Our Annual Nod to Business Interruption Insurance

On December 13th, 1989, Main Office Mailers (MOM ) survived an arson fire that ravaged our offices on Eckles Road in Plymouth. It is a spectacular memory; a haunting photograph too easily recalled.

There are many elements that contributed to MOM’s survival. One of these was Business Interruption Insurance, a form of insurance coverage that replaces business income lost as a result of an event that interrupts the operations of the business, such as fire or a natural disaster.

Business interruption insurance is not sold as a separate policy, but is either added to a property/casualty policy or included in a comprehensive package policy.

Business interruption insurance steps in to fill the gaps in ordinary property or disability coverage. In most cases, this type of policy pays the business’s ongoing expenses—such as rent, electricity, phone, heat, water, taxes, and maintenance—plus compensates the owners or shareholders for lost revenues during a forced shutdown. Some policies also cover employees’ salaries.

I had taken photographs of our offices and equipment after reading an article about how to protect your company in just this type of catastrophe. Those photos turned out to be a determining factor in the positive attitude of the insurance agent assigned to our case. They were evidence of our possessions, large and small.

One of my assignments was to make an excel spread sheet listing every item lost. It was inches thick. Our insurance agent flipped through it and handed it back to me. “Now you get to assign a price to every item.” I did that with the help of vendors, office products catalogs and a dash of investigative curiosity.

Today I recommend making a video run-through of your company, opening doors and desk drawers.

We did not lose one customer back then, a testimony to our hard-earned reputation for taking care of business. Couple that with the proper insurance, incredibly long hours and a willingness to accept help in a myriad of forms and you stay afloat to fight the next battle, accept the next challenge, relish the rewards, inspire and be inspired by others.

Janice Will, President, Main Office Mailers, 41113 Koppernick, Canton

Ready to start a mailing project?  Call MOM First!

Phone: 734-455-9810 ~