31 October 2012, just because a business has interruption insurance doesn’t mean they’ll get paid: “There has to be direct physical damage to the building in order for business interruption insurance to come into play.”-Loretta Worters, Insurance Information Institute

Thousands of small businesses were forced to close shop because of hurricane Sandy, but they did not suffer physical damage. This means not only are they losing money from lack of sales, but the money they paid for interruption insurance was wasted.

Also, businesses closed due to power outages or mandatory evacuation orders are not covered under interruption insurance: “I figured there’s probably an out for the insurance company, but I was hoping we’d be paid since the city had ordered everything to shut down, including the subways.”-Robert Wyatt, Lightspeed Express, found out his insurance won’t payout

And don’t forget, for most businesses there’s no such thing as flood insurance, unless it’s through the federal National Flood Insurance Program.

What this means is that many northeastern businesses will not be able to recovery financially!