No. Insurance companies will not cover incidents that occur before you bought the policy.
For instance, if you bought a motor insurance policy after you got into a car accident, you wouldn’t be able to file a claim. The same principle applies here. Any loss can only be covered if you purchased the policy before the loss actually occurred.
No. Business interruption coverage excludes Covid-19-related causes. Some business interruption policies do cover specific infectious diseases like SARS, MERs, and flu outbreaks, but exclude diseases classified as pandemics (i.e. Covid-19).
Business interruption coverage only applies for shutdowns not related to Covid-19. For example, some business interruption policies cover infectious diseases like SARS, and also cover government-ordered shutdowns related to such diseases.
However, if the shutdown is related to Covid-19, coverage won’t apply from any insurer due to the virus being classified as a global pandamic.
No. Business interruption does not cover closures you make on your own volition.
Business interruption usually covers disruptions to your business due to:
- Fire & explosions
- Water damage & floods
- Machinery & equipment breakdown
- Supplier disruptions (e.g. non-delivery of inventory)
- Customer non-payment
- Burglary, malicious attacks, vandalism
As you can see, coverage is quite wide.
There is usually a minimum disruption period of 24 hours for coverage to apply. This means your business must be shut down for at least 1 day before you can make a claim. This minimum disruption period will vary depending on the terms of your policy.
Because of its pandemic classification, the risks for insurers is too significant. Given its extraordinary spread, many insurers are likely to interpret Covid as an “act of god”, which would exclude coverage for the disease. Any insurer willing to offer business insurance cover for Covid-19 would almost certainly suffer significant losses. This would also unfortunately cause premiums for all policyholders to increase – and the increase would likely be dramatic.
Yes, because business insurance protects you from many risks that could cost your business significant amounts of money.
Consider Work Injury Compensation Insurance, which covers work-related Covid-19.
You can buy your business insurance online instantly, and save up to 25% on your premiums.
We also strongly recommend renewing your business insurance with us. If you renew your policy with us, you can get at least a 10% discount, and similar or better coverage. Provide is the best option for companies to save money whilst maintaining a similar or better level of protection.