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By Lynton Hartill
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No two businesses are alike, and this is especially true for large organisations, where complex operations and multiple dependencies make risk management increasingly challenging. In today’s risk landscape, a one-size-fits-all insurance approach can leave significant gaps in protection and insurance alone cannot address every risk.
While Business Interruption Insurance remains a cornerstone of risk management, many Irish companies are now adopting bespoke strategies that tailor their Business Interruption cover and layer it with complementary protections such as cyber, key person, utilities, and supply chain considerations. This approach helps ensure that when disruption occurs, organisations can maintain operations, safeguard revenue, and recover efficiently - not just survive.
Why Bespoke Business Interruption Cover Matters
For large organisations, the impact of a disruption often extends far beyond physical damage. A single incident - whether a flood, IT outage, or major supplier failure - can have a ripple effect across departments, locations, and customer networks. Traditional Business Interruption policies tend to focus on losses caused by direct physical damage, which may not reflect how modern businesses operate.
Bespoke Business Interruption cover is built around how a company actually functions. It considers how revenue is generated, which suppliers and customers are critical, and how long operations would realistically take to recover. This allows for a tailored indemnity period, accurate calculation of gross profit, and wordings that address the organisation’s specific risk profile.
Extending Protection Through Bespoke Cover
Business Interruption Insurance can be tailored to reflect the unique risks and operational dependencies of a large organisation. Optional extensions and bespoke wording allow companies to protect against a wider range of scenarios that could interrupt operations beyond physical damage to their premises.
Common extensions include:
- Loss of Public Utilities - Covers losses arising from electricity, water, or telecom outages.
- Denial of Access - Protects when your business cannot be reached due to incidents nearby, such as a fire, flood, or public authority closure.
- Loss of Attraction - Responds to reduced revenue following an event in the surrounding area that impacts customer footfall.
These types of extensions are increasingly relevant in sectors such as retail, hospitality, logistics, and professional services - where disruption can occur even when the insured premises are unaffected.
Supply Chain Risks – A Critical Consideration
Supply chain vulnerabilities are another area where bespoke protection can make a significant difference. A break in the chain can lead to unexpected costs - from sourcing alternative suppliers and expediting deliveries, to paying contractual penalties when commitments can’t be met.
It’s vital to understand what cover is available, and under what circumstances a claim would be triggered. Disruptions don’t always come from external suppliers; sometimes losses at an insured’s own site can force operational changes that create further financial pressure.
Supply chain extensions can provide valuable protection, but their scope and limits must be clearly assessed. At Arachas, we often see that identifying and quantifying these risks along with aligning cover to reflect them, are key steps in ensuring financial resilience and operational continuity.
Complementary Protections That Strengthen Resilience
For a truly resilient strategy, Business Interruption Insurance should work hand-in-hand with other key policies. Beyond BI and BI extensions large organisations may benefit from:
- Cyber Insurance - Covers business interruption caused by ransomware, data breaches, or prolonged system downtime.
- Directors & Officers (D&O) Liability - Provides protection for leadership against claims related to management decisions.
- Trade Credit Insurance - Protects against financial losses from customer defaults or delayed payments.
- Political and Event Risk Insurance - Helps mitigate the impact of political unrest, strikes, or large-scale operational disruptions.
- Key Person Insurance - Helps offset the financial impact if a senior leader or technical specialist becomes unable to work due to illness or accident.
When designed together, these layers of protection help large organisations absorb shocks and recover faster, supporting overall business continuity planning.
Integrating Insurance with Business Continuity Planning
The most effective bespoke insurance solutions are those that align with a company’s broader continuity and risk management framework. This involves mapping potential points of failure, stress-testing recovery times and reviewing whether existing policies accurately reflect operational realities.
By doing so, businesses not only strengthen their insurance protection but also gain a clearer understanding of their resilience - where they’re most exposed, where insurance may only partially cover a risk and where investment in continuity planning delivers the greatest value.
Most importantly, companies should be asking themselves are they certain their insurance policy would cover the significant additional costs if a Business Continuity Plan had to be fully implemented.
Final Thoughts
Every large organisation is unique - its risk strategy should be too. Adopting a bespoke layered insurance strategy is no longer optional - it’s essential for managing modern risks. It should be seen as a strategic enabler, not just a financial safety net. Off-the-shelf policies may address some scenarios, but combining tailored Business interruption cover with complementary protections such as cyber, utilities and supply chain ensures your insurance reflects how your business actually operates.
At Arachas, we work closely with clients to assess their Business Interruption exposures and design bespoke insurance and risk management solutions that reflect operational realities, supply chain dependencies and long-term resilience objectives.
If your organisation would like to review its current approach to Business Interruption and related cover, we would be happy to arrange a discussion.
Arachas Corporate Brokers Limited t/a Arachas is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. Company registration number: 379157