Illinois Commercial Property & Large-Loss Insurance Attorneys

Yes, frequently. Brokers know our practice and refer commercial property losses; we collaborate without disturbing the broker relationship and brief brokers throughout the claim. Public adjusters often partner with us on technical estimating where coverage litigation is also needed — PAs handle the loss-side estimate, we handle the coverage-side legal posture. We don't compete with brokers or PAs; we add the litigation backstop they don't provide.

We offer multiple engagement structures depending on the size and posture of the loss. Pure contingency (33%-40%) for straightforward denied or underpaid claims. Hybrid contingency (lower contingency 20%-25% + hourly cap) for larger claims where the client has financial capacity and prefers predictability. Reverse contingency (fee tied to delta above the carrier's pre-suit offer) on commercial claims above $5M. Hourly + success fee on very large claims ($10M+) where in-house counsel prefers cost predictability. We discuss the engagement structure on the intake call so you can pick the one that fits your risk tolerance and capital position.

These are formal investigation tools the carrier can require under most commercial policies. An EUO is a recorded examination under oath; a Sworn Proof of Loss is a notarized formal claim statement. Both are mandatory if properly demanded, but both have significant procedural requirements the carrier often gets wrong. We attend EUOs with our clients, prepare the witness, and challenge defective demands. We assist with Sworn Proofs of Loss to ensure the carrier cannot use a technical defect to deny the claim. Treat any EUO or SPL demand as a serious moment to engage counsel — the carrier is preserving its denial position.

Depends on the loss profile. Appraisal under most commercial policies (ISO CP 00 10 and variants) is a binding three-person panel — each side appoints an appraiser, the appraisers choose an umpire — and the panel sets the loss amount. Carriers increasingly invoke appraisal because: (1) it forecloses coverage litigation; (2) it can favor the carrier on contested causation questions; (3) it can foreclose Section 155 fee recovery in some cases. Sometimes accepting appraisal is the right move (clear coverage, just an amount dispute, where you have a strong appraiser). Often it's not (causation contested, BI complex, Section 155 leverage available). We run the math on both sides before responding to a carrier appraisal demand, and we handle the appraisal process if that's where the case goes.

BI calculations turn on three things: the period of restoration (how long until the business returns to pre-loss operations), the gross earnings or gross profit calculation method (depending on policy wording), and the extra-expense component. Disputes typically concentrate on (1) carrier attempts to compress the period of restoration to maximize savings, (2) gross-earnings vs. gross-profit methodology disagreements, (3) the make-up sales offset, (4) seasonal-business adjustments, and (5) the documentation supporting projected earnings. We work with forensic accountants on the BI calculation — typically retained at the start of the engagement — and the policy's BI worksheet endorsement controls a lot of the math.

Yes, as a secondary band. For residential losses $150,000 and above — fire total losses, tornado-leveled homes, named-storm catastrophic damage, water-damage total losses — we accept and litigate under 215 ILCS 5/155 with the same Section 155 framework. The $150K threshold reflects PPL's capacity allocation: we don't run a high-volume Illinois homeowner office, so smaller residential claims are better referred to firms with that volume practice. For catastrophic residential, the legal framework is the same as our commercial practice, but Illinois homeowner policies have specific Cramer cap dynamics and consequential-damages overlay we work through case by case.

We represent only policyholders — never carriers, never adjuster panels, never insurance defense. This eliminates the most common conflict in commercial property work: the same carriers appear repeatedly across files, and defense firms that work with those carriers cannot represent you against them. We're not conflicted out by an existing carrier relationship because we don't have any. We also screen new matters carefully — if you've been referred by your broker or PA, we confirm there's no conflict on their side before engaging.

Section 155 is the Illinois statutory remedy for vexatious refusal of insurance benefits. When a court finds an insurer's conduct "unreasonable and vexatious" — refusing to pay, delaying without good faith, conducting an inadequate investigation, or failing to communicate — the court can award reasonable attorneys' fees and costs plus a statutory penalty up to $60,000 (Cramer v. Insurance Exchange Agency cap). Section 155 preempts common-law bad-faith torts in Illinois but explicitly does not preclude recovery of consequential damages and lost profits as breach-of-contract damages (Mohr, Combs). For commercial losses where BI and consequential damages exceed policy benefits, the Section 155 framework is where the real dollar leverage lives.