Business Interruption Lawyer in Plantation, FL

What Business Interruption Insurance Covers and Common Coverage Disputes

Business interruption coverage may pay for lost income and certain ongoing expenses when a covered peril causes an interruption to your business. Depending on the policy, coverage may be subject to a waiting period, a defined period of restoration, policy limits, and other conditions.

Coverage depends on the specific language of your policy. Many commercial property policies require direct physical loss or damage caused by a covered peril before business income coverage applies. Whether a particular loss satisfies those requirements depends on the policy language, the cause of the loss, and the facts surrounding the interruption.

Depending on the policy, the dispute may involve coverage limits, waiting periods, exclusions, notice requirements, proof of loss, the period of restoration, or how business income and extra expenses are calculated.

A property damage claim may arise alongside a business interruption claim when the same event causes both physical damage and lost business income. The available coverage depends on the applicable policy provisions and the circumstances of the loss. 

Why Business Interruption Claims Get Denied, Delayed, or Underpaid

Most denials and lowball offers trace back to a handful of recurring disputes:

• The "direct physical loss" trigger. Coverage disputes may arise over whether the loss satisfies the policy's requirement for direct physical loss or damage, particularly when a business interruption results from contamination, supply-chain disruption, or a civil authority order.
• Broad policy exclusions. Policy exclusions may also affect whether a particular business interruption loss is covered. The applicable exclusions depend on the policy and circumstances of the loss.
• Disputes over the period of restoration. An insurer may argue a business should have reopened faster than it did, cutting the payout short.
• Thin documentation. A business income loss claim built on rough estimates instead of real financial records gives an adjuster an easy reason to underpay a claim

This is also where a bad faith insurance dispute can surface, when an insurer denies, delays, or underpays a claim without a reasonable basis for doing so. Depending on the state and circumstances, an insurer's unreasonable denial, delay, or handling of a covered claim may raise issues involving statutory or common-law insurance duties.