by David Hastings » Fri Sep 07, 2007 12:52 pm
Hi, I own a business in Ohio and yesterday a driver struck the front of my building with her car causing me to close. I may be days before I open, she is covered by Progressive, I have contacted them and have a claim number, am I entitled to anything due to lost income
Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2007 02:21 pm Post Subject:
This will depend on the coverage provided by the driver's insurance. Most policies contain a Property Liability/Property Damage coverage that would speak to the damage to your building, but I am not sure it would go further than that. To my knowledge, that coverage is for the very thing it names - Property - and might not cover the loss of income resulting from damage to your property. You would need to review the language in your policy to be sure.
Just out of curiosity, do you carry your own coverage for loss of income due to this sort of situation?
Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2007 04:40 am Post Subject:
Yes, the other person's liability coverage will address your loss as a whole. This means it will address your loss income as well as the property damage. One problem is the possible low limits of that liability policy. From what I can tell, a person is only required to carry $7500 in liability coverage for Property Damage (where has Ohio been for the past 20 years?). This amount would be used to address your entire loss. Keep in mind that this is a minumum limit required to operate a vehicle... the person who caused the accident might have higher limits.
As the owner of a business you should also have insurance to protect your interest. If you learn that the other person has very low limits, you may want to contact your carrier asap to discuss your options.
Get a very general idea of what your loss may be (you can just do this in your head) and call the Progressive adjuster. Ask if their insured's limits might be an issue in addressing your entire loss.
Add your comment