Business Interruption and What It Will Not Cover

Businesses carry business interruption cover and reasonably assume it helps when trading stops. A move is precisely the situation where it usually does not, and that is worth understanding before rather than after.

Just-In-Time Moving works throughout Washington and Washington County. We are licensed in Utah and carry general liability insurance. This is practical background rather than insurance advice; your broker is the authority on your policy.

Why a move is generally excluded

Business interruption cover typically responds to loss of income caused by an insured physical event, such as a fire or storm damaging your premises. It is triggered by damage, not by closure.

A planned relocation involves no such event. You chose to close, and there is no insured peril behind it.

So the days you are not trading during a move are ordinarily a business cost rather than a claim. That is the default position, and confirming it with your broker is a short call.

What might respond

Depending on your policy and the circumstances, other things sometimes do.

If a mover damages your property, that is their general liability rather than your business interruption.

If equipment is damaged in transit, that is a question of the mover's liability for goods, at whichever valuation level applies, and possibly your own commercial property cover if it extends to goods in transit.

If an insured event happens during the move, such as a fire at either premises, ordinary cover applies as it would otherwise, provided the insurer knows about both addresses.

The questions actually worth asking your broker

Is contents cover tied to the scheduled address? Frequently it is, which means equipment in a truck or at a second premises may sit outside it.

Am I covered at both addresses during the overlap? Be specific about dates.

Is equipment covered in transit? Sometimes an extension, sometimes not included.

Is the sum insured still realistic? A move is when businesses discover they insured for what they owned years ago, and everything is being inventoried anyway.

Does anything change at the new premises? Different construction, occupancy or location can affect terms and price.

What actually protects you

Planning rather than insurance. Move in your quiet season, get an overlap, sequence so the critical part is short, and order the internet circuit as soon as the lease is signed.

Call (435) 862-3080 or email office@movingjustintime.com.