An office is the sector where moving elsewhere usually does work, and that makes the central question here not how long you are at a standstill but what it costs to keep working.
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Work out for yourself what it would cost.
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We compare the offerings of several insurers
An adviser checks whether the cover suits your activities
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
In an office environment the production capacity lies in people, files and systems, not in machines or a point of sale. After fire or water damage, an accountancy office, consultancy or estate agency can carry on from home or in hired space within a few days. Turnover does fall, but rarely to nil.
As a result the emphasis shifts from gross profit to additional costs: temporary accommodation, hired workstations, replacement laptops, duplicated telephony and the hours you spend rebuilding your records. For many offices additional costs insurance is therefore more suitable than full gross profit cover.
What does count seriously is the reconstruction of data. Paper files, contracts and time records that are lost have to be obtained again from third parties or recorded afresh. Those costs are not covered automatically; they belong in a separate reconstruction costs section.
What does business interruption insurance for offices cover?
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
The basis
Gross profit
Turnover minus the variable costs that move with it.
Fixed costs continue
Profit margin you lose
Update annually
The term
Indemnity period
Calculate back from full turnover, not from the rebuild value.
Clearance and permits
Rebuilding and fitting out
Winning customers back
Additional costs
Alternative
The additional costs of not standing still.
Temporary location
Outsourcing to third parties
Often cheaper
What is covered
Situation
Business interruption
Additional costs
Downtime after a fire at your premises
Yes
Yes
Loss of turnover after water damage
Yes
Yes
Additional costs to keep going elsewhere
No
Yes
Failure of a supplier
Sometimes
Sometimes
Digital downtime without physical damage
No
No
Loss of turnover due to lower demand
No
No
This overview is general in nature and is not personal advice. What is actually covered, including exclusions, limits and the excess, is set out in the policy conditions and the insurance card (verzekeringskaart) of the insurer; you receive both before you take out cover. Taking out cover without advice? Then read what execution only means for you.
Where things go wrong in practice
Four points that make the difference between a policy that pays out and one that does not.
Moving elsewhere makes additional costs more important than gross profit
An office that moves to a flexible workspace after a leak simply carries on invoicing the following week. There is then hardly any loss of turnover but there is a series of additional costs: hire of workstations, replacement hardware, the move itself and duplicated costs. Standard business interruption cover pays those costs only within a limited additional costs section and usually up to the amount of business interruption saved. Separate additional costs insurance sets a limit of its own against that.
Chargeable hours cannot be postponed
At a service business the lost turnover is often final: hours you do not record this month cannot be made up, because your people's capacity is limited. At the same time all salaries run on. So calculate the insured gross profit on the continuing wage bill plus rent, depreciation and the profit margin, and not on a percentage of turnover from memory. We test that declaration against your annual accounts.
Reconstruction of files and records
If your paper archive disappears, you have to request or compile deeds, policies, contracts and timesheets again. That costs external advice and internal hours, and it slows your service down for months. The main cover does not see this as business interruption. Have the reconstruction costs section expressly included and check whether digital data lost through the material damage also falls under it.
What is not included
Not covered are loss of turnover because a major client terminates, failure of internet, telephony or software without material damage, a hacked environment or a data breach, and loss of rent if you are the landlord yourself. Staff leaving after an incident and penalties or claims for a missed deadline also stay outside the policy. Digital interruption belongs with cyber insurance.
What does your premium depend on?
Ongoing payroll. At an office, salaries make up almost the whole fixed cost and therefore the largest part of the insured gross profit.
Speed at which you can move elsewhere. An organisation that already has homeworking in place is at a standstill for less time and can manage with a shorter period.
Size of the paper archive. The more documents that exist only on paper, the higher the reconstruction costs and the longer the recovery takes.
Back-ups and fallback for systems. External back-ups and cloud workstations limit the standstill after damage to the server room.
Shared or self-contained premises. In a multi-tenant building, damage at a neighbouring business can block your access. That calls for an extension.
Indemnity period chosen. For most offices a shorter period is enough than in sectors that depend on a building or a machine.
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
How we arrange it
You request a quoteWe take stock of your activities, turnover and wishes.
We compareseveral insurers, on premium as well as conditions.
You receive a proposalWith an explanation of the differences and the exclusions.
We arrange the switchIncluding cancellation, so there is no gap in cover.
Customers rate our service on four aspects: personal service, service delivery, availability and the outcome. The reviews are collected and published by NH1816 and come from customers who have actually taken out a policy with Finass Advies B.V. or reported a claim.
Would additional costs insurance not make more sense here?
Often it would. If your team can carry on elsewhere or from home within a few days, the loss of turnover stays limited and the loss lies in hire of workstations, replacement equipment and duplicated costs. Additional costs insurance pays precisely those extra costs with a limit of its own. At an office with its own server room, laboratory or public counter, business interruption cover does remain worthwhile.
Are the costs of restoring files covered?
Not automatically. The main cover pays only lost gross profit. Requesting and compiling contracts, deeds and records again falls under the separate reconstruction costs section, which has to be stated expressly on the policy. Check as well whether data lost digitally through the fire or water damage falls under that same section.
What if the building is still standing but I am not allowed in?
A blocked access caused by damage at a neighbouring business or by a government measure is not covered as standard, because there is no material damage to your own property. Some insurers offer an extension for this with a limit and a waiting period of its own. In a multi-tenant building or a shopping centre that is an extension you should have included.
How do I set the sum insured for a service business?
Take the turnover and deduct only the costs that fall away at once during a standstill, such as subcontracted assignments and travel expenses. Salaries, rent, lease instalments and depreciation run on and therefore belong in it, together with the profit margin. Use the latest annual accounts as the basis and update the sum at every renewal.
Finass Verzekert is a trading name of Finass Advies B.V. We advise on and arrange non-life insurance on the basis of an objective analysis of several insurers, and receive commission for this from the insurer, which is included in the premium. You pay no separate advice fee. Before you take out cover, we establish your wishes and needs.
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