As the Category 4 Hurricane Michael approached Florida, many areas evacuated in preparation for the storm. During a catastrophic event, such as Hurricane Michael, governmental authorities often order evacuation and prohibit access to certain areas due to public safety. The evacuation orders in Florida forced many businesses to shut down their operations until further notice. … Continue Reading
Many businesses in the Northeast have had their business interruption claims denied because they did not have flood insurance. Flood damage is typically excluded from most commercial property policies, but businesses sustained many other types of losses that should be covered under most commercial policies despite the flood damage and lack of flood insurance.… Continue Reading
Many New York business owners have been denied insurance recovery based on causation issues (i.e., property damages and business income losses were caused by flood which is excluded under most policies). However, many insurance policies provide a measure of coverage and recovery through Civil Authority and Ingress/Egress provisions, which are not triggered by damages at … Continue Reading
Catastrophes by definition cannot be felt in the imagination – they are only experienced as embodied in the sensation of the unimaginable. There is no doubt that the destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy was unimaginable. Life along the coast line of New York and New Jersey will never be the same, but as people and … Continue Reading
The destruction and devastation Hurricane Sandy left behind is disheartening. I have no doubt the greater New York City area will rise again- stronger than ever. Some news outlets have already reported that business interruption coverage may not be triggered for many commercial policyholders if the damage was caused by flood or storm surge.… Continue Reading
It is not unusual for government authorities (police, fire, city) to order an evacuation or prohibit access to a certain area due to public safety concerns when a natural disaster, riot or other life threatening event is imminent. When this occurs, businesses are forced to shut down their operations until further notice. If a business … Continue Reading
Approximately 4,411 delegates and alternate delegates from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories will attend the Republican National Convention from August 27 – August 30, 2012 in Tampa Bay, Florida. The convention will also host approximately 15,000 credentialed media, a press corps second only in size to this summer’s London … Continue Reading
As of Friday, the National Interagency Fire Center reported that 19 wildfires have burned nearly 500,000 acres in states like Colorado, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming. Five additional large fires were reported in the states of Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona and Idaho.… Continue Reading
It is not unusual for government authorities (police, fire, city, etc) to order an evacuation or prohibit access to a certain area due to public safety concerns when a natural disaster, riot or other life threatening event is imminent. When this occurs, businesses are forced to shut down their operations until further notice. If a … Continue Reading
The recent wild fires in Reno, Nevada, caused tragic losses of many homes and extensive loss to business property and business income. Commercial property policies with business interruption coverage vary widely with regard to coverage of business income loss due to order of civil authorities.… Continue Reading
Civil Authority provisions normally provide coverage for business income losses when access to an insured premises is prohibited by a governmental action. This coverage, however, is not easily triggered, and it will also be subject to time restrictions.… Continue Reading
Civil Authority provisions normally provide coverage for business income losses when action to an insured premise is prohibited by a governmental action. This coverage is not easily triggered, as many elements must be met to obtain the oft elusive benefits.… Continue Reading
From time-to-time, governmental authorities prohibit access to certain areas after a catastrophic event, even though not all the buildings in the area were damaged. For example, after Hurricane Ike passed through the Houston area, Houston officials closed downtown Houston for several days to assess the damage. Another example is the evacuation of New Orleans after … Continue Reading