Income stream is like blood for a business. Running a business successfully means that you ensure the income stream is healthy and growing. However, sometimes you can’t control this due to catastrophic events. This is why you need a business interruption insurance policy for your business. It will cover your business’s income loss in such event.
>>MORE: What does Business Interruption Insurance Cover?
The 5 best carriers offering business interruption insurance include The Hartford, AIG, Allstate, Nationwide, and Next Insurance. They all have their specific benefits and drawbacks. You should compare them carefully before choosing the right one for your business.
- The Hartford – Best for Customer Service
- AIG – Best for Large Engineering Firms
- Allstate – Best for Add-on Extensions
- Nationwide – Best for Utility Interruption Coverage
- Next Insurance – Best for Online Quotes
The Hartford – Best for Customer Service
In business for over 200 years, Hartford is a solid option, with an A+ BBB rating and a 4.6 out of 5-star rating across several thousand reviews as of the time of this writing. It was even rated the “World’s Most Ethical Company 11 times” by the Ethisphere Institute, an ethics and compliance best practices organization.
It offers business interruption insurance to small businesses across all industries, from arborists & landscaping to wholesalers, and distributors. Additional policies, called “extensions” to cover lost business earnings, can cover the cost of replacement of “essential personnel” and protect against cloud service interruption, dependent utilities/properties, and cyber attacks.
Its Small Business Insurance quote form is a 5 -step process, where users enter in business info, coverage dates, and policies to get a rapid quote. While filling out a quote for an office equipment store in Florida, Hartford revealed Basic, Premium, and Deluxe packages. They ranged from $185.75 to $225.33 per month with property and liability base policy and one or more add-ons, including hired & non-owned auto coverage and data breach.
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AIG – Best for Large Engineering Firms
AIG is a specialty insurance provider focused in the energy and engineering industries, oil, power generation, chemicals, pharmaceutics, and mining. They provide annual or multi-year policies, with limits depending on the policy.
One notable area with AIG insurance is its extensive business support geared towards larger businesses. A “Business Impact Specialist team” is on hand to conduct location assessments and business continuity consultations to finalize a quote. A recently published success story on the website highlights AIG’s work restoring operations for a 115-year-old Latin American cement company which incurred losses due to a natural disaster.
Allstate – Best for Add-on Extensions
Allstate, the purveyor of the “Mayhem” TV spots by famed actor Dean Winters, offers the Allstate Business Shield Insurance plan to offset the loss of net income and cover extra expenses. It offers several add-ons, such as data compromise and employee dishonesty, along with optional flood insurance and umbrella policies.
Nationwide – Best for Utility Interruption Coverage
Since 1925, Nationwide has grown into one of the largest insurance companies in the world. It offers business interruption and property insurance policy with an add-in utility interruption policy, a separate umbrella that covers claims in the event wind storms or gas leaks nail your utilities or overload circuit boards, resulting in lost income. This makes it a preferred provider in extreme weather-prone rural areas.
Like most carriers, users have the option to request a quote online for finding an agent for an in-person meeting. In a recent quote request for a FL-based window installation company, we were provided with a quote number and referred to one of its partners, Commercial Insurance Center, to complete the process.
Nationwide also offers many resources, with its “Small Business Learning Center” offering a free Disaster Planning Toolkit advising its clients and prospects how to best respond to business disruptions with helpful checklists, recommendations, and forms to keep an inventory of all business assets.
Next Insurance – Best for Online Quotes
Next Insurance is a new digital company covering more than 100,000 business owners to date, with custom pricing for business interruption insurance based on coverage, deductibles, and region. Purchasing a new policy, filing claims, and obtaining proof of insurance is all done online, unlike legacy carriers such as AIG, State Farm, and The Hartford who offer the option of walk-ins with fully staffed offices.
Next Insurance offers business interruption insurance. Activating a business interruption policy is easy with an assessor reviewing property damage before making an insurance calculation. Shortly thereafter, a payment to cover expenses and losses is made.