Insurers balk at covering Portland businesses; brokers say downtown upheaval has made carriers wary
Updated Dec 12, 2020;
Posted Dec 12, 2020
Mercantile, a locally owned clothing store in downtown Portland, has kept boards on its windows since it was looted on May 30. (Photo by Jamie Goldberg)
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Eric Murfitt watched helplessly from a live security feed as looters trashed his downtown clothing store, Mercantile, during a riot on May 30. Murfitt said the business suffered $1 million in losses due to the break-in and had to file an insurance claim to stay afloat.
But in November, Murfitt was informed that his insurance carrier would not be renewing the store’s policy. Nearly a dozen other insurance companies declined to even offer Mercantile a quote.