Business Interruption and First-Party Property Coverage After Hurricanes, Floods: Issues for Insurers and Insureds

This CLE course will discuss the unique commercial property insurance coverage issues that insurers and policyholders face when responding to claimed losses arising from natural disasters like hurricanes and floods. The panel will discuss the deductibles and exclusions that most often create coverage disputes and why, the differences between direct and contingent business interruption coverage, and controversies over business interruption coverage at the insured site and from off-premises damage. The program will offer best strategies for submitting and receiving claims based on lessons learned over the past decade.

Hurricanes and similar weather-related disasters trigger unique commercial property insurance coverage issues. Flooding and storm surge exclusions, along with "anti-concurrent causation" provisions, present hurdles for policyholders who suffer catastrophic losses.

Insureds not only incur business interruption losses due to physical damage at the insured location but may also sustain loss due to damage to off-premises businesses servicing the insured, or on which the insured relies to attract customers to its business.

Off-premises losses may be covered by contingent business interruption insurance, which covers losses due to damage to the insured's customers, suppliers, and nearby flagship businesses. The scope of such coverage varies among policies. Under certain circumstances, coverages for civil authority and ingress and egress may be available to cover business losses due to road closings, curfews, and transportation shutdowns mandated by civil authorities.

Listen as our authoritative panel of insurance practitioners analyzes coverage issues arising from natural disasters under commercial first-party property insurance policies.