Civil Authority Defined
From the insurance carrier’s perspective Civil Authority is an insurance policy provision that determines how the loss of business income coverage applies when a government entity restricts access to the insured premises. Civil authority affects the income of all businesses, including contractors, caterers, theaters, retail store and everything in between since the businesses are ordered to close.
Civil Authority Insurance Coverage
To minimize the risk of impact on revenue loss due to Civil Authority implementation, insurance companies offer Civil Authority Coverage as part of Additional Coverages within typical business income and extra expense coverage forms. The forms are contained within business owner property (BOP) insurance policies and commercial policies (CP). This coverage contains provisions and exclusions that policyholders should be aware of when reviewing their specific policy.
If the Civil Authority Coverage is exercised, then the policy will provide coverage for lost business income due to civil authority. Although provisions vary per policy, typically:
United Public Adjusters & Appraisers Inc. has the experience to sift through policy language and decipher coverage. We closely analyze whether existing insurance policies potentially provide coverage for a specific loss. Every business is completely different and requires an individualized approach, which is our expertise. We look at how the loss impacted your operations, income and employees. Our team of forensic accountants ensures that we present a detailed loss of income claim with supporting documentation and reasoning to substantiate your losses. This includes the process of analyzing historical financial data to determine its reliability. Many businesses have seasonal trends in their annual revenue cycles, which may become a crucial factor in properly documenting an insured’s loss of income. We look at the entire pre-loss picture of all revenue streams and not just a snippet of historical data prior to the loss.
Industry experts, such as a public adjuster, can present policy language on your behalf for your benefit. UPA will dissect your policy for all possible angles to attain coverage and to assist with mitigating the Coronavirus business impact. Our property insurance experts have years of experience in policy language interpretation. Contact us today for a complimentary claim or policy review.
Learn more by reading our blogs:
What Coronavirus means for your business?
Coronavirus: Civil Authority Reimbursement coverage for Lost Income
