By Attorney Chris Strohbehn and Law Clerk Nathan Froemming.

Has your insurance claim for business interruption been denied despite the presence of a “contamination clause” in your insurance policy? The coronavirus has caused businesses to close across the nation, resulting in lost revenue for many small business owners. As a result, many businesses, especially restaurants and bars, are reviewing their insurance policies to see if they can file an insurance claim to seek relief.

One common provision found in insurance policies is a “contamination clause.” For example, an insurer may pay for lost business income caused by “‘Contamination’ that results in an action by a public health or other governmental authority that prohibits access to described premises or production of your product.” Furthermore, “contamination” is defined in some policies as “a defect, deficiency, inadequacy or dangerous conditions in your products, merchandise, or premises.” This is the language found in one insurance policy, so different policies might have different language or exclusions that may impact the coverage. An insurance claim will always depend on the terms of an individual policy, so remember to look at your own policy.

By Attorney Chris Strohbehn

A restaurant in New Orleans, LA filed a lawsuit last week asking a judge to declare that its business interruption insurance policy will cover lost revenue as a result of mandated closures from government authorities due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The restaurant serves cajun style food in a large space that can seat up to 500 people in the French Quarter, a popular tourist district in New Orleans. While the restaurant is normally busy, the coronavirus crisis has caused crowds to diminish greatly. To help prevent the spread of COVID-19, the governor of Louisiana has prohibited gatherings of over 250 people, required bars to remain closed, and restricted restaurants to filling takeout orders. This order will remain in effect until April 13, 2020.

By Attorney Chris Strohbehn and Law Clerk Nathan Froemming

With COVID-19, commonly known as the coronavirus, causing disruptions to global markets, many businesses have lost and will continue to lose income, and they may sustain a variety of unforeseen expenses due to the pandemic. These major disruptions will likely cause an increase in the number of insurance claims in policies that provide business interruption coverage. In these cases, insurance coverage will depend on a policy’s terms and conditions and the circumstances surrounding the loss experienced by a company.

Successful business interruption coverage claims in cases involving viruses are uncommon. In fact, the law related to this type of coverage in connection with pandemics or epidemics of human infectious diseases is sparse in the United States, as these cases are indeed unique.

By Attorney Chris Strohbehn

Most people purchase a life insurance policy in hopes of protecting their family against future financial burdens their death may cause. According to the Insurance Information Institute, the total amount of life insurance benefits and claims in the United States in 2018 was $784 billion dollars. This amount includes death benefits, disability benefits, annuity benefits, and other types of payouts relating to life insurance claims.

Although thousands of life insurance claims are approved each year, many claims are also denied. If you have received notice that your claim has been denied, you should speak to an attorney and take the appropriate steps to ensure that you receive the benefits you deserve.

By Attorney Kristen Nelson

In recent years, a number of news stories have surfaced about healthcare providers who have committed fraud by overbilling patients. While there are some unscrupulous entities that intentionally do just that, sometimes what looks like an attempt to commit fraud is nothing more than human error. For example, a bill could come from the billing department that assumed a specific service was performed because it appeared on the original paperwork and was never removed when the service was not rendered, or a patient could be charged for medication that was ordered but never received.