Industry

A large brass clock face is opened to show interlocking gears, a tiny conveyor of crates crossing the dial.

If a production machine fails, does property insurance pay for the lost work time?

Not necessarily. The California commercial guide discusses equipment breakdown and business interruption separately; NAIC ties ordinary business interruption to a covered event involving property damage.

Ask whether a separate equipment-breakdown form applies to the named machine and failure cause, and whether it addresses resulting income loss or extra expense. Do not infer those terms from the property limit.1

If the outage is caused by a supplier or other dependent business, ask separately about contingent business interruption and its trigger. NAIC notes that contingent coverage may also require physical damage at the dependent location.5

Read the Operations Insurance Buying Guide

Sources

6 documents, numbered as cited.

Spot, a product of Tools for Enlightenment, publishes this guide and works in the commercial insurance market. This is general buyer education; policy terms and state-specific obligations determine coverage and requirements.

Updated 2026-09-28. Editorial Policy

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