Dear Client:
We are living through an extraordinary time in history that has changed the world forever, and no doubt these past few months your practice has been impacted by the virtual shutdown of society due to social mitigation efforts implemented to slow the spread of COVID-19 (or “Coronavirus”). As a result of stay at home orders as well as the mandated closure of certain businesses, the economy grinded nearly to a halt. Many businesses have seen a dramatic reduction in revenue as a result the economic impact of the Coronavirus shutdown, and additional expenses related to securing and protecting your business.
We are here to help in any way we can, and are offering a free review of any commercial policies or any business or property which you operate, as well as to assist in the placing of a Business Loss and Interruption claim with your carrier, to recoup losses incurred due to the reduction or suspension of your business during and because of the shutdown and other social mitigation efforts.
Your commercial policy may provide coverage for lost revenue and other damages due to business interruption provided that the underlying cause of the interruption of your business is itself a covered loss. (Policies covering building structures themselves may contain “Loss of Use” coverage which may provide similar protection.) It is important to note that insurance policies are varied and coverage will depend heavily upon the language of your policy.
Further, this area of the law is in flux and insurance carriers are likely to deny these claims, but we encourage you to consult a qualified attorney to review your policy, coverages and potential for recovery, and to exhaust any available avenue of coverage that may be afforded under your policy.
Carriers will no doubt rely upon a self-serving interpretation of their policy language to argue that a physical loss to the business is required to trigger Business Loss and Interruption coverage, and that a virus pandemic does not qualify as such. However, should your policy contain appropriate language, we are prepared to argue that not only is a virus pandemic a physical impact but that a physical impact may not even be required if you were simply deprived of use of your business or property, resulting in diminished revenues. Coverage for impacts to business operations due to the actions of a civil authority—such as a stay at home or safer at home order—may also be available depending on policy construction.
These are trying times. You dutifully paid your policy premiums. Your practice has been impacted by an economic slowdown caused by Coronavirus and civil orders restricting individual movement and commerce. It is worth the effort to locate a copy of your business or commercial policy and have a qualified attorney review the policy for any potential relief it may provide. Your policy may also limit the timeframe in which you may bring such a claim, so it is imperative to undertake this review as soon as possible.
Please feel free to contact me, or email attorney M. Brian Crim at
MBCrim@FLLegalGroup.com to set up a free teleconference to discuss your potential
Business Loss and Interruption/Loss of Use claim. Of course, if you want to give a copy of
your policy to Steve, Kerri, Jennifer or “Z” when they are dropping in, they can bring it back to
us. We look forward to hearing from you. As always, I remain.
Should you have any questions regarding the foregoing, do not hesitate to contact me, click here or call (813) 221-9500.