Retail stores and business interruption claim
The more than one million retail establishments across the United States are now beginning to assess their current and future losses sustained due to COVID-19. Department store sales alone (with a large concentration of fashion-related offerings) have now lost more than 25% of their revenue, and apparel and accessory store revenues have lost almost 52% of their income. Owners of retail shops are now asking questions on whether the business interruption (BI) insurance policies they have paid so much premium will cover any potential losses.
It is possible that your insurance may cover your loss during this pandemic. An insurance claim attorney at Oshan and Associates can help you go through your policy. Call us today on (206) 335-3880 or (646) 421-4062 to get in touch.
Business Interruption Insurance and COVID-19: What You Need to Know
Business Interruption Insurance is part of a whole package that is intended to compensate you for income lost:
- during the time necessary to repair physical damage to covered property,
- or to recover additional expenses that would not have been incurred during the ordinary course of business.
Generally, the policy only gets activated when there’s a physical damage to your retail shop.
However, some policies also contain the ‘Civil Authority’ clause. For this clause, insurance companies are obligated to cover your losses in the event that a government order restricted or closes your retail store.
As a retailer, another way you may be able to file a claim under the ‘business interruption’ insurance is if your policy has an infectious disease coverage.
Should you file a business interruption claim?
Insurance companies are currently doing all they can to find loopholes and deny as many business interruption claims as they can. Many are of the opinion that the COVID-19 doesn’t cause ‘physical damage’.
Admittedly, there is still a back-and-forth between policyholders and insurers on whether or not the business interruption insurance covers this pandemic.
The great news however is that many states have legislations have interfered and are in the process of passing laws to make sure the business interruption claim covers you during this pandemic. In many of the laws to be passed by State Legislature, insurance companies would be forced to pay COVID-19 business interruption claims even when “viruses” are specifically excluded from the policies.
Get in touch with an experienced insurance claim attorney today
Even if you have filed a claim and it has been denied, an experienced insurance claim attorney may still be able to negotiate your claim or file a suit to make sure insurance companies cover the loss you have incurred on your retail store.
At Oshan and Associates, our attorneys are skilled and experienced in navigating insurance claims. Our attorneys in our offices in New York, Washington, Pennsylvania, Illinois, California, & Puerto Rico are up and ready to get your insurance claim to you.
Get in touch with us in our offices. You can also contact us online for a free 'no obligation' consultation here or call us at (206) 335-3880 or (646) 421-4062.
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