Are You in the 65%?

You probably don’t have the most important insurance coverage for your business.

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I’ve been preaching the importance of Business Interruption Insurance (BII) for a long time. This insurance can replace income that you lose during a slowdown or shutdown, allow you to continue paying yourself and your employees, and cover operating expenses until you’re back in business. But I didn’t realize until I read this article that only 35% of small businesses actually have business interruption coverage, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

I was talking recently with a friend who lost both his home and his business in the 2017 North Bay Fires. Because he had BII, he was able to focus on getting his family rehoused, finding new office space, rebuilding his business, and rebuilding his neighborhood. He did not need to worry about generating the income he urgently needed or coming up with the costs of his replacement office space. It was one of the biggest factors in his ability to restart his business in the midst of a devastating mass disaster.

I was quoted in this article, but that’s not the only reason I recommend you read it carefully. I thought I knew BII, but I learned by reading this that it can help if a business in your supply chain is affected by a disaster. So even if the disaster is several states away from you, you’re covered if it shuts down your sole supplier for a key element of your product or service.

The article covers what is and is not covered by BII, the average premiums, the factors that determine premiums, and the information you need to apply. It also provides a thorough comparison of the top five providers of BII.

BII applies only to events covered by your underlying policy. If you are in a location at risk for earthquakes, you need to purchase that coverage. BII is not available for flood insurance (but you should consider flood insurance anyway).MIH Blog Post Images-05

If this is getting you thinking about your business’s emergency preparedness, you can schedule an appointment for a complimentary preparedness strategy session with me here.