Riots and insurance.

954Ink

954Ink

Gold Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2020
Messages
457
Any members of this forum in the insurance industry?
I keep hearing how these riots are ok because insurance will cover the damages. I own a small business and was reviewing my policy. My general liability makes me carry an act of terrorism clause. I dont believe this would cover damages caused from the riots because they haven't been deemed a terrorist act. Could someone in the industry enlighten me please.
 
Antifa was declared a terrorist organization?
 
The riots are peaceful protests. They would have to be declared acts of terrorism for that clause to cover them.
 
IME, insurance can base their decision to pay or not to pay on the set of facts, (and fine print) most favorable to them (in order to not pay) and challenge you to sue them. They have a phalanx of attorneys who know how this is done.

Ps, it's not okay because peoples rates will go UP, coverage will go down or be denied-- which means you lose in the end.
 
This is just out of curiosity. My business is located in a rural area.
 
The question, in and of itself, is not political.
Political answers will please remain in the Political Forum.
 
I'm just curious. Sorry to the mods if I posted in the wrong section. Everytime I ask my insurance agent a question they try to sell me coverage or interrogate me. After this year insurance audits I'm like a bullied kid too afraid to raise his hand in class.
 
Insurance companies are a fun lot aren’t they! :)

I’m grateful to have the option to insure my business, but have not opted for terrorism insurance yet, as it was unclear on the specifics of what parameters would allow a claim to be made.

That said, it’s not a huge dollar amount, and it’s always good to have as much protection as you can afford.

A side note: during my last audit, the auditor wanted to inspect my home office. During the inspection, my wife had a garden hose out and was watering some plants.

A week later I got a corrective action notice that all hoses must be coiled up and stored due to OSHA safety standards.

It was pretty obvious they had to have something reported, so I guess I’m ok with this as low hanging fruit for them.
 
954Ink said:
I'm just curious. Sorry to the mods if I posted in the wrong section. Everytime I ask my insurance agent a question they try to sell me coverage or interrogate me. After this year insurance audits I'm like a bullied kid too afraid to raise his hand in class.
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Selling is how insurance agents make make money. Selling is important to be a good agent and stay in business, but it is just one aspect. Quality customer service is equally important to being a good, successful agent.

If all your agent is doing is trying to sell you more insurance and interrogate (I assume you mean asking you why you want to know things) rather than answer your questions to the best of their abilities or say they dont know and will get the answer for you, it might be time to reconsider that relationship.
 
benchwarmer380 said:
Selling is how insurance agents make make money. Selling is important to be a good agent and stay in business, but it is just one aspect. Quality customer service is equally important to being a good, successful agent.

If all your agent is doing is trying to sell you more insurance and interrogate (I assume you mean asking you why you want to know things) rather than answer your questions to the best of their abilities or say they dont know and will get the answer for you, it might be time to reconsider that relationship.
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I asked my business insurance agent IF the coverage would include past events during the time I was covered that just popped up... say if I drop the insurance.... he wouldn't give me an answer. So, my experience with agents is it is all about selling and not really answering your questions or even necessarily dealing with your concerns UNLESS it means selling more insurance. My biggest issue was not general liability but professional liability.

I wanted to drop some of my coverages..... the agent told me that the annual cost would be the same regardless. That pretty much sucks.

On the "protest" coverage... I think you're on your own and forget about insurance.
 
954Ink said:
I'm just curious. Sorry to the mods if I posted in the wrong section. Everytime I ask my insurance agent a question they try to sell me coverage or interrogate me. After this year insurance audits I'm like a bullied kid too afraid to raise his hand in class.
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Sorry if I jumped on you, it's just that without particulars of the policy, company and even individual adjuster it's pretty much impossible to know if insurance will cover it. For example, my insurance for my business covers vandalism, so if there was a protest and someone spray painted the store front it would almost certainly be covered, but I doubt that particular provision would cover the damage if a rubber bullet fired by police broke a window. There are a lot of variables at work there.
 
Insipid Moniker said:
Sorry if I jumped on you, it's just that without particulars of the policy, company and even individual adjuster it's pretty much impossible to know if insurance will cover it. For example, my insurance for my business covers vandalism, so if there was a protest and someone spray painted the store front it would almost certainly be covered, but I doubt that particular provision would cover the damage if a rubber bullet fired by police broke a window. There are a lot of variables at work there.
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There is the deductible amount to consider too..... you probably will end up handling the paint or the broken window yourself regardless. But if you are a store with merchandise to sell inside and it is looted, I suspect the coverage will not handle it with a "protest".
 
