Irma Aftereffects: Naples Country Club Sues Zurich American Insurance for Storm Damage
The 54-hole Grey Oaks Country Club says its storm-related expenses hit eight figures but Zurich is holding out.
October 03, 2018 at 01:21 PM
3 minute read
Commercial property insurer Zurich American Insurance Co. is accused of not paying for Hurricane Irma damage at a Naples country club with three golf courses, where cleanup costs and damage seemingly covered by the policy extend into eight figures.
Miami attorney Walter Andrews, representing the 1,233-acre Grey Oaks Country Club Inc., is suing the Schaumburg, Illinois-based insurer for breach of contract, saying a $2.84 million payment is millions of dollars short.
Zurich also is accused of misrepresenting policy provisions and failing to adequately investigate the Grey Oaks' claims.
“Zurich has made every effort to avoid its contractual obligations and force Grey Oaks into accepting a fraction of what is rightfully owed under the policy,” Andrews wrote in the complaint filed Sept. 26 in Fort Myers federal court.
Andrews is a partner and the head of Hunton Andrews Kurth's insurance recovery practice.
Zurich and its attorney, Litchfield Cavo partner Ira Bergman in Fort Lauderdale, declined comment.
“We've tried to work the disagreement out informally, but we just haven't been able to reach an agreement with Zurich, so that's the reason why we filed,” said Michael Stott, Grey Oaks general manager and president.
Grey Oaks had a Zurich policy covering property damage and loss of business for the year ended Oct. 1, 2017. As a Category 3 storm, Irma made landfall near Marco Island just south of Naples on Sept. 10, 2017, bringing peak gusts of 142 mph to Naples, according to the National Weather Service.
Grey Oaks was “decimated” and shut down for two weeks with clubhouse damage and widespread debris, the lawsuit said. The country club reopened to slower business, and repair work is expected to last until next summer.
“Business income entirely ceased during the period that all of Grey Oaks' facilities were closed,” according to the complaint. “Even after the golf courses became playable, the amount of play and associated merchandise and food and beverage sales were depressed for an extended period of time compared to prior years.”
One course opened Sept. 22, 2017, clubhouses opened on a limited basis Sept. 24, 2017, and a second course opened last Nov. 1, the complaint said.
The lawsuit doesn't specify Grey Oaks' total cleanup and repair costs, lost revenue from slowed business or exactly how much Zurich should cover. It only says its expenses have reached eight figures, including more than $5 million for tree replacement.
The complaint outlines the Zurich policy provisions for a $9.5 million cap on liability for outdoor grounds, $34 million for real property, $14.6 million for personal property and $821,000 for lost revenue.
In a Sept. 12 letter Zurich sent in response to Grey Oaks' questions, the insurer acknowledged responsibility for $3.97 million in losses and damages but paid only $2.8 million in four installments through February, meaning it's knowingly withholding $1.13 million, according to the complaint.
Zurich Insurance Group was founded and is based in Switzerland and in the early 1900s expanded to the U.S., where it provides commercial property casualty insurance, according to its website.
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