What is Business Overhead Expense insurance?
Business Overhead Expense (BOE) insurance is designed to help reimburse many eligible operating expenses while you're temporarily unable to work because of a covered disability.
Rather than replacing your personal income, BOE insurance helps keep your business operating while you recover.
The goal isn't simply to replace your income.
It's to help keep your business operating until you're ready to return.
Is Business Overhead Expense Insurance Right for Your Business?
BOE insurance is designed for owner-dependent businesses where the owner's ability to work, generate revenue, and oversee daily operations is essential to keeping the company moving.
If You Cannot Work, Your Business Expenses Continue.
For many business owners, the ability to work is directly connected to the company’s revenue. A serious illness or injury may interrupt your ability to operate the business, but it does not stop the expenses required to keep it running.
Rent or Mortgage Interest
Employee Payroll
Utilities
Equipment Leases
Insurance Premiums
Accounting & Professional Fees
Business Loan Obligations
Taxes & Other Fixed Costs
Your Expenses Keep Going
When a business depends heavily on its owner, a disability can affect both revenue and day-to-day operations.
Business Overhead Expense Insurance can reimburse eligible operating expenses during a covered disability, giving the business time to continue while the owner focuses on recovery.
See How Business Overhead Expense Insurance Works
Many business owners have never heard of Business Overhead Expense insurance until they're faced with a disability. This short video explains how BOE insurance can help keep your business operating while you recover.
One Disability. Two Financial Problems.
When a business owner becomes disabled, two financial crises often happen at the same time.
- Your income may stop
- Savings may be depleted
- Retirement contributions may stop
- Rent or mortgage payments continue
- Employee payroll still needs to be met
- Utilities and insurance premiums remain due
- Equipment leases continue
- Loan payments don't stop
- Customers may begin looking elsewhere
Isn't Disability Insurance Enough?
Personal Disability Income Insurance and Business Overhead Expense Insurance protect two different parts of your financial life.
Protects You Personally
Disability Income InsuranceProtects Your Business
Business Overhead Expense InsuranceA disability can create two separate financial problems. Disability Income Insurance helps protect your personal income, while Business Overhead Expense Insurance helps reimburse eligible business expenses that continue while you recover.
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Get My Free Quote →Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to what business owners most often ask before scheduling a Business Protection Review.
BOE insurance is a specialized disability policy designed to reimburse many of a business's ongoing operating expenses if the owner becomes unable to work due to a covered illness or injury. Rather than replacing personal income, it's built to help keep essential business functions running while the owner recovers. Coverage terms, eligible expenses, and benefit amounts vary depending on the specific policy and carrier.
Business owners whose companies depend heavily on their day-to-day involvement are often good candidates for BOE coverage — including medical and dental practices, law firms, CPA offices, consulting practices, and contractor-owned businesses. If your business would face ongoing overhead costs even during a period when you couldn't work, BOE insurance may be worth evaluating. The right fit typically depends on your business structure, fixed expenses, and how much the operation relies on you personally.
Depending on the policy, BOE insurance may help reimburse eligible ongoing expenses such as rent or mortgage payments, employee salaries, utilities, insurance premiums, equipment leases, and certain professional fees. Coverage specifics vary by carrier and policy provisions, so it's worth reviewing exactly which expenses qualify under a given plan. An advisor can walk through what's typically eligible based on your business type.
No — BOE insurance is designed to reimburse business operating expenses, not to replace the owner's personal salary or income. Personal income protection is typically handled through a separate individual disability income policy. Many business owners carry both types of coverage together, since they're built to serve different purposes.
Benefit periods vary by policy but commonly range from 12 to 24 months, depending on the carrier and the terms selected at the time of purchase. Most BOE policies are designed to provide enough runway for a business to stay operational through a typical recovery period, not to serve as permanent income replacement. Longer benefit periods may be available depending on underwriting and business needs.
Yes — in many cases, the two coverages are designed to work together rather than overlap. Disability income insurance is intended to help replace personal income, while BOE insurance is designed to help cover business operating expenses; together, they may offer more complete protection for owner-dependent businesses. Whether both make sense for your situation typically depends on your income structure, business expenses, and existing coverage.
Many BOE policies may include business loan or equipment lease payments among their eligible expenses, though this varies by carrier and specific policy language. Not all debt obligations automatically qualify, so it's worth confirming with your advisor which of your business's loan payments would be eligible under a given plan. This is an area where policy details matter significantly.
In many cases, BOE insurance premiums paid by the business may be deductible as an ordinary business expense, though benefits received are generally considered taxable income. Tax treatment can vary depending on how the policy is structured and owned. You should consult your tax advisor regarding how BOE coverage would be treated for your specific business.
The monthly benefit amount is typically based on your business's actual, documented recurring operating expenses, subject to underwriting review and policy limits. Carriers generally require documentation — such as financial statements or tax returns — to support the requested coverage amount. The exact process and requirements can vary depending on the carrier and the size of the policy.
The best way to find out is to review your specific business structure, fixed expenses, and how the business would function if you couldn't work for an extended period. Every business's risk profile is different, so a general answer isn't especially useful on its own. A conversation with an independent advisor can help identify whether BOE coverage — and how much — makes sense for your situation.
Still Have Questions? Let's Talk.
Every business is different. If you'd like to go deeper on any of these questions as they apply to your specific business, schedule a Business Protection Review and we'll walk through it together.
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