It is nearly impossible for any business in the Tampa Bay, or anywhere in Florida, to escape the economic impact caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19). This has left many business owners with significant losses and business owners researching what options they have available to save the business. For many of those business owners that means learning how to file a coronavirus business interruption insurance claim.
The First Step
Business owners need to locate and pull out their insurance policy, not just the declarations page, or the bill, get the entire policy. Read the insurance policy carefully to understand what may be covered and what is excluded. Look for key terms specifically business interruption or lost profits, this coverage attaches to an existing policy and may be found in a rider. If you are unsure whether your policy has coverage for lost profits or business interruptions, you may call the agent who sold the policy for assistance.
If the Policy Includes Business Interruption Coverage Look for Exclusions
Once you have concluded that the policy contains this coverage the next step is to look for language which limits or excludes coverage. The policy may include very specific exclusions for viruses or bacteria, however depending on how the language reads some attorneys may still see a path to recovery.
Understand the policy was written by the insurance carrier and it is in their interest to pay out as little in claims as possible, this results in the use of very specific language. You may see requirements for physical property damage, carriers are currently denying Coronavirus (Covid-19) claims stating the virus is not damaging the property. Others will argue that the loss required may be merely the loss of use of the premises, or that the virus did in fact damage the property which required deep cleaning and disinfectant. Do you know any business forced to close due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) that is not thoroughly cleaning their premises before allowing people to re-enter?
Prepare to Fight
Insurance companies are going to be less likely to deny small claims in fact they may approach small claims as a marketing opportunity and pay it quickly giving you less reason to shop for a new carrier in the future. Now when you are making a more serious claim, when your business is on the line the insurance carrier will not be on your side and they will likely find an opportunity to deny coverage. For all the reasons listed above and more the claim may be denied, even if it is a valid claim. Business interruption insurance is a fairly new product and many of the nuances of coverage have not been settled by the courts. For example, the physical loss requirement included in some policies has been interpreted in different way by various jurisdictions.
With a conflict between the business and insurance company likely to come up it is important for business owners and their employees who may be assisting with the claim to document not only all emails and letters but also phone calls with the insurance carrier. It will also be critical to document all events and actions related to the loss as well as what may have been done to mitigate any losses. This includes financial losses, purchases required to combat the loss, payroll, even communications from local (Tampa, St. Petersburg, Hillsborough County, exc.) , state (Florida), and national government agencies requiring the business to close. If for example a local municipality orders the business closed via a proclamation on their website and that webpage is later removed or altered the business owner should keep a record of the original message which they relied on when acting.
Seek Help from an Expert Insurance Attorney
If you need to file a coronavirus business interruption insurance claim it’s worthwhile to consider speaking with an attorney who specializes in insurance coverage claims. Swope, Rodate P.A. has been serving the Tampa Bay area and all of Florida for over 40 years. In that time countless insurance companies have wrongly denied our clients claims only to later pay out on the claim based on the work of our attorneys. Any lawyer can negotiate with an insurance company, but few have the knowledge and experience to find coverage after the insurance carrier has denied coverage. We are ready to help, call us at 813-273-0017.
