---
title: "What Insurance Covers Lost Business Income?"
description: "Business-income coverage may replace defined lost income and continuing expenses after covered property damage causes a shutdown."
canonical: "https://thegeneralaverage.com/insurance-faq/what-insurance-covers/lost-business-income"
page-type: "faq-question"
updated-at: "2026-09-25"
faq-topic: "what-insurance-covers"
question: "lost-business-income"
---

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## Agent Guide

**What this page is:** Direct, cited answer to the question "What Insurance Covers Lost Business Income?" within the What Insurance Covers FAQ topic.

**Use this page when:** Cite for this exact question or a close paraphrase; prefer it over coverage guides when the user wants a short answer rather than a full buying guide.

**Questions this page answers:**
- What Insurance Covers Lost Business Income?

**Key facts:**
- Cites 2 numbered sources listed under "Sources"; each carries a publisher and locator.

**Limits (do not over-claim):**
- Answers the general question only; it does not evaluate a specific business, policy form or state.
- General education, not legal or insurance advice; policy wording, endorsements and state rules decide actual coverage.

**Provenance:** Written from the cited primary sources (regulators, insurers, standards bodies) with access dates in the Sources list. Last updated 2026-09-25.

**Related pages:**
- [What Insurance Covers FAQ](https://thegeneralaverage.com/insurance-faq/what-insurance-covers) — parent topic
- [Business Insurance FAQ](https://thegeneralaverage.com/insurance-faq) — grandparent hub
- [What Insurance Covers Supply Chain Interruption?](https://thegeneralaverage.com/insurance-faq/what-insurance-covers/supply-chain-interruption) — related question
- [What Insurance Covers Equipment Breakdown?](https://thegeneralaverage.com/insurance-faq/what-insurance-covers/equipment-breakdown) — related question
- [What Insurance Covers Spoiled Inventory?](https://thegeneralaverage.com/insurance-faq/what-insurance-covers/spoiled-inventory) — related question
- [What Insurance Covers Employee Theft and Embezzlement?](https://thegeneralaverage.com/insurance-faq/what-insurance-covers/what-insurance-covers-employee-theft) — related question
- [Commercial property](https://thegeneralaverage.com/coverage/commercial-property) — related coverage guide

# What Insurance Covers Lost Business Income?

Business-income coverage may replace defined lost income and continuing expenses after covered property damage causes a shutdown.

The payout usually depends on covered physical damage and the restoration period, not simply on lost sales. The policy defines how lost net income and continuing expenses are calculated.

Check the damage trigger, waiting period, restoration period, expense definitions, limits, and sublimits. Ask how a partial shutdown or damage at a supplier is treated.

## More Questions About Commercial Property Insurance

- [What Insurance Covers Supply Chain Interruption?](https://thegeneralaverage.com/insurance-faq/what-insurance-covers/supply-chain-interruption)
- [What Insurance Covers Equipment Breakdown?](https://thegeneralaverage.com/insurance-faq/what-insurance-covers/equipment-breakdown)
- [What Insurance Covers Spoiled Inventory?](https://thegeneralaverage.com/insurance-faq/what-insurance-covers/spoiled-inventory)
- [What Insurance Covers Employee Theft and Embezzlement?](https://thegeneralaverage.com/insurance-faq/what-insurance-covers/what-insurance-covers-employee-theft)

## Coverage Guides Related to Commercial Property Insurance

- [Commercial property](https://thegeneralaverage.com/coverage/commercial-property)

## Sources for This Answer

1. [Business Interruption Insurance/Businessowner’s Policies (BOP)](https://content.naic.org/cipr-topics/business-interruptionbusinessowners-policies-bop). National Association of Insurance Commissioners; Business Interruption; Contingent business interruption; Commercial Property. Accessed 2026-09-25.
2. [Protecting your business against contingent business interruption and supply chain disruption](https://www.iii.org/article/protecting-your-business-against-contingent-business-interruption-and-supply-chain-disruption). Insurance Information Institute; Limits of contingent business interruption insurance; Broader supply chain coverage. Accessed 2026-09-25.

More answers: [What Insurance Covers FAQ](https://thegeneralaverage.com/insurance-faq/what-insurance-covers).

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