About one week into July 2020, many months into the pandemic, the global numbers continue rising. There have been over 12 million confirmed cases of the virus. There have also been over 550,000 deaths associated with COVID-19 around the world. Although these numbers are grim, it is important to note that more than 6.6 million people have recovered after becoming infected. Without a doubt, the pandemic has come with a significant health risk; however, many people – specifically, business owners – have had to worry about much more than the health risk.
Business owners have seen their businesses suffer significant losses in a short length of time. Are you a business owner that witnessed your business suffer financial losses because of the pandemic? If you have business interruption coverage (which most business owners carry), you might have grounds to file a business interruption claim for your losses. Do you have the right to file a business interruption claim? Are your losses covered by your business interruption insurance policy? If you would like to learn more about your right to pursue a claim, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with the experts at Normandie Law Firm as soon as possible.
At Normandie Law Firm, we have many years of experience handling different claims – regardless of the claim we are handling, you can be certain that protecting the rights of our consumers is our top priority. Our lawyers are knowledgeable on business interruption insurance and are ready to evaluate your situatiåon and help you pursue your business interruption claim. If you would like to learn more about whether you could pursue a claim, do not hesitate to contact our experts immediately.
The Effects of COVID-19 on Small Businesses
Without a doubt, the pandemic has affected the health and wellbeing of hundreds of thousands of people around the world. However, in addition to health issues, the pandemic has resulted in devastating losses to business owners. The pandemic forced all non-essential business to close; most of these businesses were small businesses. Many business owners attempted to change their business strategy as well as services offered in order to remain open; however, that served as only a temporary solution. Many business owners could not afford to remain open even due to the financial losses caused by the pandemic. The closures were supposed to be temporary; however, many businesses will simply not reopen in the future. Although the pandemic has resulted in people staying home, many small businesses would have continued to prosper through the pandemic if they had been allowed to remain open. Businesses suffered irreparable losses and business owners essentially lost everything.
About Business Interruption Insurance
Business interruption insurance is an insurance coverage that could apply when businesses suffer losses associated with unforeseen circumstances – typically disasters. In other words, when business suffer losses as a direct result of a disaster, the business owner could pursue a business interruption claim and even recover compensation for the losses suffered.
Business interruption insurance can typically cover some of the losses/expenses listed below:
- Temporary locations (to keep operating the business from a different location)
- Lost profits (all profits lost as a direct result of the disaster)
- Fixed expenses (to cover all operational costs incurred during the time of the disaster)
- Extra expenses (for reasonable costs required to keep operating the business, not including fixed expenses)
- Commission/training expenses (for all expenses associated with training employees to learn how to use equipment replaced by the insurance company)
- Civil Authority Ingress/Egress (for the profits lost as a direct result of forced government closures)
If you file a business interruption claim, you could be eligible to recover compensation for some of the points listed above. Although a typical business interruption claim – one resulting from a natural disaster, for example – could result in a significant recovery, many claimants filing for losses associated with the pandemic are finding many difficulties with their claims. Specifically, insurance companies do not want to acknowledge and pay their claims.
Insurance Companies Do Not Want to Pay
As business owners affected by the pandemic have attempted to pursue business interruption claims, many insurance companies have claimed that the losses associated with the pandemic are simply not covered by business interruption insurance. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners claimed that pandemics violate the principle of insurance because policyholders suffer major losses simultaneously; any other time (not during pandemics), policyholders pool their risks to fund only a few losses at a time.
Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has received a number of complaints regarding insurance companies’ attempts to persuade against business owners filing business interruption insurance claim; in addition, the commissioner has received complaints of insurance companies failing/refusing to investigate insurance claims that have already been filed. After these allegations against insurance companies, the state of California issued a warning towards insurers – they must fairly investigate all business interruptions claims filed by affected business owners.
