Business Interruption / Business Income Insurance
Disasters like hurricanes, fires, and floods can cause massive devastation and substantial property damage. However, the damage they do to small businesses can extend much further than the physical destruction. Small businesses need to stay open every day possible. When they are shut down, it can throw a company into bankruptcy.
Tampa Business Interruption Insurance Lawyer
For that reason, many Central Florida business owners purchase a business interruption insurance policy, which is supposed to protect them when they must shut down. Sadly, insurance companies may deny those claim, sometimes in bad faith. If that’s happened to you, the Tampa business interruption insurance lawyers at Germain Law Group will fight for you. Call us at (813) 835-8888 to schedule a consultation about your business income insurance claim.
Germain Law Group represents clients throughout Hillsborough, Pinellas, Brevard and Manatee Counties.
Business Interruption Insurance Intended to Cover Florida Losses
Business interruption insurance covers any loss of income that occurs because a disaster or other peril shuts down your business. A business’s ability to get back on its feet after a disaster could be crippled by the time it spends being shut down. Typical property damage insurance may cover the facilities and inventory destroyed by a disaster, but will not cover the income lost.
However, even if there is sufficient property damage insurance to cover the damage to the business’s building and infrastructure, it could take weeks or months to make a structure safe for employees and customers to enter again. Damaged equipment may take long periods of time to replace, especially if the equipment was custom-made for your business, and especially if the equipment manufacturer suffered losses in the same disaster. Inventory must often be restocked — if there’s nothing to sell, there’s no point to being in business. Even the best financial planning may not help a company destroyed by a disaster.
The income can be critical to the business’s survival. Many businesses rely on continuing income, and the income lost after a disaster can be more damaging that the disaster itself.
When Business Interruption Insurance is Effective in Tampa
Business income or interruption insurance coverage, under most policies, kicks in when there is a disaster that shuts down physical operations of the business, typically in one of three situations:
- There is so much physical damage that the business must halt operations;
- The physical damage on the property is a type of loss covered by the insurance policy, and the damage prevents customers or employees from being able to enter the premises; or
- The government shuts down the area due to the covered peril, and it prevents customers or employees from being able to access the premises.
There is often a waiting period before which the business will be able to start collecting the insurance, and it is often not retroactive to the date of the disaster. It will typically cover lost net income, expenses made to temporarily relocate as long as the expenses were designed to reduce overall costs and certain ongoing expenses, like payroll.
Denial of Hillsborough County Business Income Claims
Insurers may attempt to deny our claims for the business income or business interruption insurance you’ve been paying for. They may claim, for instance, that your business was not sufficiently interrupted to constitute a claim for business interruption. They might claim that your business is only experiencing a poor business climate and is not truly being damaged by the hurricane, fire or other disaster.
If you’re a small business owner, you know that every day counts, and every dollar can make the difference between longevity and bankruptcy. But if you’re facing a bad faith denial by your insurance company, you don’t have to close shop. A Tampa property insurance lawyer can fight the insurance company to get the recovery you deserve.
Germain Law Group | Central Florida Business Income Insurance Attorney
If your business has been shut down by a covered disaster, but your insurance company has denied your claim on your business income insurance policy, the Tampa business interruption insurance attorneys at Germain Law Group will fight for you. We will seek for you to get the recovery you’re owed. Contact Germain Law Group today at (813) 835-8888 to set up a consultation.