22-rimfire said:
I asked my business insurance agent IF the coverage would include past events during the time I was covered that just popped up... say if I drop the insurance.... he wouldn't give me an answer. So, my experience with agents is it is all about selling and not really answering your questions or even necessarily dealing with your concerns UNLESS it means selling more insurance. My biggest issue was not general liability but professional liability.

I wanted to drop some of my coverages..... the agent told me that the annual cost would be the same regardless. That pretty much sucks.

On the "protest" coverage... I think you're on your own and forget about insurance.
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I had to purchase a separate policy (inland marine?) that covers everything except "acts of God." I believe one never knows the actual benefit of the coverage until the day comes to make the claim. That's when the quibblers come out of the closet dressed in 3-piece suits and tell you how your case is different than what the policy covers.
 
We have an example case now:
Legal Sea Foods President and CEO Roger Berkowitz [said] the company was under an all-risk policy with Strathmore Insurance Co., which was signed on March 1 as concerns surrounding the virus loomed. The chain is now suing Strathmore after its loss claims were rejected twice.

“We’ve been in the restaurant business a long time and we, over the years, we understand all the risks that happen in the course of doing business. So, that’s why we put out an all-risk policy and we signed an all-risk policy,” Berkowitz told "Mornings with Maria." “There was no exclusion in the policy for COVID-19 or the pandemic, so we felt we were pretty well-covered on it.”

Legal signed the policy on March 1, when COVID-19 cases were already being reported in China, Europe and parts of the west coast of the U.S., Berkowitz said.

“We submitted the claim and it was immediately rejected,” he said, explaining how the company then enlisted the advice of attorneys and insurance experts. “They said, ‘You know, we’ve seen hundreds of policies. Very few have the exclusion and all risk.’… We submitted it again, it got kicked back without any investigation. So we assume that’s the default position and we’re going after it.”

August 25, 2020

However, the restaurant chain is “cautiously optimistic” that its lawsuit against its insurance company over failure to cover business losses from the pandemic will move forward, Legal President and CEO Roger Berkowitz told SeafoodSource.​
 
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Insipid Moniker said:
Sorry if I jumped on you, it's just that without particulars of the policy, company and even individual adjuster it's pretty much impossible to know if insurance will cover it. For example, my insurance for my business covers vandalism, so if there was a protest and someone spray painted the store front it would almost certainly be covered, but I doubt that particular provision would cover the damage if a rubber bullet fired by police broke a window. There are a lot of variables at work there.
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I'm not offended. I'm skirting the reality that's causing me to ask this question so it doesnt side step into a political arena. I feel if I ask my agent they will explain to me that I'm at risk and suddenly need to spend more money. I have healthy general, professional, and umbrella coverage. Just keep hearing arguements about the political destruction of property being ok because of insurance but I have been arguing the opposite. When you make a claim your policy cost increases and that's best case scenario. For a construction company like mine I would be stuck arguing the value of tools with people who dont understand the differences between 110 and 3 phase.
 
954Ink said:
I'm not offended. I'm skirting the reality that's causing me to ask this question so it doesnt side step into a political arena. I feel if I ask my agent they will explain to me that I'm at risk and suddenly need to spend more money. I have healthy general, professional, and umbrella coverage. Just keep hearing arguements about the political destruction of property being ok because of insurance but I have been arguing the opposite. When you make a claim your policy cost increases and that's best case scenario. For a construction company like mine I would be stuck arguing the value of tools with people who dont understand the differences between 110 and 3 phase.
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It might be "ok" to large companies in the sense that they have the resources and reserves to stomach such losses or increases in premiums and costs and survive. There is a point where they wont "eat" those and the consumer will feel it.

Small businesses are less likely to bounce back or stay afloat after all this, especially when coupled with the months of lock downs that preceded the unrest.


People that are making the argument that destruction of property is fine because of insurance have absolutely no clue what they are talking about.

Ask them if you can sledgehammer their car that's insured for fun or flood their house that's insured to make an indoor swimming pool. ;)
Something tells me each one will decline in ernest.
 
954Ink said:
I have healthy general, professional, and umbrella coverage. ...For a construction company like mine I would be stuck arguing the value of tools with people who dont understand the differences between 110 and 3 phase.
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My best advice on this would be to contact a broker that deals with insurance in your industry.

I had a very difficult time finding coverage for my particular needs, and at one point there was no insurer through traditional routes.

I found my current broker/insurer through my union. I provide replacement cost estimates and insure for that amount so that I will not be in the position of having to justify my claim beyond normal limits--they know what they agreed to insure, for how much, what the going rates are for this type of thing, etc. They specialize in my industry.

ETA: They also cover claim worthy repairs.
 
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