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🚧 '''Prevention of access''' is a [[Definition:Business interruption insurance | business interruption insurance]] extension that indemnifies a policyholder for lost income when access to their insured premises is physically prevented or hindered by damage to nearby — but uninsured — property, or by a civil authority order, even though the policyholder's own property has not suffered direct physical loss. In a standard business interruption policy, coverage is typically triggered only when the insured's own premises sustain physical damage from an insured peril. Prevention of access broadens this trigger, recognizing that a business can suffer severe revenue loss if, for example, a fire in an adjacent building causes authorities to cordon off the surrounding area, or if structural collapse of a neighboring building blocks the only road to the insured's premises.

⚙️ Policies offering this extension usually define specific conditions and limits. Coverage is generally subject to a defined radius or proximity requirement — the preventing event must occur within a stated distance of the insured premises, often one mile or one kilometer, though this varies by [[Definition:Underwriter | underwriter]] and market. An [[Definition:Indemnity period | indemnity period]] — typically shorter than the main business interruption coverage period — caps the duration for which prevention of access losses are payable. The peril causing the obstruction must itself be one that would have been covered under the property section of the policy had it affected the insured's own premises; consequential loss from, say, a pandemic closure would not typically trigger a prevention of access clause unless specifically worded. The COVID-19 pandemic generated extensive [[Definition:Coverage dispute | coverage litigation]] around prevention of access and related [[Definition:Civil authority coverage | civil authority]] clauses, with courts in the UK, the United States, Australia, and elsewhere reaching divergent conclusions on whether government-mandated lockdowns constituted "prevention of access" in the absence of localized physical damage.

📌 The pandemic-era disputes underscored the critical importance of precise policy language and exposed the gap between policyholder expectations and the actual scope of standard wordings. In the UK, the [[Definition:Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) | FCA]] test case (2021) clarified the operation of several prevention of access and denial of access clauses across major market wordings, establishing precedents that have since influenced how [[Definition:Broker | brokers]] and insurers draft and negotiate these extensions. For [[Definition:Risk manager | risk managers]], prevention of access coverage is an essential component of a comprehensive business interruption program, particularly for businesses in dense urban environments, shopping centers, or areas near critical infrastructure where third-party incidents can disrupt operations without directly damaging the insured's property. [[Definition:Claims handling | Claims handling]] for prevention of access can be complex, requiring the [[Definition:Loss adjuster (loss adjuster/claims adjuster) | loss adjuster]] to establish the causal chain between the external event, the access restriction, and the measurable revenue loss.

'''Related concepts:'''
{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Definition:Business interruption insurance]]
* [[Definition:Civil authority coverage]]
* [[Definition:Indemnity period]]
* [[Definition:Coverage dispute]]
* [[Definition:Denial of access]]
* [[Definition:Loss of attraction]]
{{Div col end}}

Definition:Prevention of access - Revision history

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