DeKalb County businesses struggle to obtain insurance, crime to blame

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. – There is always a cost and risk to doing business. The DeKalb County CEO-elect, Lorrraine Cochran-Johnson, is concerned some entrepreneurs will consider doing business in DeKalb County too risky if they cannot obtain assault and battery insurance due to high crime. 

“I do not believe, legally, insurance companies should have the right to flat deny coverage because you are in a high crime area,” Lorraine Cochran-Johnson said.

Adam Kaye is an attorney representing Wolf Acquisitions LLC.  It’s considering a project in South DeKalb County.  It’s exploring purchasing Park Crest Apartments along Bouldrcrest Road and making improvements.

“(It’s) willing to spend a ton of money to improve a property,” Kaye says.

But the cost of general liability insurance and the inability to obtain assault and battery insurance may force the potential investor to back off. Kaye says the scenario puts businesses at risk of being at the wrong end of multi-million dollar lawsuits.

“God forbid someone is injured on the property as a result of a crime,” Kaye says. “The cost being that much higher is sometimes prohibitive of a business coming here to business at all.”

CVS lost a $43 million dollar lawsuit after a shooting in a parking lot on Moreland Avenue in late 2012. A jury held CVS responsible for not having security measures to prevent the shooting.

It’s an issue not unique to DeKalb County, but the CEO-elect has more examples of this. She is concerned it is a major barrier to economic development, especially in south DeKalb County.​

“In many of those communities, we have businesses at risk of leaving the community because they can’t get assault and battery insurance,” Cochran-Johnson states. “I’ve had gas station operators and a daycare reach out to me about this problem.”

Kaye believes it will take more than policing to solve the problem. He says some form of tort reform is needed.

“Business investment in the community helps the community,” Kaye says. “This problem hurts underserved communities most.”