Business Income or Business Interruption for commercial property – most everyone with a P&C license is familiar with this coverage. But what about mobile businesses without a fixed location, or where most of the equipment (and exposure) is on the road more often than not? Food trucks, well drilling trucks, mobile medical vans, pet grooming vans, combines, cherry pickers – loss of use of these pieces of property means loss of income for the owner.

With a standard pickup or private passenger vehicle, an adequate replacement can easily be hired. But for larger trucks or vehicles with specialized equipment, it may be impossible to find a replacement while repairs are being made. Worse, if the property is completely destroyed, it may mean replacement of the vehicle and then transforming it with customization. This downtime increases the loss of income.

This has been a problem ever since the first BI policy was written in the late 18th century. About 10 years ago, ISO introduced two forms to provide BI for autos and mobile equipment. ISO uses form CA 9905 for autos and CP 1506 for mobile equipment; some carriers have their own proprietary forms. This post discusses the ISO coverage.

As with traditional property BI, coverage can be purchased with or without Extra Expense. EE might cover, for example: towing, custom manufacturing of parts or components; expedited shipping of parts; expedited shipping of a replacement vehicle.

Unlike with traditional BI, there is no coinsurance requirement. A limit is chosen to apply to each scheduled vehicle, or a limit is chosen to blanket a schedule. Only vehicles with Physical Damage coverage are eligible (Comprehensive, Collision, Specified Causes of Loss – see post here on SCOL). Just as with Business Auto, each vehicle or piece of equipment is scheduled for coverage.

Waiting period is 72 hours, and extended period is 60 days. These can be increased for additional premium.

Many policyholders depend on their non-standard autos and equipment for their revenue. If your prospect is not aware of this solution for the temporary loss of revenue generating property, take advantage of this gap.