The owner of three Meineke stores in Washington state is now facing potentially losing his business after being a repeated victim of crime in the area, reports KOMO News.
Nirav Sheth is the owner of Meineke stores in Gig Harbor, Silverdale, and Des Moines, which have suffered more than three reported losses in the past three years.
Sheth shared one particularly dire instance in which a group broke in and stole customers’ vehicles. It cost the business tens of thousands of dollars.
Now, Sheth has received a notice from Nationwide informing him that his insurance policy would not be renewed for all three of his stores.
Sheth has until Sep. 29 to regain insurance coverage for his businesses, or he risks being evicted and defaulting on his lease and loan. He’s turned to other insurance providers, who quote him approximately $50,000 for annual coverage: over double what he was paying, and an amount that would send him to bankruptcy.
The challenges Sheth has faced are far from unique to him, according to Mark Johnson of the Washington Retail Association, who said that businesses being repeatedly targeted by criminals has become an issue with local businesses.
It’s something that hits small businesses especially hard for the same reasons it’s now impacting Sheth.
“This is a very real threat to our businesses, especially our smaller businesses,” said Johnson. “They have just started paying out of their pocket for fear that they’ll be dropped or because their policy’s already gone up so high.”
Fortunately, there’s some action being taken locally to address these issues. A summit is planned for Oct. 2 in which prosecutors, mayors, police chiefs, and others will come together to discuss how to support local businesses like Sheth’s.
