Exclusive Provider Organization (EPO)
EPOs allow subscribers to visit any physician within the contracted network without prior approval or referrals. Services received outside the network may not be covered.

Business interruption
If you're unable to run your business due to a covered peril (fire, storm damage, vandalism and so on), business interruption insurance will replace lost income, pay ongoing expenses and pay costs involved in getting you set up in a temporary facility.

Weather
The impact of weather on businesses is more complex than you might think. Weather obviously affects outdoor operations that depend on fair weather — for example, events like fairs, festivals, concerts, sporting events or filming.

Destroyed or damaged records
If your business records are destroyed or damaged by a covered peril, this insurance will compensate you for the inability to collect income and for the cost of reproducing the records.

Automobile
If you own and operate commercial vehicles, you should make sure that your fleet is appropriately insured. If business use of a vehicle is minimal and limited to your personal vehicle, the necessary coverage can probably be included in your personal policy. Best bet: Check with your agent to be sure.

Deregulation
Under Washington state law known as “use-and-file,” commercial property/casualty contracts negotiated between insurers and businesses may go into effect immediately. The policy itself can be filed for state review later.

Health Maintenance Organization (HMO)
Managed-care insurers — known generally as HMOs — use a primary care physician as a gatekeeper to screen patients and see that appropriate treatment takes place at the lowest level possible. In order to see a specialist or receive specialized care, patients must see the gatekeeper physician first and be referred on.

Flood
Coverage for damage caused by floods is not included in ordinary homeowners and commercial policies, but must be added as an endorsement. Flood insurance, which also covers damage caused by mudslides, is available through a program run by the Federal Insurance Administration; contact your agent or call (800) 427-4661 for more information.

Dependent Property
This refers to a kind of business-interruption endorsement on a commercial policy that protects you from financial losses caused by problems somewhere other than your business. “Dependent property” is defined as property not owned, operated or controlled by you but on which you are dependent for normal business operations.

Professional liability
Often called “malpractice insurance” or “errors and omissions coverage,” these policies protect professionals such as accountants, lawyers, doctors, dentists, pharmacists, insurance brokers and agents, and consultants, for negligence that injures their clients.