You’ve taken great care in setting up your business, including purchasing various insurance policies to protect against potential claims and lawsuits.
But what good are all of those hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars of coverage if you can’t use them?
Remember: Insurance companies write very specific provisions into their policies regarding grounds for which coverage can be denied.
If coverage is denied, then your business is left with the unfortunate responsibility of defending a suit with money out of its own pockets.
One reason that an insurance carrier might deny coverage is failure to timely submit an insurance claim.
Many businesses wait until they are actually served with a formal lawsuit before notifying their insurance company.
But…
Sometimes, that may be too late based on the language of your insurance policy.
You should notify your insurance company the moment that you first become aware of the existence of a potential claim, which could be months or even years before an actual lawsuit is filed.
If you get a letter from an attorney demanding a pre-suit settlement, you need to notify your insurance carrier.
If you receive a complaint from a customer, you need to notify your insurance carrier.
In doing so, the insurance company will not be able to argue that you delayed in providing timely notice of a claim.
Here’s to protecting our businesses!
