01 / The meaning
What it means.
The cause might be a failed terminal, a local internet problem, a bank or payment-provider incident, loss of power or a cyber event. Those causes can lead to different insurance questions. A business being unable to take cards does not automatically satisfy a cyber or business interruption trigger, particularly if its own property and systems are undamaged.
Build the financial picture using outage logs, transaction records and evidence of sales recovered later through another method. Check provider service terms alongside insurance: a service credit and an insurance payment are different arrangements. Practical backup methods should also respect payment-security requirements. Do not store card details insecurely or improvise a process that creates a new privacy or fraud exposure.
02 / Put it in context
A practical example.
Hypothetical example: A café’s payment provider becomes unavailable during the lunch period. Staff record the outage and use an approved alternative process. Some sales are delayed and others lost. The cause, financial evidence and relevant policy trigger determine whether any insurance section is applicable.
This example illustrates the term. It does not predict a claim outcome.
03 / Read the detail
What to check.
- Identify whether the failure occurred locally or at an external provider.
- Keep outage times, provider notices and records of recovered sales.
- Check waiting periods, dependency cover and approved backup payment methods.
04 / Start a useful conversation
A question for your broker.
What caused the outage, and does the policy address that particular dependency?
05 / Connect the terms
Keep the meaning in context.
06 / Apply it to your business
Related insurance guides.
Further reading
Read the source guidance alongside the relevant policy wording.
General information only. This does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting, consider whether the information is appropriate for you. Cover is subject to insurer acceptance and the policy terms, conditions, limits and exclusions. Read the Financial Services Guide and the relevant PDS (where applicable) and/or policy wording before deciding.
Let’s start with your business
A clearer conversation
about your insurance.
Tell us what you do, what has changed and what you need to understand.