By now you've seen the video and pictures of Baltimore, Maryland, on fire in the wake of the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray who died from a severe spinal cord injury while in the custody of Baltimore City police. The looting, attacks on police, and the senseless vandalism have been graphically captured and splashed across the Internet and network television for days. I wrote about the riots in Ferguson, but that was another city in another state and it was easy to just keep to the facts. I've called Baltimore my hometown all my life and even though I've always lived just outside of the city, when someone asks where I'm from, I tell them Baltimore.
I worked in the city for many years and even helped a former Mayor's office create a video promoting Baltimore's many unique neighborhoods. I have friends who live in the city and are working hard to rebuild some of the economically depressed areas because this city has a lot of potential.
The pictures on TV only capture a microcosm of the damage that has been done to the city and the surrounding suburbs. From an insurance perspective, based on where they're located in the city and the fact the majority of the restaurants, bars and shops affected are what you'd call ''mom and pop” businesses, the chances of them having business interruption insurance or even full commercial general liability policies to make them whole are remote. The same is true for homeowners whose homes have been damaged by rioters and looters. Many do not have more than minimal homeowners insurance if any to cover losses they might incur. The effects to them and the neighborhoods in which they are located will be devastating.
It's easy to replay the pictures of burning cars and buildings, and those are very real losses. The damage is widespread across multiple neighborhoods in the city because some are using the opportunity as an excuse to perpetrate crimes and act out on their anger and frustration. In their ignorance they fail to see the damage they are doing to their neighbors, their neighborhood and probably the only place they will ever call home.
The full economic impact affects not just the city, but also the surrounding counties. Consider the damage to Mondawmin Mall and the surrounding businesses. The mall has been described as a disaster zone. At least four other malls in an adjoining county were closed and some stores in a large, upscale mall about two miles from the city line closed early yesterday. Universities and colleges in the city and county are closing early so that faculty and students can get home before the city's 10 p.m. curfew.
A major fundraising gala for the University of Maryland's Shock Trauma Center was cancelled because of protests over the weekend. Two Baltimore Orioles baseball games were cancelled. The series against the Rays has been moved to Tampa Bay, and today the Baltimore Orioles and White Sox will play to an empty stadium. No cheering crowds, no concession sales, no additional business for the surrounding restaurants and bars, no parking revenue, no light rail income, no souvenirs being purchased and no food or drinks being consumed in the stadium. Only a lot of workers off for the day without pay.
The curfew itself will have a devastating effect. One small bar owner says the curfew will cost him $10,000 a day–imagine that cost multiplied over dozens of small businesses. Companies are letting employees leave work early to either avoid the protests, comply with the curfew or to keep them safe.
There will be insurance claims from the vehicles and structures set on fire. According to The Baltimore Sun, 144 vehicles and 15 structures were set on fire. Two conventions have been cancelled and at least one other conference is considering another location for their event next week.
Community leaders, politicians, and other high-profile individuals are calling for everything from peace to continued peaceful protests. Former Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis released a video on Twitter calling for young men to go home and stay home. He chose to skip a trip to Chicago for the NFL draft because he “felt that it was more important for me to stay in Baltimore and help the city that I love.”
The problems the city faces go way beyond the death of one young man. Not all of them will be able to be fixed with more money or more time or a haphazard approach, and they definitely won't be fixed with rioting, looting and vandalism.
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