During one of the busiest times of the year—the Christmas shopping season—shopping malls and retail stores in New Jersey are working hard to get their stores back to normal after suffering business losses from Superstorm Sandy. When the Category 1 storm pounded New Jersey on October 29, 2012, many commercial complexes, retail centers, and shopping malls suffered damages from the strong winds, heavy rains, fallen trees, and downed power lines.
Because many shopping malls and stores lost power, they were unable to open for several days or even weeks following Sandy. Sadly, some businesses still haven’t reopened as they’re still assessing their damages. Still other stores will never open their doors again due to the devastation they suffered. For the stores and businesses that reopened following Sandy, the lost business was substantial from being closed for days or weeks.
As some New Jersey shopping malls and retailers are still assessing their damages after they were hit by the storm, analysts don’t believe that department stores and clothing stores will have an opportunity to make up the lost business. According to Poonam Goyal, an analyst for Bloomberg Industries in Princeton, New Jersey, “if stores will not reopen for the next two or three weeks, it’s going to impact holiday sales.”
Damages New Jersey Shopping Malls and Retail Stores Suffered in Superstorm Sandy
Most of the New Jersey retail stores and shopping malls were closed due to power outages; however, some also suffered broken glass, leaking roofs, downed-tree damage, and other minor property damage. Many of the stores along the coast also sustained water damage. No matter what type of damage your business suffered following Superstorm Sandy, there is still a long road ahead in dealing with your insurance company.
You will need to document your property damage losses with pictures and receipts for the items that you owned and that were damaged. You will need to provide proof of lost business income with financial statements. The process can be overwhelming and stressful and sometimes an insurer will undervalue or deny your insurance claim altogether.
If you need help appealing your insurer’s claim decision or help filing your claim in the first place, call commercial insurance claim lawyer Bill Voss at the Voss Law Firm at 888-614-7730 for a free case consultation, and fill out a form on our website to get a free copy of our book Commercial Property Owners Must Read This BEFORE Filing an Insurance Claim.
