Commercial Property Claims

Disasters and emergencies can affect commercial property at any time, and when they do, it is important to know you have the insurance coverage you need to cover any kind of physical damage. Hurricanes, tropical storms, and other windstorms represent a top cause of business loss; and, the Gulf Coast continues to be particularly hard hit. Insurance companies often try to pay as little as possible, significantly undervaluing the extent of losses or misrepresenting the cause of the loss. They also delay and/or deny legitimate claims hoping policyholders will give up.

Common types of commercial property damage include:

• Explosions
• Fire damage
• Flood damage
• Hail damage
• Hurricane damage
• Ice damage
• Lightning damage
• Sinkholes
• Smoke damage
• Snow damage
• Sprinkler leaks
• Theft
• Tornado damage
• Water damage
• Wind damage
• Vandalism
• Vehicle collisions
• Volcanoes

Business property insurance is something every company needs – whether you own a building, lease, or work from home. Commercial property insurance covers the building, its internal contents, and most items just outside of the building. This includes computers, furniture, equipment, important documents, exterior signage, fences, landscaping, and inventory, among other items. In addition, typical commercial property insurance policies can also cover:

• Business interruption
• Extra expenses incurred mitigating losses
• Contingent business interruption
• Property damage
• Payroll coverage
• Lost rental income
• Civil authority
• Loss of ingress and egress
• Commercial vehicles
• Valuable papers

A commercial property insurance claim should restore business property to pre-loss conditions within the limits of the policy while maintaining the business during the time needed to rebuild or repair the damage. Understanding the specific language of your commercial property insurance coverage and any exclusions is critical to ensuring your business gets everything it’s entitled to. If your insurance company has unreasonably denied, delayed, or disputed your business insurance claim, then you may have a dispute.

Commercial property insurance disputes are most often focused on the appropriateness of repair/replacement costs, what caused the loss and whether that cause is covered or excluded under the policy, any loss of value in business investment or income, the value of insured items affected, and more. Denials come from missed payments, information not being provided or updated timely, misrepresentations in the initial application, and damage falling under a policy exclusion. Even if not denied, insurers may fail to adequately investigate a claim, fail to pay timely, underpay, claim the policy has different coverage terms than what was agreed upon, and more.

If your business’ insurance claim was denied, we can help you fight the insurer to give your company the best chance of survival. We believe in holding insurers accountable for unwarranted claims denials, bad faith dealings, and failing to uphold the promises in their policies. Regardless of why your insurance company refused to pay your commercial insurance claim, you must take action quickly. You may only appeal the rejection during a designated period of time or you may forego your legal rights. Your lawyer will need time to evaluate all aspects of your claim and build a strong case for your side.

When disaster strikes, we fight to get you paid, so contact the policyholder rights lawyers of Gulf Coast Insurance Lawyers today for a free consultation to learn more about how we can help your business recover.