Without a doubt, it is possible that some business interruption claims are simply not covered based on the business owners policy. However, some insurance companies are simply not doing anything to address these claims – even if they are valid. In fact, they are often resorting to dishonesty and failing to fulfill their obligations to claimants. This is simply because insurance companies do not want to pay. Every time an insurance company pays a claim, they are losing money. Business interruption insurance claims are not typically low value claims; therefore, insurance companies will lose significant amounts if they actually respect their legal obligations against claimants and handle their business interruption claims effectively.
What is Bad Faith?
Although your insurance policy might not strictly exclude coverage for losses associated with a pandemic, the insurance company might still try to reject your claim. Most policies have vague language, which can make determining whether you have coverage difficult. Typically, things that are not explicitly excluded can be covered by the policy. Some insurance companies even state this in their policies. Regardless, they do not want to pay – and will reject their legal obligations to cover claims. When this happens, insurance companies are exercising bad faith.
Bad faith occurs when insurance companies, including insurance representatives, agents, etc., are dishonest, resort to trickery, and deny claims without fairly investigating them. Whether they are attempting to discourage affected claimants from filing a claim or attempting to encourage claimants to withdraw a claim, they are exercising bad faith – and could be held accountable.
If you believe that your insurance company is mishandling your business interruption insurance claim (i.e. failing to take your claim and your situation seriously), you might have grounds to file a bad faith claim. For more information about your right to file a bad faith claim for the way that the insurance company handled your business interruption claim, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with the experts at our firm immediately.
Do You Have a Claim?
Do you have a valid business interruption insurance claim? Do you have the right to file a business interruption claim? If your business suffered losses as a direct result of the pandemic, you might have grounds to pursue a claim. First, you should review your insurance policy. If losses resulting from a virus or pandemic are not explicitly excluded from your coverage, you could pursue a claim. You should gather all records associated with the losses to your business and pursue your business interruption insurance claim. What if your insurance company is exercising bad faith? If your claim should be covered under your policy but the insurance company is exercising bad faith, consider pursuing a bad faith claim. Regardless, you could be rightfully compensated for damages. If you would like to learn more about your right to file a business interruption insurance claim (or a bad faith claim if the insurance company fails to cooperate), do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with our experts as soon as possible.
Contact Our Law Firm as soon as Possible
If you would like to learn more about whether you have a business interruption insurance claim, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with the experts at our firm as soon as possible. At Normandie aw Firm, we have many years of experience handling a variety of claims, including business interruption claims made against insurance companies. Our knowledgeable lawyers are ready to evaluate your claim and provide you with the guidance that you need to reach a successful claim outcome. Whether you are pursuing the typical business interruption claim or a bad faith business interruption claim, you can trust that our lawyers will help you file your claim. Are you ready to discuss your claim with the experts at our firm? If so, contact us today.
When you allow the experts at our firm to handle your claim, you can trust that our lawyers will provide you with all the information necessary to pursue their claims. At Normandie Law Firm, we are dedicated to remaining accessible to those in need of legal services. At our firm, we offer free legal services, which include free consultations and free second opinions. During our free consultations and free second opinions, our business interruption lawyers will be available to answer your questions as well address your concerns. Are you interested in starting a claim? Are you interested in continuing your claim after dealing with an incompetent attorney? Regardless of whether you want to start or continue your claim, you can trust that our experts can provide you with the guidance that you need to eventually reach a successful outcome.
In addition, our firm offers a Zero-Fee guarantee. Because of our Zero-Fee guarantee, our lawyers will not be required to pay any upfront legal fees for any of our legal services. Our firm is also based on contingency; therefore, our clients will not be required to pay anything until winning their claim.
If you are ready to discuss your right to file a business interruption insurance claim with the experts at our firm, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with the experts at our firm as soon as possible. Our business interruption insurance attorneys are ready to provide you with all the information that you need to reach a positive claim outcome and recover the compensation that you deserve.
Other Pages on Our Website Related to This Topic
What Is My Business Interruption Insurance Claim Worth?
Coronavirus and Business Interruption Insurance
