We all are familiar with loss, whether it is losing your wallet or losing on an investment that did not pan out the way you wanted it. Things like the wallet can be replaced, but money you have invested into a business venture is much harder to recover; such situations demonstrate the importance of having business losses covered. There are a few ways of dealing with these problems, typically through tax options and insured loss options.
A tax relief option is sometimes the least painful way of dealing with business losses brought forward from earlier years. Let’s say that you run a business and an electrical fire just burned up your inventory and database system, putting a major hole in your already empty pocket. If you never opted for run your business as an LLC or S corporation, you may not have the option to offset business losses against personal income. According to Stephen Fishman, J.D. of nolo.com, such an option also allows a sole proprietor to “deduct any loss your business incurs from your other income for the year”, granting much-desired business losses tax relief.
However, if your business’ total losses are greater than all of your income, you have a NOL, or “net operating loss”, to deal with. Fishman also states that “While it’s not pleasant to lose money, an NOL can provide important tax benefits[;] It may be used to reduce your tax liability for both past and future years.” Visit Fishman’s article above for advice on figuring out your business’ net operating loss and how to deal with carrying losses back and forward for the years your business sustained losses.
If you file for an insured business losses option with your insurance company, you can sleep soundly at night knowing that even a small mishap in the office or plant will not completely ruin your business venture. However, when business losses offset income to the point of needing that insurance money, you do not want to be dancing around with a customer service representative trying to give you every reason in the book why the insurance company WILL NOT cover your losses.
After all, you have been paying a premium for years for such an occasion, and much to your dismay, they are looking for any reason not to cut you a check; funny, considering they are usually all too happy to sell you the insurance policy with the promise to have your back. Most often, losses can be a complex process demanding the time of insurance experts and accountants, which eats up more resources for an insurance company. Sure, they will usually give you a little bit to get you going again, but the more complex the claim, the more they try to resist the claim.
What do you do when an insurance company resorts to backhanded bullying to keep you from financial recovery? You get yourself an attorney and let him or her do the tough talking for you, but not just any attorney—you want one with the assets and experience in getting folks what is due, particularly when they have already paid handsomely for it.
For those living in the Philadelphia, PA or the Marlton, NJ area, the best hope you have in doing the money dance with a hesitant insurance company is Ginsburg & Associates Trial Lawyers. The firm is ready to fight for your assets, equipped with over 15 years of experience handling insured business losses cases against insurance companies in the United States and Puerto Rico. The experts at Ginsburg & Associates specialize in learning your business inside and out to make sure there is no room for error in your time of need, especially when the loss is felt on an emotional level and can devastate a family or individual. We are very familiar with insurance contracts and the law of bad faith, so there is no reason to despair when you have us to represent you. For a free consultation on how Ginsburg & Associates can help you claim what is yours, call (215) 564-4400.
