Businesses left with hundreds of thousands of dollars in debris removal costs after recent rioting won’t have expenses covered by most basic insurance policies.
“ISO standard policy forms provide 25% of the amount of property damage +$25k for debris removal, however, this is not to exceed the limit of insurance,” explained Nick Arnoldy, Marshfield Insurance CEO. “So, if a $1 million building has a policy for $1 million and has 100k in debris removal expenses, they only get the extra $25,000. That is the industry standard.”
Arnoldy added that like most insurance coverage, businesses are able to buy more coverage, though many times don’t.
“It’s usually a non-issue, but not for recent events, clearly,” he said, adding that incidents like this can help improve the industry. “Whenever we come across disasters or unique events, it always brings to light certain coverage issues – this one particularly being demolition or debris removal expenses.”
He added that as a business owner, it’s always advisable to review current policies with an agent.
“It’s always good to review with your agent what your current policy does provide and have a conversation if additional cover might be needed,” he said. “Some of these things we don’t think about until things happen in other areas and they motivate us to look into our own coverage. It’s not a super expensive thing to buy, but I’m sure the majority of businesses in the recent rioting areas don’t have that additional coverage.”