Standstill · recovery time · sector variants
Business interruption insurance by sector
Two businesses with the same turnover suffer very different losses after the same fire. What you need depends on how your sector earns its money and how quickly it can be running again.
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A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
Business interruption insurance pays for the loss that arises because your business is at a standstill after material damage. What that loss is differs greatly from sector to sector. A manufacturing business waits for machines with a long delivery time, a hospitality business loses its regular public to the place round the corner, an IT service provider can largely keep working as long as the data is still there. You can read how the cover works in general on the hub page; this page sets out why your sector determines how it is arranged.
The main difference lies in the time to full recovery and in whether customers will wait for you. In construction the work is on site and not in your store, so a fire in the warehouse mainly produces delay and penalties. In a garage business, customers' vehicles are on your premises and the problem shifts to liability and replacement work. In logistics, dependence on one distribution point is decisive. Those differences translate into the indemnity period chosen and into the clauses on the policy schedule.
Each sector also has its own set of points to watch: hospitality, production, IT, construction, garage businesses, agriculture and transport and logistics. If your activity does not fall under those, look at other sectors; if you work alone, at business interruption cover for self-employed professionals.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare business interruption insurance.
Where things go wrong, sector by sector
Four differences that determine what your policy has to look like.
Delivery time for your production equipment
With plant, refrigeration, ovens or special installations, the delivery time sets the whole indemnity period. If a machine is built to order, twelve months is rarely enough. For an office environment that can carry on from hired space, the position is different. Put the delivery time for your critical equipment on paper before you choose a period.
Customer ties and location
In retail, hospitality and personal services the loss continues after you have reopened, because customers now go elsewhere. That is called loss during the return period and falls within the indemnity period, provided it is long enough. At business services with contracts this plays a smaller part, but there contractual penalties loom instead, and those are excluded on this policy.
Dependence on third parties
If you work with one supplier, one customer or one distribution centre, that is your greatest interruption risk. Damage at that party is not damage to your own property and is therefore covered only with an express contingent business interruption cover in which that party is named. Without that extension you are left empty-handed when a fire happens elsewhere.
What is covered in no sector at all
Excluded are government measures and closures without material damage of your own, failure of the public gas, water or electricity network, fines and contractual reductions and damage caused by inherent defect or deferred maintenance. Cyber incidents without fire or burglary damage call for cyber insurance.
What does your premium depend on?
- Sector and business activity: the risk class follows from what you actually do
- Annual yield insured: the basis comes from your operating figures
- Indemnity period chosen: the main lever on this cover
- Construction type and use of the building: construction, storage and compartmentation
- Prevention measures in place: detection, extinguishing and periodic inspection
- Scope for moving elsewhere: a second location shortens the standstill
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | Basic | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| A fire at your business premises brings production to a halt for months | Yes | Yes |
| A burst pipe floods your premises and you are closed for two weeks | Provided that | Yes |
| Your turnover lags after reopening because regular customers now buy elsewhere | Provided that | Yes |
| A fire at your only supplier that brings your production line to a halt | No | Provided that |
| Your premises are undamaged, but the street stays closed for weeks after a fire further along | No | Provided that |
| A ransomware attack shuts down your order processing for a week | No | No |
Without material damage of your own, a standstill qualifies for payment only where a separate section provides for it.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
Why does my sector have a page of its own on this site?
Because the cover lies not in the product name but in the clauses. An agricultural business has to deal with animal disease provisions, a garage with customers' vehicles, an IT business with data and a hospitality business with spoilage and a returning public. Which extensions are worthwhile and which exclusions you have to deal with in advance therefore differ by sector.
My business fits into several sectors. What now?
The activity that determines the risk is then considered, not your SBI code alone. A wholesaler with its own production line is assessed on the production, because that is where the fire load and the delivery time sit. Declare all activities when applying. An unreported secondary activity can lead to a dispute about cover when a loss occurs.
How is the sum insured calculated?
On the basis of your turnover minus the variable costs that fall away during a standstill. What remains is the continuing costs and the profit. That amount is called the annual output or gross profit. If your business works with strongly varying margins or with projects spanning several years, have the basis supported by your accountant to prevent underinsurance.
Does the cover apply even if nothing has happened at my premises?
In principle not. There must be material damage to your own building, contents or stock through an insured peril. Exceptions exist only where you have an extension for dependence on suppliers or for obstructed access after damage in the immediate vicinity. Both are applied for separately and have a limit of their own.
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