Does Builders Risk Cover Business Interruption?
Ask whether a delay or soft-cost endorsement fits your project and what trigger, expenses, waiting period, and limit it covers.
NAIC defines business interruption as lost income resulting from property damage to a business facility. The ISO builders risk specimen excludes consequential loss, while Oregon describes optional soft-cost coverage for selected costs after covered damage. A construction delay can cause financing, lease, or income effects that are not automatically paid by a property policy. Check the endorsement’s named expenses, covered physical-loss trigger, time deductible, maximum period, and limit. Ask whether a separate commercial property policy is needed once the building is occupied. Once the building is occupied, a commercial property policy may offer business-income coverage after a covered loss, subject to its own trigger and waiting period. That is different from a construction delay endorsement. Ask which policy responds before and after handover, whether the project must suffer direct physical damage, and how the coverage period, limit, and scheduled income are calculated.
Related Coverage
Sources
- Glossary of Insurance Terms. National Association of Insurance Commissioners; Builders’ Risk Policies; Business Interruption; Commercial General Liability; Contractor Equipment Floaters; Allied Lines. Accessed 2026-09-25.
- Builders Risk Coverage Form. Insurance Services Office, Inc.; hosted by Touchpoint Markets; IH 00 70 05 17, A.1.c and A.2 pp. 1–2; A.3 and A.4 pp. 2–5; A.5 and A.6 pp. 5–8; B.2–3 pp. 10–11; C–E pp. 12–13; copyright 2017, illustrative specimen. Accessed 2026-09-25.
- Insurance Clauses – Builders Risk. Oregon Department of Administrative Services; Builders Risk: Clause, When do they apply?, Notes, Additional Information; Builders Risk Installation Floater. Accessed 2026-09-25.



