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.