Why legitimate claims stall
- Wording gaps. The policy covers fire but the trigger was an external impact; the facility is intact but access was denied — and «denial of access» extensions were never bought. Nobody read the wording against realistic scenarios.
- Waiting periods and indemnity limits misaligned with reality. A 30-day waiting period on a business that dies in 10; an indemnity period shorter than an honest recovery.
- Sums insured built on stale numbers. Declared gross profit from an old financial year understates today's exposure — and average clauses cut the payout proportionally.
- Evidence assembled after the fact. The adjuster asks for downtime logs, mitigation records, decision timelines. Reconstructed months later, they read like reconstructions.
Before the event: the wording review
Read your policy against your two worst realistic scenarios — for the region today, a fire following an external impact and a ransomware outage — and answer in writing: Is the trigger covered? Does denial-of-access apply when the facility is intact but the zone is closed? Is cyber excluded from BI, and if so, where does cyber-BI cover live? Do waiting period and indemnity period match your tested recovery times — not your hopes? Every mismatch is a renewal conversation that costs far less than a declined claim.
The alignment rule: your BIA already computed the cost of downtime per day and your tested recovery time. The policy's sums, waiting period and indemnity period should be derived from those numbers — insurance is the financial mirror of your continuity plan, or it is decoration.
During the event: the evidence protocol
| What to record | Why the adjuster needs it | Who owns it |
|---|---|---|
| Incident timeline with timestamps | Establishes the interruption period end to end | Incident commander / scribe |
| Downtime and output logs per activity | Quantifies the loss the policy responds to | Operations |
| Mitigation decisions and their costs | Proves you reduced the loss — a policy duty | Continuity lead |
| Authority communications (closure orders, permits) | Evidences denial of access and its duration | Legal / admin |
| Photos, inspection reports, expert notes | Anchors causation — impact, fire, spread | HSE / engineering |
| Client communications and lost-order records | Supports the revenue-loss calculation | Commercial team |
The protocol is one page, assigned in advance, rehearsed in your annual exercise. In the first hours of a real event nobody remembers to photograph the closure notice — unless it is someone's written job.
Frequently asked questions
Does standard property insurance cover business interruption?
Only if BI cover was bought with it, and only per its wording. Property pays for the damage; BI pays for the interruption — different sections, different sums, different evidence. Many businesses discover the difference during their first claim.
Is a drone incident covered by standard fire policies?
Wordings differ — which is the point. The questions to put to your broker in writing: is fire following external impact covered, are strikes/riots/malicious-damage exclusions engaged, does denial-of-access apply. Ask before renewal, not after an event.
How does a tested continuity plan affect the claim?
Twice. Before: insurers price and accept risks more readily with evidenced continuity. After: mitigation duties are met by executing a documented plan, and the exercise reports become part of your evidence of competence — shortening negotiations measurably.