When Martin Goebel walks into his St. Louis furniture business each morning, he peels back the blue tarps he used to cover his machines and half-finished furniture the night before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He\u2019d much rather be sketching designs, brainstorming with clients and making new pieces for his business, Goebel Furniture. But his creative work and growth plans have taken a back seat since 2021, when, he said, a storm tore through his building, leaving lasting damage and, as he puts it, thrusting him into a legal battle with his insurance provider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The storm ripped off part of his roof, exposing the space to every weather event since then, Goebel said. In St. Louis, that\u2019s no small threat \u2014 the city experiences 40 to 50 days of thunderstorms a year, according to the National Weather Service<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s one of the most heartbreaking things to wake up at 2 in the morning and hear rain falling,\u201d Goebel said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even tougher for Goebel: He said his \u201cMade in America\u201d company could benefit from President Donald Trump\u2019s tariffs on foreign imports were it not for his insurance struggle. Goebel Furniture was offered several large and highly lucrative contracts, but Goebel said he had to turn them down because of the deteriorated condition of the business\u2019 facility and equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUnder normal circumstances, they would have been transformative. But instead, we\u2019ve been effectively held hostage by Cincinnati Insurance,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat we\u2019re dealing with is not the disaster of the storm; it\u2019s the disaster of the insurance that\u2019s supposed to protect us from the storm.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Goebel said his policy with Cincinnati Insurance Co. included $1 million in coverage for the building and $200,000 for business personal property. But he claims the company isn\u2019t holding up its part of the deal. Since he sued the insurer in 2021, he has been locked in a legal fight that is headed to court for a jury trial on Aug. 18.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since he filed his claim, he has received about $50,000 from Cincinnati Insurance \u2014 a small fraction of the amount needed to repair the roof and get his business back to the condition it was before that initial storm, Goebel said. He said the money stretched only far enough for tarps, to replace some machinery and make other temporary fixes. Goebel said it\u2019s difficult to estimate exactly how much it would cost to get his business back to where it was because of ongoing, escalating damage to the roof, <\/strong>the inside of the building, equipment and projects since then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEvery time it rains, it gets a little bit worse and a little bit worse and there\u2019s a new leak somewhere else,\u201d Goebel said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a statement to NBC News, Cincinnati Insurance said, \u201cWe believe in paying claims quickly and fairly, and we pay billions of dollars in covered claims each year.\u201d While it said it can\u2019t comment specifically on Goebel\u2019s case, it says in a court filing that based on its experts\u2019 inspections, \u201cthe existence of hail or wind damage is an open question of fact.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Goebel counters by saying he and his own experts insist a storm was clearly the cause. NBC News\u2019 Climate Unit confirmed a hailstorm did hit St. Louis during the period Goebel claimed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf you buy furniture from me, I can\u2019t just all of a sudden say: \u2018Seems expensive. I\u2019m not going to deliver that today.\u2019 It\u2019s unacceptable,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s empirical data as to why this has happened. There\u2019s color weather radar; there\u2019s physical damage. It\u2019s a pure decision.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That decision, Goebel said, has had devastating consequences. He laid off 75% of his staff and said he took on a second job as an adjunct professor at Washington University to support his business, as well as his wife and baby at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s killing me. This company is my livelihood,\u201d Goebel said. \u201cThe idea that after all of that education, after all of that effort, after all the sleepless nights, after all the dirt that comes off you in the shower, the thing that\u2019s going to take me down is my insurance company? That\u2019s insanity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n