WHAT IS GRIDPROTECT, AND HOW CAN IT KEEP YOUR BUSINESS MOVING?

Insurance is everywhere in our lives.

It’s the hidden safety net meant to keep things moving. You can’t drive a car, buy a house, or even get a business loan without it. 

But for all the ways insurance surrounds us, it often feels invisible. That is, until the moment you need it. And when you do, the experience can be frustratingly slow or unclear.

Take when power outages happen, for example. They don’t always make headlines like wildfires or hurricanes, but the reality is that they’re happening more often. 

If you’ve been there, you already know that even half a day without power can take a huge toll. Inventory spoils, services stall, and revenue is lost.

The problem?

Most business owner policies don’t step in for outages that last under 24 hours. And that's exactly the window where many businesses feel the most pain.

This is the gap Adaptive has set out to close with a new style of insurance, called GridProtect. It’s designed for the everyday outages that don’t make the headlines, but still disrupt business.

This is a first-of-its-kind parametric insurance policy built specifically to protect businesses from the financial impact of short-duration power outages. While most conventional coverage is geared toward the rare catastrophes, GridProtect was built for the disruptions that happen most often.

So when the grid stumbles, your business doesn’t have to.

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WHY NOW?

Power outages aren’t just blips anymore. Severe weather, an aging grid, and soaring demand are making disruptions more common and more expensive. (See our full article on the aging U.S. grid and what it means for you.)

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• The average U.S. outage has doubled in less than a decade, from an average of 3.5 hours in 2013 to 7 hours in 2021.²
• Outages cost American businesses an estimated $150 billion every year.³
• Yet only about 60% of those losses are covered by traditional insurance.

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That leaves a wide gap. Especially since the short, under-24-hour outages excluded from most standard policies are the ones that are often the most disruptive for businesses.

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These aren’t once-in-a-lifetime disasters. They’re everyday disruptions, and they add up quickly. 

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Industry data shows us that this problem is only growing.⁴ With new power-hungry industries like data centers and AI driving demand, grid planners are already forecasting years of accelerated strain.

HOW GRID PROTECT WORKS

Think of it as “if/then” insurance. 

• IF your power is out for 8 hours or more…
• …THEN your GridProtect policy pays out.

It’s really that simple. No paperwork, no adjusters, no waiting weeks to prove what you lost.

Here’s how it plays out:

1. Pick your trigger: For example, 8+ consecutive hours without power
2. Set your payout: Choose a coverage amount that makes sense for your business.
3. We track the data: Adaptive monitors utility reports and third-party data to confirm the outage.
4. Payouts are automatic: Once the trigger is met, Adaptive starts the claims process automatically. The typical claim means funds typically hit your account within just days.

GridProtect responds based on clear triggers that you know upfront. If the event happens, then the payout happens.

WHY IS GRID PROTECT DIFFERENT?

Insurance usually shows up at the most stressful times, and unfortunately, traditional claims often add more frustration to the pile.

Typical business interruption insurance is designed for rare, catastrophic, long-duration events. But those only make up about 2% of the disruptions businesses usually face on average. The other 98% are the high-frequency, low-severity events that feel more like “death by a thousand cuts.” 

GridProtect changes that dynamic:

• It’s fast. Payment arrives in days, not weeks or months.
• It’s flexible. Use the funds however you need. Payroll, rent, inventory, or catching up on lost revenue.
• It’s clear. Triggers are agreed upon upfront, so you know exactly what to expect. 

This is coverage built for the reality most businesses face. Not just the rare “big one” that makes the news.

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A REAL-WORLD SCENARIO

Imagine this. 

Your cafe loses power for 14 hours during a busy weekend. 

• Without GridProtect, you’re left absorbing the costs of spoiled ingredients, canceled reservations, and thousands lost in sales. Even if you file under a traditional policy, it likely won’t qualify. And if it does, you’ll wait weeks for an adjuster and payout.

• With GridProtect, you set the terms at the time you purchased your policy. When the outage happens, it’s verified automatically, and your agreed payout, say $10,000, lands in your account within days. That cash flow lets you reset quickly and focus on moving forward.
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THE VALUE OF BEING READY

We know the power grid isn't as reliable as it used to be. Outages are lasting longer, hitting harder, and happening more often. Traditional insurance wasn’t built for these disruptions, but your business still feels the impact. 

GridProtect fills that gap with coverage that is fast, clear, and built for the types of events that disrupt businesses the most.

Because while you can’t stop the lights from going out, you can make sure the outage doesn’t stop you.
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Contact us at hello@adaptiveinsurance.com to learn more about how a GridProtect parametric policy can help strengthen your resilience strategy. 

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¹ Adaptive analyzed power outages in the U.S. over the last ten years by county in each state.

²  U.S. electricity customers averaged seven hours of power interruptions in 2021 - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 

³ The White House 

⁴ US electricity load growth forecast jumps 81% led by data centers, industry: Grid Strategies | Utility Dive

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