Gross profit
- Fixed costs continue
- Profit margin you lose
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Stock · suppliers · customers
Business interruption insurance for trade
In trade your value lies not in production but in flow: if you cannot deliver for a few weeks, your customers find another supplier and not all of them come back.
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Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Bedrijfsschadeverzekering voor handel.
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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 your own premium with the calculator.
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
- We arrange the switch, including cancellation
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
A trading business buys in and sells on. The gross profit is therefore turnover minus the purchase value of the goods, and in trade that is a large part of turnover. What remains and runs on is the rent of the warehouse, the wage costs of warehouse and sales staff, the forklifts, the WMS and the financing cost on the stock.
The goods themselves are not insured on this policy. Burnt or soaked stock falls under the business contents and goods insurance. Business interruption insurance pays only the the margin you lose for as long as you cannot deliver.
What is distinctive about trade is the role of the chain. Your standstill affects your customers, and your supplier's standstill affects you while you have no material damage at all. For those situations there are separate sections for supplier and customer risk, with a limit of their own and a named list of businesses.
What does business interruption insurance for trade cover?
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
Indemnity period
Calculate back from full turnover, not from the rebuild value.
- Clearance and permits
- Rebuilding and fitting out
- Winning customers back
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.
Your customer will not wait: lost turnover does not come back by itself
At a manufacturing business the order waits; in trade the order goes to a competitor. A customer who buys elsewhere for six weeks has a price agreement and a delivery rhythm there by then. So do not work the indemnity period back from the reopening of the warehouse but from the moment your order book is back at its old level. In business-to-business trade that is usually the longest part of the process.
The lead time on stock determines the standstill
If your stock has burnt, the goods insurance pays the value, but that does not yet make you able to deliver. With imported goods on a long supply line, building a range up again takes months, and seasonal items can no longer be placed once the season is over. That process determines your real standstill and belongs in the indemnity period, not the building time for the warehouse.
Interruption at a supplier or customer
If your only supplier burns down, you are at a standstill without material damage of your own and the main cover pays nothing. The same applies when a large customer falls away. These risks are insured only through the separate sections supplier risk and customers' premises risk, usually with a named list of businesses and a separate limit. If you work single source, this is the most important extension to the policy for a trading business.
What is not included
Not covered are the value of the goods themselves, penalties and reductions for late delivery, obsolescence of stock left on the shelf, currency and purchase price increases and the loss of a customer contract for causes other than damage. Loss of turnover through falling demand or through a failure of your webshop or order portal without material damage falls outside as well; for that cyber insurance needed.
What does your premium depend on?
- Gross margin on trading turnover — In trade the purchase value falls away; only the margin and the continuing costs make up the sum insured.
- Lead time and origin of the stock — Importing from outside Europe lengthens the period in which you cannot get the range complete.
- Concentration in one warehouse or distribution centre — If everything runs from one location, there is no fallback when damage occurs and the standstill mounts up at once.
- Dependence on a few suppliers or customers — Single sourcing makes the supplier and customer risk sections necessary and weighs in acceptance.
- Method of storage and fire load — Racking height, plastic packaging, battery storage and the presence of sprinklers determine the loss picture.
- Indemnity period chosen — For trade, winning customers back counts alongside rebuilding; that often makes a longer period necessary.
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is why comparing pays off.
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.
9.5New policy
9.8Claims handling
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.
Frequently asked questions
The questions we are asked most often about this.
Is my stock insured on this policy?
No. The value of damaged or burnt trading goods falls under the goods and business contents insurance. Business interruption insurance pays only the gross margin you lose in the period in which that damage prevents you from delivering. Both policies are needed: one restores your stock, the other bridges the months in which your turnover is lower.
What if my supplier burns down and I cannot buy anything in?
You then have a standstill but no material damage of your own, and the main cover pays nothing. This risk is insured only through the separate supplier risk section, where the suppliers concerned are usually named on the policy and a separate limit applies. If you work with a single supplier, have that section expressly included.
Will I be paid the penalty my customer charges me?
No. Reductions, penalties and damages arising from your supply contract are contractual obligations, not insured interruption loss. The costs your customer incurs are outside as well. The policy looks only at your own lost gross profit during the indemnity period, not at the agreements you have entered into with third parties.
How does this differ from a shop?
With a shop the premises are the point of sale and the customer goes to another street or to the internet. In wholesale it is about supply relationships and contracts with business customers, where a customer who switches often stays away for years. That makes winning the order book back decisive here for the length of the indemnity period.
Read more
Similar pages
- Business interruption insurance for retail
- Business interruption insurance for manufacturers
- Business interruption insurance for transport companies
- Business interruption insurance for the hospitality sector
- Business interruption insurance for logistics
- Business interruption insurance for paramedical practices
- Business interruption insurance for construction firms
- Business interruption insurance for garage businesses
Ready to compare?
Request a quote without obligation. We will look at which insurer best matches your activities and your risk.
Prefer to call? 072 - 509 24 56, weekdays 09:00–17:00.
Claim on the road? Emergency line 06 - 55 20 40 72.
About our service
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.
You will find our licence, KvK and Kifid details and our complaints procedure at the foot of every page.
This page was written and checked by an adviser at Finass Verzekert. Last updated on .
The information on this page is general in nature and is not personal advice.