Lost income claims for business owners
Your business slowed down while you recovered and you want to know if that counts.
Loss of income for a business owner is about the business’s real financial performance during your recovery, not just your personal drawings. This sits within the broader head of loss of earnings, assessed under the same rules as any other lost income claim. Proving it generally needs business records rather than a payslip.
Why this looks different from an employee’s claim
A business owner’s income is often tied up in the business rather than paid as a fixed salary. The real question is usually whether the business earned less, or spent more on a replacement, because you were unable to work in it as usual.
The records that support this claim
- Profit and loss statements comparing the period before and after the accident.
- Annual tax filings, such as Borang B, for the relevant years.
- Invoices showing a drop in work completed or clients served.
- Receipts or a contract showing the cost of hiring temporary help to cover your absence.
Two common patterns this claim follows
A drop in overall business income while you recovered is one pattern, shown by comparing similar periods. Paying someone else to do the work you would normally have done yourself is another, shown by the direct cost of that replacement. Some claims combine both where they genuinely occurred.
What makes this harder to prove than an employee’s claim
Seasonal businesses, cash-heavy trades, and businesses run informally without full bookkeeping all make the comparison harder to draw cleanly. None of these stop a claim, but each means more months of records are usually needed to show a fair, realistic picture.
What to do next
Gather at least six to twelve months of records from before the accident, so a genuine comparison is possible rather than a single unusual month. Self-employed income loss covers the wider evidence picture, proving your lost income sets out the documents in detail, and how compensation is worked out shows where this fits among the other heads of loss.
Common questions
My business kept running while I recovered. Can I still claim?
Yes, if it earned less than it otherwise would have, or if you had to pay someone else to cover your work. The comparison is between what actually happened and what would reasonably have happened without the accident.
What if my business does not keep formal accounts?
It becomes harder, not impossible. Bank statements, invoices issued, and any tax filing you have can still build a reasonable picture, though clearer records going forward will help the rest of the claim.
Can I claim the cost of hiring someone to cover for me?
Generally yes, where you can show the cost was genuinely incurred and connected to your inability to work because of the injury, supported by a receipt, invoice or contract for that help.
How many months of records do I actually need to provide?
Enough to show a realistic comparison rather than one unusual month, often around six to twelve months before the accident, though this depends on how seasonal or variable your business income normally is.