Risk & Business Magazine JGS Insurance Risk & Business Magazine Winter 2017 | Page 26

SUPERSTORM SANDY
Superstorm Sandy:
Five
Years Later
BY: RYAN HAGER
ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT,
JGS INSURANCE
O
ctober 29th, 2012 is a day that will forever be ingrained into
the memories of both residents of New Jersey and business
owners alike. Superstorm Sandy was the 1,000 year storm
that no one ever thought would hit in their lifetime.
As a result of this thinking, businesses were extremely
unprepared for the damage that ensued. High winds and flooding were the
driving causes of loss during the storm.
Now, we are talking about Business Income, which was one of the bigger
claims that resulted from Superstorm Sandy, much of which was NOT
covered. According to IHS Global Insights - losses from wages, electrical
power, and production cost business owners $20 billion. Many New Jersey
businesses suffered losses stemming from power outages which resulted in
business interruptions and loss of business of income.
by filling out a business income worksheet. Don’t fall into a trap
of having uncovered claims or insufficient limits, resulting in you
having to pay out of pocket. +
Ryan Hager is the third generation to enter into the family
owned and operated JGS Insurance. At JGS Ryan has worked
with both family owned businesses and large corporations to
provide them with Captive Based Solutions. Ryan specializes in
providing proactive services to his clients to reduce their losses
and premiums in order to gain control of their insurance destiny.
To understand Business Income coverage under a commercial property
policy, we must understand the list of conditions to be present in order for
a loss to be covered. In the event of a loss these conditions are:
1. a discrete event of direct physical loss or damage;
2. to property of the type insured;
3. from a risk of loss;
4. with no exclusion applying;
5. which causes an interruption of business operations;
Then the policy covers:
1. the defined loss;
2. for the defined period of interruption.
Back to the question: What was the cause of loss? As discussed earlier,
flooding and high winds were the proximate causes of loss from the storm.
Soon after the storm, it was discovered that many New Jersey businesses
lost power due to flooded substations and downed overhead transmission
lines. Of course, flooding is an excluded peril on the commercial property
form. For those businesses that thought they had a saving grace from
coverage from wind, they had more heartache. The only Hail Mary for
businesses would have been that flood and Utility Interruption Services
(with overhead transmission lines) were endorsed on their policies.
Business income insurance is one of the most vital lines of insurance to a
company, and yet it is one of the most overlooked coverages. Do you recall
how you derived to your business income limit? Most companies I meet
with either haven’t adjusted their limit in years, or have no clue how it was
originally derived. It is critical that this limit is properly adjusted each year
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Fire & Water - Cleanup & Restoration TM
Aberdeen/Holmdel
732-290-3170
“Like it never even happened.”
HIC# 13VH05350200