Does Business Insurance Cover Coronavirus?

Will your Business Insurance cover losses related to the Coronavirus?

The over-simplified answer is probably not – Coverages in BUSINESS INCOME and EXTRA EXPENSE are generally triggered by a COVERED CAUSE of LOSS, and in general, Viruses are not considered COVERED Causes of Loss – and – in many cases are  specifically excluded.  There is one area in some policies that there is a very small chance it may provide some limited coverage – ( business income – civil authority).  However,  I have not found any contracts yet where this would apply. – Reach out to your broker to review your specific contracts as every insurance carrier has different fine print.

So, what can you do? – Limit your exposure

• Practice Exceptional housekeeping
• Limit in-person meetings as much as possible
• Postpone / cancel all non essential travel
• Consider liberalizing sick leave policies so employees don’t feel the need to “work through a cold”
• Where practical – encourage employees to work from home.
• Hang in there – As business owners, we have all been through tough times – we will get through this one too