Many business owner policies or property owner policies contain ‘business interruption’ coverage intended to compensate for financial losses when a business cannot function due to an emergency that results in an inability to keep the business open. Some policies also have coverage for business income losses when a government or civil authority issues an order that prevents a business owner from using or occupying its business property.

Whether your financial losses would be covered by such policies depends on the facts and the language of your insurance policy, which can be difficult to understand and interpret, and often have exclusions and conditions attached. If you have a business owners or property owners insurance policy, it is beneficial to have an insurance coverage attorney review the policy to determine if a claim would likely be approved by your insurance company, or not.