can see it.
- Do not invite lawsuits. Don’t say anything that could be used against you, especially if you aren’t sure what happened.
- Be honest about what your damaged property is worth. Damaged commercial property is generally valued according to its actual cash value or replacement value.
Western Financial Group has licensed BUSINESS INSURANCE EXPERTS to get your Edmonton business the right business insurance package, including business interruption insurance coverage. Our experts are available now to help you navigate the commercial insurance journey to protect your small business.
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