Business Interruption Insurance Solicitors in Matlock, Derbyshire

Thousands of businesses within the UK have suffered substantial loss of time and income due to the COVID-19 pandemic. If your business has taken out a business interruption insurance policy and had to close temporarily due to the pandemic, you may be able to make a business interruption insurance claim if your policy provider is refusing to honor your agreement.

Our team of dispute resolution solicitors in Matlock have experience in a range of dispute resolution matters both personal and commercial. As part of our service, we will provide you with guidance and advice on the best next steps in order to make a claim.

If you would like to receive further advice regarding our business interruption insurance service, please contact our solicitors on 01629 56660 or make a Free Online Enquiry.

Business interruption insurance exists to replace income or revenue and to protect businesses who have been ‘interrupted’ and unable to operate. Commonly this type of situation happens if a business has been affected by a natural disaster such as a fire, hazardous weather or flood.

Over time, insurers have included certain diseases such as SARS, as part of their insurance policies, however COVID-19 for many businesses, was not included.

As the COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented interruption to thousands of businesses, some insurers have updated their policies to include potential coverage and protection due to COVID-19.

Typically, a business interruption policy would see events such as flooding, fires, or storm damage as valid circumstances to make a claim. In the event that one of these events were to occur the insurance policy may cover a variety of expenses and revenue such as:

• Profits – This will be calculated based the business’ performance in the months prior.
• The fixed costs of the business – This would include the operating and any other incurred costs that are intrinsic to the operation of the business.
• Employee wages – Some business interruption policies may cover employee wages if the owner is unable to sufficiently meet payroll.
• HMRC taxes – Tax cover ensures that a business can pay its tax on-time and avoid any incurred penalties.
• Loan repayments – This type of cover ensures that the business can pay any monthly loan repayments while it is unable to generate income.
• Temporary relocation – Covers the expenses involved with moving to and operating from a temporary location.
• Other expenses – Provides cover for any expenses, beyond that of the fixed costs, that are reasonable in allowing the business to continue being operational.

In order to calculate the entitlement of a business interruption claim you must break down the expenses and types cover within the policy. To begin, you must estimate the length of time that the business will be unable to operate, in doing this you need to base your estimations on the worst case scenario in order to get an accurate picture of the downtime for the business.

After this, you should begin to calculate the expenses that the business would be expected to pay for that period of time, please view our “What does Business Interruption Insurance cover?” frequently asked question for a list of common expenses that are covered.

Once the expenses have been accurately calculated you should then begin to think about the expected profits for the period of time in which the business will not be operational. These calculations should be based on the revenues of the past 12 to 24 months and then applied to the period of closure. It is also important to note that the calculations should consider whether the business was expected to grow, remain stagnant, or decline in the period in which it will be closed.

Two of the most common causes of business interruption claims are fires and floods. However, in saying this, business interruption insurance serves the purpose to protect a business from any kind of property related incident that renders it unable to operate; whether this be theft and vandalism, burst pipes, or a tree falling and damaging the premises.

Additionally, it is also important to consider that whether or not a business is entitled to make a claim is entirely dependent on the type of cover that is included in the Business Interruption Insurance policy. Some policies cover losses due to certain diseases whereas others do not. If you are looking into making a claim you should read through your policy carefully to discover what events are seen as valid claims by your insurer.

Our specialist Business Interruption Insurance Claim solicitors will help to get you back on track.

Lovedays Solicitors was established in 1905 and we've been helping many businesses throughout that time. We have offices in both Matlock and Wirksworth and cover Ashbourne, Bakewell and throughout Derbyshire.

Our team of specialist business interruption solicitors will work with you in order to effectively manage any claims you might have and can advise on whether your business has a valid claim based upon your circumstances.

To learn more about how we can help you with your business interruption claim, please contact our solicitors on 01629 56660 or make a Free Online Enquiry.