When you experience damage to your commercial property, either due to a natural disaster, vandalism or any other unfortunate event, filing a claim with your insurance company is the first step toward protecting your business and getting back on track.
If your insurer denies your claim, however, you might be at a loss for what you can do to financially recover from the disaster. Refuting a commercial insurance claim denial starts by understanding your insurance policy and knowing why the insurer denied your claim in the first place.
Insufficient documentation
Documentation of the value of the property damaged in the disaster, along with photographic evidence, can strengthen and validate the worth of your claim. On a similar note, delaying the filing of your claim because you were organizing your records or for any other reason can give the insurance company a chance to try to deny you.
Damage not covered
One particularly common reason for claim denial is due to the insurer asserting that your coverage does not extend to the damage that occurred. Similarly, the insurance company might claim that you rendered yourself ineligible for coverage by neglecting to mitigate further damage during or after the disaster.
Inadequate maintenance
Upon evaluating the damage to your commercial property, the insurance company might try to assert that you neglected to maintain the property adequately and prevent regular wear-and-tear damage. If this assertion holds up, the insurer can deny your claim on the basis that the damage would be less if proper maintenance practices were in place.
Insurance companies will often utilize any loophole available to avoid paying out an insurance settlement. If your insurance company wrongfully refuses your claim for damage to your business property, it may be necessary to pursue compensation.
