Business interruption insurance for transport companies
At a haulage business the turnover is on the road and not in the premises, and that is precisely why standard business interruption insurance often does not match the real risk here.
The calculator and the quote form below are in Dutch. Prefer to do this in English? Email info@finassverzekert. nl or call 072 - 509 24 56 and we will take it from there.
Work out for yourself what it would cost.
Enter your details; you will receive a proposal within one working day.
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
Business interruption insurance attaches to material damage at an insured location: your depot, workshop, fuel installation, wash bay or office. If the depot burns down, your planning stops, you cannot refuel or service vehicles and you lose journeys. That is the situation this policy is intended for.
If, on the other hand, a tractor unit or trailer is written off, there is no damage at the insured location and this policy pays nothing. Loss caused by a vehicle standing idle and replacement transport are arranged on the own-damage cover of the lorry insurance, and damage to the load falls under the goods in transit or carrier's liability insurance with the CMR rules.
For a haulier it therefore comes down to fitting those three policies together. We work out which part of your turnover hangs on the address and which part on the fleet, and insure both through the right product. The general structure is on our page about business interruption insurance.
What does business interruption insurance for haulage businesses 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.
The cover hangs on the address, not on the registration number
For hauliers that is the most important point on this policy. Damage to a vehicle on the road, a collision, a fire in the cab or the theft of a trailer does not touch the business interruption cover. What does count is damage to your depot and workshop: if the fuel installation, the wash bay or the workshop lift is lost, you cannot run vehicles out or service them. So insure the fleet separately with idle-vehicle cover on the own-damage policy.
Drivers and lease instalments run on
During a standstill the fuel cost falls away, but the pay of drivers and planners, the lease instalments on tractor units and trailers, the road tax and the insurance premiums simply run on. That makes the continuing cost at a haulier high and the gross profit larger than a calculation on the margin per journey suggests. If you lose drivers during the standstill, it also takes months after recovery before you have the fleet crewed again.
Regular journeys and contract transport are vulnerable
If you work to fixed schedules or on a charter or distribution contract, your client will take on another haulier within a day if you drop out. That relationship rarely comes back by itself, and a tender often runs for years. So work the indemnity period through to the moment your journey volume is back up to level, and not to the moment the depot has been rebuilt.
What is not included
Excluded are a vehicle standing idle after a collision or breakdown, damage to or delay of the load, penalties and damages under transport contracts, and the withdrawal or absence of a licence or driver qualification card. A driving ban, a low-emission zone ban, a border blockade, a strike or a traffic jam is not insured loss either. Digital failure of your planning or on-board computer system gives no right to payment without material damage.
What does your premium depend on?
Turnover tied to the depot. Only the part of the turnover that falls away when the location is damaged belongs in the insured gross profit.
Continuing wage bill and lease costs. Drivers, planning and lease instalments on tractor units and trailers run on in full during a standstill.
Presence of your own workshop and fuel installation. Doing your own maintenance and storing fuel raise both the fire load and the dependence on the address.
Number of depots. If the fleet can run out from a second location, the standstill after damage stays much shorter.
Type of transport and customer ties. Contract transport on fixed schedules is more exposed to permanently losing turnover than spot work.
Indemnity period chosen. Rebuilding a depot plus winning journey volume back generally calls for more than a short period.
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.
My lorry is written off. Does this policy pay out?
No. Business interruption insurance attaches to material damage at the insured location, not to damage to a vehicle on the road. For turnover lost through a tractor unit or trailer out of action, you need idle-vehicle cover or a replacement transport arrangement on the own-damage cover of the lorry insurance. Have those two policies set side by side so that no gap arises.
Is the load covered as well?
No. Damage to or delay of the goods you carry falls under goods in transit insurance or carrier's liability insurance, where the CMR conditions determine the extent of your liability. Business interruption insurance pays only your own lost gross profit after material damage to your building, workshop or contents.
What if my depot or workshop burns down?
That is the scenario this policy is intended for. Without a depot, fuel installation and maintenance facility you cannot plan and cannot run vehicles out, even though the vehicles are still there. The policy then pays the gross profit you lose during the indemnity period, into which rebuilding, refitting and winning journey volume back all have to fit.
Are penalties and claims from clients covered?
No. Reductions, penalties and damages arising from your transport contract are contractual obligations, not insured interruption loss. The costs your client incurs because a consignment arrives late also fall outside. Liability as a carrier runs through the carrier's liability insurance and is assessed there under the CMR.
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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