Arlington, TX COVID-19 Business Interruption Claim Litigation Attorney
Many business’ normal operations have been interrupted by the spread of the coronavirus and the government shutdowns to help prevent the spread. “Non-essential” businesses are finding it difficult to keep people on payroll, afford commercial rents, and pay utilities and overhead expenses while shut down. Fortunately for many business owners, your insurance might have business interruption coverage that can help cover your expenses. However, your insurance company might not follow through and pay what they are supposed to.
If you are having trouble accessing your company’s business interruption coverage and need help taking your insurance company to court, The Queenan Law Firm might be able to help. Our Arlington, TX COVID-19 business interruption claim litigation attorneys represent businesses in litigation against their insurance company for denied claims and bad faith insurance. Call our law offices today to set up a free legal consultation and learn more about your potential case. Our number is (817) 476-1797.
Do Business Interruption Insurance Policies in Arlington Cover the Coronavirus Shutdown?
Most businesses carry insurance that covers them in case of a serious disaster. Buying insurance to cover fire and other natural disasters is common, and most policies that provide this kind of coverage also insure you for lost income and operation fees in the aftermath of those kinds of accidents. This means that if your restaurant suffers severe damage in a fire, your insurance will usually cover lost revenue and overhead expenses while you wait for repairs to be completed so you can reopen. With interruptions from coronavirus and COVID-19, your insurer might try to deny coverage.
Often, these policies are narrowly written to cover your business’ interruptions only in very specific situations. Insurance companies do this to limit when they will have to make payouts. Under many of these policies, there must be physical damage to the business premises to trigger the business interruption coverage, which would mean that some policies might not cover interruptions based on viruses. Some policies even specifically exclude illnesses as a valid cause of the interruption.
However, many policies do include clauses that allow the business interruption coverage to be triggered if the government orders an interruption. The government shutdown would clearly fall into that category and should trigger such insurance coverage in applicable policies.
Talk to a lawyer about the specifics of your policy to learn more about when business interruptions caused by COVID-19 or other illnesses are covered.
Suing Insurance Companies for Coverage from Business Interruptions Caused by Coronavirus/COVID-19
If your business interruption insurance policy requires your insurance company to cover your operating costs during the coronavirus shutdown and pandemic, our attorneys might be able to help. Many businesses are finding that their insurance companies have denied claims for business interruption payments. In some cases, these are based on legitimate concerns about how to interpret the insurance policy, but others are based on bad faith. Our Arlington COVID-19 business interruption claim litigation attorneys might be able to take your insurance provider to court and help you get the coverage you need.
Especially with widespread business interruption issues, many insurance companies might tighten their policies and refuse to cover certain claims. In some cases, this refusal might constitute bad faith. Insurance companies are usually held to a standard where they need to make a good faith effort to actually pay funds as the insurance policy requires, and failing to do so can be a serious breach of their duty. Other cases might be reduced to a simple breach of contract, where the insurance company may have a reasonable argument that the insurance policy’s language was ambiguous or does not mean what it seems to mean.
An attorney can file a lawsuit against the insurance company to help enforce the insurance policy. This means holding the insurance company accountable for any breach of duty or breach of contract. This can often get you the full payout you are entitled to. It may also open additional punitive damages if the insurance company is found to have committed serious negligence or intentional acts or if this denial was part of a pattern of issues related to COVID-19 business interruption insurance denials.
Many of these claims will be based on two major issues. First, some insurance policies might not cover claims that do not involve physical damage to your business’ property. However, other clauses in the insurance policy might override this, such as claims related to government orders to close your business. Second, claims will be based on disputes over clauses that exempt coverage for closures caused by viruses or illnesses. If closures because of coronavirus are excluded from coverage, you might still be able to get coverage for a closure caused by a government order or other issues.
These cases will be very fact-specific, and it is important to talk to a lawyer about the specifics of what your insurance policy says and what exactly happened to cause your business to close during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Call Our Arlington Lawyers for Coronavirus Business Interruption Claims and Litigation in Arlington, TX
If your business was closed because of coronavirus and COVID-19 concerns, but your insurance company denied coverage for your business interruption costs, call The Queenan Law Firm today. Our Arlington, TX COVID-19 business interruption claim litigation attorneys represent businesses and business owners against insurance companies that refuse to cover damages and act in bad faith. For a free legal consultation on your potential case, call us today at (817) 476-1797.