Commonly overlooked, equipment breakdown coverage can help your business get back up and running.
Auto insurance, home insurance, and even health insurance are all coverages that you purchase ‘just in case’ something bad happens. Businesses, especially manufacturing businesses, tend to purchase equipment breakdown insurance – and for a good reason, too. This sort of policy helps to protect the business from costs and losses that happen when vital machinery stops working.
Whether it’s a restaurant that needs a working refrigeration unit or a construction site that has to have its crane in working order, we never know how much our business values equipment until it breaks. Loss of certain equipment may prevent a business from running, grinding it to a halt until it is repaired or replaced. Fortunately, many pieces of machinery can be covered by breakdown insurance.
There are five categories of equipment that this coverage usually covers:
- Mechanical – motors, engines, elevators, generations, etc.
- Electrical – transformers, cables, electrical panels
- Computers and communications – computer systems, phone services, fire alarms, security systems
- Air conditioners and refrigeration systems
- Boilers and pressure equipment
The coverage itself typically helps to cover:
- The cost to repair or replace damaged equipment, including time and labor
- Loss of income
- Spoiled inventory
- Necessary expenses incurred during the restoration period
Equipment breakdown insurance is smart to have, even if you don’t own the building in which you operate. If your business is dependent upon properly-functioning equipment owned and operated by a key supplier, such as a local power company, this insurance can help.
Be aware that your commercial property insurance may not cover broken equipment. It can cover damages caused by covered external causes, such as a far, but not internal forces, such as mechanical breakdowns, power surges, and operator error.
Talk to the team at Nahai Insurance Services to learn more about how your business – and equipment – can stay protected at all times. Contact us today on (310) 282-0900.