|

We recently had a snow emergency due to blizzard conditions for forty-eight hours where people were advised to stay off the roads except for emergencies or employers who required their employees to be at work. If you had no business being on the roads, you could be ticketed. The snow emergency was declared by the local sheriff for the entire county.

My insured is a fraternal lodge, which suffered a drop in income from its bar operation because members could not come in because of the declared snow emergency.

Our client is asking for coverage under the business income form. Intuitively, I told him no coverage. There was no physical damage by wind or any other covered loss to the insured property.

However under A.5.a. – Additional coverages/Civil Authority, I read that there may be coverage after seventy-two hours if there is damage to the insured property.

Does a snow emergency, declared by the local sheriff, where people are asked to stay off the roads, constitute an order by civil authority?

If there had been wind damage to the insured property during the blizzard conditions and if the snow emergency constituted an order by civil authority, would coverage be triggered for the insured?

Ohio Subscriber

For civil authority coverage to apply, there must be loss or damage to property other than at the described premises. Access to the area immediately surrounding the damaged property must be prohibited by civil authority as a result of the damage, and the insured's described premises must be within a mile of the damaged property (this is on the ISO CP 00 30 10 12). The action of civil authority must be taken in response to dangerous physical conditions resulting from the damage.

Since there was no damage, just dangerous conditions, the coverage would not apply. If there was actual damage to or on the roads that caused the sheriff to shut down the roads leading to the insured's business, then the civil authority coverage could kick in (after the seventy-two hour waiting period).

This premium content is locked for FC&S Coverage Interpretation Subscribers

Enjoy unlimited access to the trusted solution for successful interpretation and analyses of complex insurance policies.

  • Quality content from industry experts with over 60 years insurance experience, combined
  • Customizable alerts of changes in relevant policies and trends
  • Search and navigate Q&As to find answers to your specific questions
  • Filter by article, discussion, analysis and more to find the exact information you’re looking for
  • Continually updated to bring you the latest reports, trending topics, and coverage analysis