Extra Expense Coverage

What Is Extra Expense Coverage?

Extra expense coverage helps pay for additional costs that may incur while your business is unable to operate temporarily due to a covered loss, like fire or theft. This includes costs that are necessary and reasonable, such as relocating and setting up a temporary location.
small business protected by Extra Expense Coverage

Key Takeaways

  • Expenses have to be necessary and reasonable to be covered.
  • You can use this coverage to help pay for rent, payroll, loan payments or relocation costs.
  • This coverage can also help pay for the cost of expedited shipping on a replacement order of your business’ inventory if it’s damaged or destroyed in a covered loss.
Business income and extra expense coverage (BIEE) is included with your business income insurance policy. This coverage is often referred to as extra expense coverage or additional expense coverage.
 
If your business suffers a covered loss like a fire, theft or wind damage and needs to temporarily shut down, extra expense coverage will help pay for extra expenses incurred. For example, if your business must move to a temporary new location, extra expense coverage can help pay for the relocation costs.
small business protected by business income and extra expense coverage

What Does Extra Expense Coverage Cover?

 
  • Temporary rent
  • Employee wages
  • Loan payments
  • Relocation costs
  • Increased advertising
  • Expedited shipping
  • Equipment rental

How Does Business Income and Extra Expense Work?

Extra expense coverage kicks in after your small business suffers a covered loss that causes physical damage to your business property and you cannot operate. It’s important to know that this coverage doesn’t pay for the costs of repairing or replacing your physical property – that’s what your commercial property insurance covers. Extra expense coverage applies to the additional necessary and reasonable expenses incurred while continuing to operate during the restoration or repair process after a loss occurs.
 
BIEE can help pay for costs like:
 
  • Buying or leasing tools and equipment to use at your temporary location
  • Moving to a temporary location while your main location is under repairs
  • Paying overtime or hiring temporary employees

How Much Does Business Income and Extra Expense Cost?

Business income insurance is included in a Business Owner’s Policy (BOP) with The Hartford. Our customers pay an average annual premium of $1,019, or about $85 a month, for a BOP.1
 
Remember, business insurance costs will vary because every business is unique and faces different risks. Costs can also vary depending on your location, your risk of a covered peril or loss and the type of coverage you need.
 
The best way to find out how much business income insurance will cost you is to obtener una cotización.
Tip:
Extra expense coverage doesn’t pay for the costs of repairing or replacing your physical property. You’ll need commercial property insurance for this.

Who Needs Extra Expense Insurance?

If your business relies on a physical location, equipment, tools and other property to generate income, you’ll likely need extra expense insurance coverage. This policy can help pay for the additional costs incurred while your business is unable to stay in your usual location due to a covered loss but continuing to operate at a temporary location.
 
The following types of businesses commonly benefit from having this coverage:
 

What’s the Difference Between Business Income and Extra Expense Coverage?

Business income insurance, also known as business interruption insurance, helps replace lost income that would have been earned and reimburses you for your usual business expenses, like payroll and rent, if your business cannot operate temporarily due to a covered loss.
 
Extra expense coverage helps cover extra costs that come up while your business continues to operate from a temporary location while repairs are being made to your actual location. These types of extra costs can be relocation costs, temporary rent and increased advertising needs.
 

Learn About Business Income and Extra Expense Coverage

Learn how business income and extra expense insurance coverage can help your business survive after a fire, storm, or theft in this video.
business income insurance video
Video Transcription
As a business owner, you know that time is money. If something unexpected happens and forces you to close, you could miss out on much-needed income. But with business income insurance, you don't have to worry so much when certain issues arise. To understand it a little better, let's answer the question we know you're wondering. What is business income insurance, exactly? Simply put, it'll keep your company covered when you need it most. Business income insurance steps in to help replace any loss of business income when a covered issue causes you to close. That's why it's also called business interruption insurance, because you'll need it if your business is interrupted by an accident or disaster you never saw coming. Believe it or not, these kinds of issues bring damages that devastate small businesses every day, and we mean devastate them so much that their doors close and never reopen. We don't want that to happen to you. That's why it's important to have this business interruption coverage. But you'll need to know what it does and doesn't cover when it comes to damages. So let's go over that. What does business income insurance cover? Having this insurance coverage can help business owners pay for bills like mortgage or rent payments. It can also help cover operating expenses like payroll, assuring employees don't miss paychecks. However, business income insurance will only step in if certain issues cause you to close. This includes damages done by wind, made by a fire, or even created by a thief that breaks into your business. These kinds of issues often result in businesses shutting down for what's called a restoration period, which is essentially the time that repairs are being made. Having to close your doors for any length of time can be devastating for small business owners who rely on daily sales or appointments. So how does business income insurance work to cover you? Well, let's say you're a restaurant owner who sells the best pizza in town. At least that's what your Google reviews say. One night, a fire breaks out and ends up damaging your entire kitchen. You have no choice but to shut down while the repairs are made. Your contractor says it could be a few months until you're back up and running. That's when business income insurance steps in. Your coverage goes into action the moment the issue or covered peril, as we say in the insurance world, occurs. Many insurance companies have a waiting period of up to 72 hours until coverage can start. But with business income insurance from The Hartford, we offer a zero hour waiting period. That means your coverage begins at the time your business is physically damaged until the day you're back open. That's what we're here for, to get you back open as quickly as possible while helping replace the income you've lost. We have a huge heart for small business owners, and it shows in our history of protecting them for over 200 years. Of all the insurance companies you can work with, none do small business like us. See what it's like to have a partner that truly puts you first. Get a quote from us today.

Frequently Asked Questions About Business Income and Extra Expense Coverage

The period of restoration for business income insurance begins when your business is physically damaged and you need to shut down. It ends when your property is repaired and ready to reopen. Our standard business income coverage has a zero-hour waiting period, which means coverage goes into effect as soon as there’s a covered loss.
A business income insurance policy includes extra expense coverage. You automatically will get business income insurance protection through a Business Owner’s Policy (BOP) with The Hartford.
The equation for business income is: Business Income = Revenue - Expenses
 
To estimate how much coverage you’ll need, first calculate your yearly business income by subtracting expenses from your total revenue. You can then use this amount as a reference to project how much income your business will earn within the next year. Once you have that projection, you can then estimate the period of restoration if your business is damaged.
 
 
1 Premium amounts presented are based on monthly premium paid by The Hartford's Small Business customers between 1/1/22 and 9/14/23 for 12-month policies. Premium is derived from a number of factors specific to your business and may vary.
 
Divulgaciones adicionales a continuación.
The Hartford no será responsable de ningún daño relacionado con el uso de la información proporcionada en esta página. Consulte con su agente/corredor de seguros o compañía de seguros para determinar las necesidades específicas de cobertura, ya que el contenido publicado aquí se ofrece con fines informativos solamente.
 
La información contenida en esta página no debe interpretarse como asesoramiento legal, de Recursos Humanos, financiero o de seguros específico, y no es una garantía de cobertura. En el caso de una pérdida o reclamación, las determinaciones de cobertura estarán sujetas al lenguaje de la póliza, y cualquier pago de reclamación posible se determinará luego de que se investigue la reclamación.
 
Ciertas coberturas varían según el estado y es posible que no estén disponibles para todas las empresas. All Hartford coverages and services described on this page may be offered by one or more of the property and casualty insurance company subsidiaries of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. listed in the Aviso legal.
 
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* Los comentarios de los clientes son recolectados y tabulados por The Hartford y no representan a todos los clientes.