COVID-19 BUSINESS INTERRUPTION ATTORNEY
COVID-19 Business Interruption Insurance Claim Attorneys
As COVID-19 continues to affect countries around the world, more and more businesses in the US are finding themselves faced with unexpected losses and significant disruptions to their cash flow. Although many companies have business interruption coverage, insurance carriers are reluctant to cover claims resulting from business interruption due to COVID-19.
It is very important not to give up just because your insurance broker or adjuster disclaimed coverage for COVID-19 business interruption due to a virus exclusion in your policy, physical damage requirement, or for any other reason. Insurance brokers and claim adjusters don’t work for you, their goal is to protect the interests of their insurance companies, not yours. If your claim for business interruption due to COVID-19 was denied, underpaid, or delayed our team of experienced business insurance lawyers can help you obtain the maximum compensation to which you are entitled.
Why You Need a COVID-19 Business Interruption Attorney
Having legal counsel that you can trust is invaluable whenever you need to deal with difficult insurance companies. Remember that despite what any insurance company may claim to the contrary, it has no incentive to help you secure compensation through a claim. Every claim an insurance company pays cuts into its profits, so it generally looks for all justifications it can find to reduce or deny claims whenever possible.
An experienced COVID-19 business interruption attorney is an invaluable asset in this situation. When you choose the Avenue Law Firm to represent you against a large insurance carrier, you can expect meticulous, personalized, and responsive legal counsel through every phase of your case. In addition, we will carefully examine the details of your policy and any correspondence you have had with the insurer thus far. Many insurance companies rely on claimants’ lack of awareness of their legal rights and are willing to fight to escape liability for covered losses.
In every case we accept, our goal is to help our client maximize their recovery through their COVID-19 business interruption insurance policy. We can help you calculate the full scope of the damages caused by the forced closure of your business and any other losses incurred due to New York policy in response to the pandemic. While many of these policies have been disruptive and debilitating for many New York business owners, some policies have been helpful to business owners who know how to take advantage of them. In addition, there are various forms of financial assistance for businesses available outside of insurance, and we can help you explore these avenues of recovery as well.
WAS YOUR COVID-19 BUSINESS INTERRUPTION COVERAGE CLAIM DENIED?
VIRUS EXCLUSION IN YOUR POLICY IS NOT A GAME OVER.
We hear from many clients that their insurance brokers discourage them from filing insurance claims due to the so-called virus exclusions in their policies. COVID-19 is a novelty issue for our court system. As of this day there hasn’t been a single COVID-19 related lawsuit in NY, or anywhere else in the US, in which a court would apply a virus exclusion in favor of an insurance company. But there have been thousands of cases when courts ruled in favor of insurance companies because plaintiffs failed to properly and timely file their claims.
Don’t miss your opportunity and time frame to file a claim. Properly filing your claim preserves your legal rights and gives you an opportunity to fight for your rights. Even the simplest business insurance policies are 150 to 200 pages long documents. Oftentimes there are exceptions to exclusions or limits on when exclusions apply.
Insurance companies bet on policyholders’ unwillingness to review obtuse legal documents and carefully scrutinize their policies. These organizations thrive when they continue collecting premiums while only paying out settlements on a handful of claims. Your policy likely covers the business interruptions you experienced due to the pandemic, but your insurance company is deliberately being difficult to discourage you from pressing for coverage further than you already have.
An experienced COVID-19 business interruption attorney is the ideal asset on your side in this situation. Avenue Law Firm will work closely with you to carefully interpret the terms of your policy. For example, if your insurer has cited specific sections of your policy that they claim prohibit you from securing a settlement, we can review those sections to determine the validity of their arguments. In most cases, we can find other sections of a policy that contradict those cited by insurance carriers as justification for claim denials.
What Is Bad Faith Insurance?
All insurance companies in the United States have various legal responsibilities to fulfill when handling policyholders’ claims. First, every insurance company has the right and the responsibility to investigate every claim to ensure it is legitimate. Second, every insurance company must handle all claims in good faith. This means they must use appropriate methods in evaluating the legitimacy of a claim, and insurance company representatives must be honest in all interactions with policyholders and claimants.
“Bad faith insurance” is a term used to describe unethical behaviors from an insurance company. A few examples of bad faith tactics some insurance claim adjusters may employ to avoid paying out on claims are:
- Unreasonable delays in handling a claim. Some insurance companies will intentionally delay the handling of claims to discourage claimants from pressing for updates.
- Misrepresentation of the elements of a policy. Insurance policies are complex and very carefully constructed. Insurance companies typically rely on this to intimidate claimants into backing down from the insurance company’s rulings on their claims.
- Unethical interactions. Some insurance claim adjusters will outright lie to claimants about aspects of their coverage, attempt to intimidate or threaten claimants with legal action or engage in other blatantly unethical behaviors to avoid liability for claims.
Bad faith insurance is a significant issue, and many insurance companies have used the uncertainty generated by the pandemic and the unprecedented nature of the situation to justify bad faith tactics against claimants. Unfortunately, many insurance companies get away with such behavior due to claimants’ lack of awareness of their rights. If you suspect that an insurance company has handled your claim regarding COVID-19 business interruption in bad faith, call our firm. An experienced attorney can help determine the best options for legal recourse available to you.
Find Legal Counsel You Can Trust
Navigating any insurance-related legal issues can be extraordinarily challenging for a business owner with minimal legal experience. Working with a COVID-19 business interruption attorney is the best way to approach this situation. Your legal team will help you examine the policy in question and determine whether the insurance company has acted in good faith to this point. If you have been met with unfair delays or unjust denial of your claim, consult your legal team to determine the best possible remedies to the situation. Avenue Law Firm has extensive experience representing business owners in New York who must confront powerful insurance companies, and we can apply this experience to your case.
Our law firm successfully settled cases with insurance companies on insurance contract technicality issues, even when our clients’ insurance policies had exclusions that were not in our clients’ favor. In addition, many state governments including New York’s have indicated that they may weigh in on the virus exclusions as they apply to COVID-19 related insurance claims (Proposed NY State Bill, Proposed NJ Bill, Proposed Ohio Bill, Proposed Massachusetts Bill). Don’t wait until it’s too late! Contact our law firm today, and one of our business insurance attorneys can assist you with handling your COVID-19 business interruption claim every step of the way.
