Business Insurance Claims

You built the business. The insurance is there for the parts you cannot control.

Your Business Relies on Its Coverage

Those of us who own a business have put our professional lives into building something that provides for us and, more importantly, for our families. Hard work protects it up to a point. Past that point you rely on insurance: for the fire, the storm, the break-in, the water loss, and for the general liability and business management claims that turn up without warning.

A policy issued to a company rather than a person does not lower the standard. Your insurer still owes your business fair, reasonable and good-faith treatment, and you should receive the coverage and the protection you bought.

Duties Insurers Owe Business Policyholders

Insurance companies owe business policyholders the same duties they owe individuals, including the duty to:

• process a claim for loss promptly, and not intentionally delay it;
• conduct an adequate and reasonable investigation of the claim;
• assess the damage fairly, rather than low-ball what the business has lost;
• keep the company's own interests from overriding the policyholder's;
• not force the business through hoops to obtain policy benefits: repeated demands for supporting documentation, repeated recorded statements or examinations under oath, or an appraisal fight because the insurer will not pay what it owes;
• communicate with you promptly, and answer your communications; and
• accept coverage where the policy provides it, rather than deny claims unreasonably.

Claims We Handle

Doug has handled claims of every type for Arizona businesses, including:

• fire losses;
• storm losses;
• theft and burglary losses;
• water losses;
• business interruption claims, where the loss costs you income as well as property;
• denials of coverage under Commercial General Liability ("CGL") policies; and
• denials of coverage made under business management policies.

What You Can Recover

A business claim is rarely just the damage. Where an insurer has breached the duties it owes you, a recovery can take in the loss itself, the business profits you lost while you were shut down or running at half capacity, and the damage done to your business's reputation in the meantime.

How We Help

Doug is a business owner himself, so he reads a stalled business interruption claim as payroll you still owe rather than a line on an adjuster's spreadsheet. He has handled these matters for owners of every size of business, from sole proprietorships to large corporations, and he knows what the policy and Arizona law actually require of your carrier.

Initial consultations are free and most claims are handled on a contingency basis: if we do not recover anything for you, you do not owe us a fee. Call us and we will help get you back where you belong, running your business.