Business Insurance Update from CNC Insurance Associates “Report General Liability Claims Quickly To Your Insurance Carrier” 2-6-18

It seems logical that most business owners would report their General Liability claims to their insurance companies quickly. Unfortunately this sometimes does not happen. In some circumstances the business owner does not even know they have a claim.  General Liability claims do not always ‘reveal” themselves. With this in mind it is imperative to report your claim as soon as you think you may have one. The reason for this is in the insurance policy. Many policies have a reporting requirement built in. If you do not report the claim within the policy period there would be no trigger of coverage. Other policies have clauses that just state “as soon as practical” or “as soon as possible”. These phrases are so ambiguous and could cause you trouble as the insurance company is in control of what they mean.  Other language in the policies state conditions that the insured ( business owner) must do in order to have coverage. Allowing the insurance company adequate time to investigate the claim is one of those conditions. If too much time goes by from the claim to when it is reported, it could mean a denial from the insurance company.
So make sure you report your liability claims as soon as you think one has occurred. This is the safest bet to allowing the coverage to be triggered in your behalf. Until next time be careful out there and know your risks.

G. Kevin Nemith, CNC Insurance Associates/ Hilb Group
www.cncinsurance.com

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