My business is shut down due to Hurricane damage will my insurance cover lost revenue?

Business income, or business interruption, insurance (BI) covers the profits a business would have earned, based on its own financial records, had the disaster not occurred. The policy covers additional operating expenses incurred as a result of the disaster such as the extra expense of operating out of a temporary location, even though business activities have come to a temporary halt.

Reimbursement under business interruption insurance is usually triggered by some kind of damage to the property where the business is conducted and only when the damage is the result of a covered peril such as fire. Evacuation orders do NOT trigger BI coverage. Generally, there is a deductible either in a flat dollar amount or a waiting time. If it is a waiting time, it is typically 24 to 72 hours, meaning that payments do not begin until the business has been disrupted for one to three days.

Most business interruption forms do not include coverage for perils such as emergency evacuation by civil authority or a major utility disruption, unless they were added by endorsement. Typically, when business interruption insurance is purchased, the timeframe for coverage is a year. The overall cost of BI is determined by the amount of coverage required during the period specified.