Business interruption
A fire stops the workshop, not the salaries or the rent: business interruption insurance covers the margin you lose until activity resumes.
Two minutes is all it takes: tell us who you are and what needs covering. We come back with compared quotes.
The essentials
A fire, water damage or a burglary destroys your installations: property insurance replaces the equipment, but it does not compensate for the interrupted activity. While the repairs go on, salaries, rent and social charges keep running as turnover collapses. That is precisely the loss business interruption insurance covers.
The cover compensates the missing gross margin, the lost turnover, less the variable costs saved, as well as the fixed costs that remain. It can also pay for the additional expenses incurred to limit the stoppage, from hiring machinery to emergency subcontracting.
The decisive point is the indemnity period set in the contract: twelve months is rarely enough when a building has to be rebuilt, machinery ordered and clients won back. We calibrate it to your actual recovery scenario, not to the duration proposed by default.
What this insurance covers
-
Gross margin
The margin the interruption costs you, once the variable costs that cease are deducted: this is the heart of the cover.
-
Fixed costs
Salaries, rent, leasing, social charges, interest: these costs do not stop when production does; they are compensated for the agreed period.
-
Additional expenses
Temporary premises, hired machinery, subcontracting, overtime: the spending incurred to keep the business running and continue supplying your clients.
-
Partial interruption
A drop in activity without a total stoppage, an unusable floor, an affected production line, is also compensated, in proportion to the loss.
-
Interruption at a supplier or client
Depending on the extension chosen, the stoppage of a key supplier or client that blocks your own production can also be covered.
Who it is for
- Workshops, industry and tradespeople whose production tools cannot be replaced overnight.
- Restaurants, shops and hotels, where every day of closure is turnover lost.
- Practices, offices and service providers that depend on their premises and their IT.
- SME tenants: the building belongs to the landlord, the loss of activity remains yours.
How we support you
-
Analysing your risks
What you have, what is missing, what overlaps: an honest assessment.
-
Competitive tenders
Several insurers approached against a precise specification, compared item by item.
-
Long-term follow-up
Set-up, renewals, claims: a single point of contact, year after year.
Frequently asked questions
What exactly does business interruption insurance cover?
It compensates the gross margin the claim makes you lose: the missing turnover, less the variable costs saved during the stoppage. Added to this are the fixed costs that continue and, depending on the contract, the additional expenses incurred to resume activity faster. The calculation is based on your accounting figures; keeping the declared amounts up to date avoids any dispute when a claim occurs.
What indemnity period should we choose?
It is the most important choice in the contract. The period must cover the longest scenario: rebuilding, permits, machinery delivery times, the return of your clientele. Twelve months is often too short after the destruction of a building; periods of twenty-four months or more are justified in industry. We work through that scenario with you before setting the period.
How does it relate to property insurance?
The two covers complement each other: property insurance pays for rebuilding and replacing the equipment, while business interruption compensates the interrupted activity in the meantime. Compensation generally requires that an event insured under the property policy, fire, water damage, theft, caused the stoppage. The two contracts therefore need to be aligned with each other.
My business is small, is it really worthwhile?
Often, yes: a small firm rarely has the reserves to get through several months without income while salaries, rent and loan repayments continue. The interruption sometimes weighs more heavily than the material damage itself. The cover is sized on your actual figures, so it remains proportionate to the size of the business.
Also worth exploring
Your quote request
Two minutes is all it takes: tell us who you are and what needs covering. We come back with compared quotes.
Which insurance covers do you need?
Step 1 / 3
Your request, in brief
The email is sent from your own mail client: no data is transmitted through this site. Supporting documents are exchanged via the secure client area, never by email.
Jules Rossier, non-tied insurance intermediary within the meaning of Art. 45 of the Insurance Supervision Act (ISA), registered with FINMA under no. F01581788.