What is Business Equipment Breakdown Coverage?

Most businesses depend on their equipment to work correctly, all the time. Regardless of your size or sector; the chances are, your business operations would slow down or come to a sudden halt if some of your essential equipment was to breakdown.

If a dentist loses the ability to use their x-ray equipment, or a garage loses access to a working ramp, or even something as straightforward as the computers stop working in an office; an equipment breakdown can cause severe delays to a company’s ability to serve their customers, which can, in turn, have financial ramifications too.

Buying business equipment breakdown insurance can eliminate some of these risks by covering the repair costs for your equipment and helping with the reimbursement of any connected loss of income.

Who should buy a business equipment insurance policy?

Almost every business has the potential to be affected by a breakdown of their essential equipment. With most companies depending on having instant access to technology, regardless of whether it is a single PC, an entire network of computers, the company server, or any other piece of equipment, you need to know that your customers, you productivity, and your business income will not be severely impacted should a breakdown occur.

The list of companies who can benefit from buying business equipment breakdown insurance is endless, but here are some of the most popular sectors who buy this type of coverage for their equipment.

• Hotels, Inns, and Guest Houses
• IT, Hosting, or Support Services
• Manufacturing
• Convenience Stores
• Supermarkets
• Cafes and Coffee Shops
• Shopping Centres and Malls
• Salons
• Retail Stores
• Hospitals, Dentists, and other Medical Clinics
• Schools, Colleges, and Universities
• Churches and other Religious Institutions
• Offices and Serviced Office Providers
• Garage and Auto Repair Stores

What type of disruptions are covered by an equipment breakdown policy?

There is a range of disruptions that are typically covered under a commercial equipment breakdown policy. Here are some of the most common:

• Server damage
• Refrigeration unit breakdown
• Computing equipment failure
• A power failure
• Breakage of equipment

Almost all insurance companies that sell equipment breakdown coverage will have slight variations in the equipment and events they will cover. However, you can usually always expect your equipment breakdown coverage to provide financial protection for a machine that fails due to a power failure, a power surge, operator error, burned out motors, and more.

What Does an Equipment Breakdown Policy Cover?

Equipment breakdown coverage will typically provide coverage for the following issues and costs:

• It may payout to replace any lost income to the business following the failure or breakdown of essential equipment.
• It will pay for either the repair or replacement of the failed piece of equipment.
• It will provide a reimbursement for the time and labor costs involved in the repair of the failed equipment.
• It may pay out a reimbursement of costs for any lost materials or related items, such as spilled foods in the event of a breakdown.

Will equipment breakdown insurance cover my leased equipment?

When you lease equipment for your business, you should already have coverage from the supplier for any breakdowns. However, even if this is the case, you should still buy equipment breakdown insurance.

Consider what would happen if it took your service provider two days to visit you, and when they did, they found that a particular part was needed, but it was out of stock for 3 weeks. The total amount of time your equipment will be out of action could easily spiral, and if there are delays, there could be even more of an impact on your business.

If you are losing income in the process, your service provider will not usually provide you with any reimbursement for these costs. When you buy business equipment breakdown coverage, you get so much more than just getting your equipment back in working order again, as you also get the lost income replacement coverage too.

Buy Equipment Breakdown Insurance

If you want a quote for business equipment breakdown coverage, you will need to make sure you buy enough coverage for your equipment and any collateral damage the failure of that equipment may cause as well. If you would like assistance in working out how much equipment insurance coverage you need to buy for your business, talk with an expert commercial insurance agent today.

They will be able to give you the benefit of their experience, answer any questions you may have, and provide you with an accurate cost of buying equipment breakdown coverage for your company.