Bankruptcy Attorney In Santa Clarita Discusses Illness Liability For Businesses Reopening Per Newsom’s Plan

Posted by: Amanda Bosworth in Financial, Santa Clarita Latest News May 14, 2020 - 9:30 am 0 485 Views

Now that the California governor is allowing some businesses to reopen, a bankruptcy attorney in Santa Clarita — the city’s only certified bankruptcy law specialist — describes ways in which insurance companies and the state and federal government could provide support to small and local businesses.

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As the state of California heads into the first phase of reopening the economy, many small businesses worry that they may be held monetarily liable for employees or customers falling ill.

Santa Clarita Bankruptcy Attorney Louis Esbin of the Law Offices of Louis J. Esbin discussed how better guidance from the government, combined with clear policy coverage from insurance companies, could help ease these concerns.

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“What I’m hearing from small businesses is (that) they want to be back in business,” Esbin said, “but they have a concern about the possibility of spreading the virus almost unknowingly.”

The Santa Clarita bankruptcy attorney noted that a lack of clear guidance from the government and insurance companies has left many businesses unsure of how to proceed.

“It’s going to come back to the government to provide some type of protection that (business owners) will have (before they) open. People need to be able to know that they can open and not have monetary liability.”

Besides possible expenses related to liability, many small businesses worry about the financial costs of not reopening quickly.

Esbin mentioned that while many business owners carry business interruption insurance, no insurance company is covering lost income due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Interruption insurance offers protection to businesses forced to close for a period of time, usually due to property damage.

The issue for businesses and insurance companies is whether such policies cover closures due to civil authority — meaning that if the government forces a business to close for a period of time, some interruption insurance policies would cover related costs.

After the SARS outbreak in 2003, many insurers included language in their contracts stating that they will not cover damages caused by viruses, bacteria or microorganisms. This means that many small businesses cannot use interruption insurance to cover loss of revenue from the coronavirus pandemic.

“There’s a lot of people, including myself who have business interruption insurance that we’ve been paying on for years,” Esbin said. “Somebody needs to say to insurance companies, ‘You need to have a product that can provide some type of insurance to protect the business owner.’”

With clear guidelines from the government and insurance companies, small businesses could make better, more informed decisions about how to move forward as the state begins to reopen the economy.

“About 97 percent of business in California is small businesses with 50 or fewer employees,” Esbin said. “Sacramento and Washington are all focused on big business, … but it’s the small businessperson who’s going to be carrying this ball and chain through the finish line.”

Ed. Note: This article is a KHTS Community Spotlight for the Law Offices of Louis J. Esbin.

Louis Esbin of the Law Offices of Louis J. Esbin is an attorney in Santa Clarita who specializes in bankruptcy law, business law and consumer protection. The motto of his firm is, “When experience counts, count on experience,” and Esbin has been practicing law locally since 1993. His experience in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York also enables him to pledge to provide his clients with high quality, big-city legal services as a Santa Clarita attorney. In addition, the bankruptcy attorney in Santa Clarita is founding treasurer of the Santa Clarita Valley Bar Association, a founding member of the Central District Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys Association and a member of the Financial Lawyers Conference and California Bankruptcy Forum. Those searching for the best attorney in Santa Clarita or an “attorney near me,” can contact the Law Offices of Louis J. Esbin today for more information.

The Law Offices of Louis J. Esbin
27451 Tourney Road, Suite 120
Valencia, CA 91355-6304

(661) 254-5050