When disaster strikes at the workplace, insurance can be a saving grace in providing the funds to make necessary repairs. But, more than that, business insurance can help to reimburse you for the money you're losing out on while those repairs are being made. This type of protection is known as business interruption insurance, and it is a necessity if you want to make sure that you are covered no matter what happens at your workplace.

What Does It Cover?

Business interruption can mean that you suffered a fire at your store, but that's not the only thing that you need to look out for. There are also scenarios that may not create any physical damage at all, but nevertheless put you temporarily out of work for reasons beyond your control. These interruptions can include things like mandatory curfews and government lockdowns, as well as things like storm damages and fires that are protected by your commercial insurance policy.

What Will It Pay For?

It's not just the loss of income that you have to worry about during a business interruption. When you can't earn money, you can't pay your taxes, and you can't pay back your loans. So, business interruption insurance provides funding for these, as well as the following:

• Business loans
• Rent and lease payments
• Relocation costs

What Doesn't It Cover?

Business interruption only applies to interrupted business. That means that it will not cover partial losses. If you've been hit by a storm that's knocked out your kitchen, but you're still serving canned drinks and prepackaged food, you might not be eligible for a payout.

Your business interruption insurance typically won't cover anything that your commercial policy excludes, so if you don't have flood insurance, you might not be able to file a claim when a flood interrupts your business.

And business interruption won't cover contingent interruptions. That is, if you have a supplier who goes out of business, your business interruption insurance won't cover you while you look for a new supplier. But, contingent business interruption insurance will.

It's easy to see how any business can benefit tremendously from business interruption insurance. Commercial insurance will help you to rebuild, and business interruption insurance will get you by in the meantime.