When the Who originally rhapsodized of the wonders of “goingmobile,” few may have thought “play the tape machine, make thetoast and tea” would eventually mean music blasting from thespeakers of your local food truck.

Nor did those of us who passed through puberty in an earlier agehave dreamed that those once familiar low-budget hot dog and icecream vendor denizens of beaches and parks would today includetop-line culinary feasts on wheels. Although trucks may still toursummer neighborhoods tinkling those bells or playing silly songs todraw kids to their ice cream and popsicles, downtown their moresophisticated brethren are blasting tunes to draw grown-up kids tosushi, BBQ or tapas.

These full-blown restaurants on wheels often require extensiveand expensive food preparation facilities and equipment. Needlessto say, the cash flow of the more adult offerings also can differsignificantly from the relatively small change neighborhoodpopsicle-mobile.

Yet until recently, there was no standard way of providinginsurance coverage for those mobile-derived revenues and income.Technically, ISO's commercial property business income policies didnot exclude auto-based property such as the food truck exposure, aslong as the loss was due to a covered peril. There was, however,one crucial catch: these forms only applied while the property wasat the insured location or within 100 feet. Sort of missed thewhole point of a mobile business, wouldn't you say?

So as the food truck evolved from local snack bar to full-blownrestaurant segment, owners and operators of these sophisticatedmeals on wheels emporiums either looked to niche insurance marketsfor proper business income coverage or, far too often, simply wentwithout.

But no more! ISO has finally risen like yeast to the occasion,and removed from their form ovens a fully baked business incomesolution: the CA 99 05 02 14, Business Interruption Coverage. Thisnew ingredient available for the commercial auto coverage cake isan endorsement which can be attached to the business auto, autodealers or motor carrier coverage forms.

Exactly why ISO reverted to the old and stale “businessinterruption” heading instead of the fresh and clear “businessincome” is a mystery. But underneath that moldy title lies a trulynourishing repast of needed culinary coverage. Let's take a quicklook at the table of ingredients.

Schedule of Coverage. Since coverage is triggered by acovered loss to “scheduled property,” exactly how that property isscheduled becomes key. ISO provides two approaches, similar toordering from a menu: Option A (obviously for “a la carte”) allowsyou to separately describe each item of property to be covered,with a limit of insurance for each; Option B (for “buffet”) allowsyou to list all of the property to be covered, with a single limitof insurance applying for the entire meal. Just as in a restaurantsetting, it would make no sense to order both the full buffet andthen each menu time separately, ISO requires you to list items ofcovered property under only one Option, A or B. If for any reasonthere is duplication of covered property under the two Options, thelimit of insurance provided for that particular item will either be(a) the limit most specifically associated with that item (forexample, if the item were specifically identified in Option A andthen also lumped in with other property in Option B) or (b) thelimit that would provide the highest loss payment. So even iferrors are made in property descriptions between Option A and B,the insured can never collect duplicate payment; one or the otherlimit, never both.

Coverage. Similar to the CP 00 30, Business Income (AndExtra Expense), the CA 99 05 offers both coverages in a singleform.

Coverage for business income is for actual loss due to anecessary “suspension” of the insured's “operations” during a“period of restoration” caused by direct and accidental loss ordamage to “scheduled property” arising from a “covered cause ofloss.” Extra expense coverage, if added, is triggered the sameway.

Read related: “FromTakeout to Shakeout: Food Truck ShamDerailed”

We discussed how the form defines “scheduled property” earlier.The definition of “period of restoration” is basically a “cut andpaste” duplication of the commercial property forms. As for theother key terms, while they track commercial property, they aresomewhat modified for the auto exposure. Here is what the CA 99 05has to say:

3. “Operations” means your business activities described inthe Schedule that are dependent on “scheduledproperty.”

6. “Suspension” means the slowdown or cessation of your“operations.”

Note the “dependent on scheduled property” wording in“operations.” To be covered under the CA 99 05, the triggering lossmust be to damage to the vehicles, not simply the business. Forexample, assume the food truck operation includes an office for theconduct of regular business, running the web site, bookkeeping,etc., and a warehouse for storing supplies and parking the vehiclewhen off the streets. If damage due to a covered peril is limitedto the warehouse or office, and there is no damage to the vehicle(“scheduled property”), the CA 99 05 will ignore the claim.

Under ISO, to respond for a business income or extra expenseloss in such a situation would require a separate commercialproperty form for those properties. It's possible an underwritermay agree to list the office and warehouse on the CA 99 05 as“scheduled property,” but that may depend on how they or you feelabout which Covered Causes of Loss are best applied to thoseproperties: the Basic, Broad and Special options under commercialproperty, or the following.

Covered Causes of Loss. As you might suspect, the CA 9905 being a commercial auto endorsement, the choices here are thesame Comprehensive, Specified Causes of Loss and Collision found inthe commercial auto coverage forms to which it is attached. Whilethese may be perfect for your typical vehicle, be sure to addresswith the underwriter any questions that may arise from non-vehicleproperty (like our office and warehouse) or specialized additionalequipment added to the vehicle the underwriter may wantspecifically described or scheduled. This extra care to get theschedule sufficiently detailed may prove critical at claim time.Remember the CA 99 05 coverage is not triggered the same as thecommercial property forms—“loss of damage to property”—butonly if there is “loss or damage to “scheduled property.”Any “gray area” as to what constitutes “scheduled property” maycollapse your otherwise beautiful rising angel food cake ofcoverage into a flattened, inedible slab of rubberized dough.

All in all, the CA 99 05 represents a potential sumptuous repastas your clients' food trucks or other mobile businesses hit theroad.

And best of all for you and them? It's available to go.

So let's belt it out with Mad Man Sammy Hagar: “I…CAN'T…WAIT…TO…DRIVE — CA 99 05!!”