PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — A small Pasco county business said it's facing big problems when it comes to insurance costs. The owner of "Gill Dawg," Erik Soujanen said they're permanently closing up shop after their rates simply got too high.
“I think a lot of the public doesn't know and how could they know,” Soujanen said.
Soujanen and his wife bought the three-and-a-half-acre property in New Port Richey back in 2011. He said it became a go-to place for many locals.
“We use to rent kayaks, and we use to rent paddleboards, and we were dog friendly and we had to get rid of all of it,” Soujanen said.
Soujanen said they've had challenges with the city, but the biggest issue was increase in liability insurance. He said it turned his vibrant venue into a for sale property.
“I mean we start the year off in the hole before we even start business because of legal fees and insurance costs, and everything else. My liability insurance costs three years ago was $15,000 a yea.r Now, it's $120,000 a year,” Soujanen said.
“Retail businesses are prone to being sued by customers. Very common especially in a restaurant, bar type of environment,” Mark Friedlander with the Insurance Information Institute said.
Friedlander said depending on the services, a business offers it can open them up to potential lawsuits.
“We are seeing significant increases in liability coverage across the country,” Friedlander said.
Friedlander believes it's because of legal system abuse, social inflation and third party litigation funding.
An issue hurting big corporations and local businesses like Gill Dawg.
“Without having adequate liability coverage it's just too risky for some of these small businesses to continue to operate,” Friedlander said.
“We need mom and pops that's the backbone of the country. Totally sad,” Soujanen said.
Gill Dawg managers said they plan on celebrating the end of an era with food trucks and bands performing Sunday. They said things will kick off around 12:30 in the afternoon.