June 1 marked the start of hurricane season, and according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Atlantic hurricane season will be a busy one. NOAA predicts a 60% chance of an above-normal season, a 30% chance of a near-normal season and only a 10% chance of a below-normal season. Since June 1, there have already been five named storms in the Atlantic; Cristobal was the earliest “C” storm on record and its…

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Court Declines Jurisdiction Over COVID-19 Insurance Dispute

By Emily M. Ruzic & Alex Purvis

June 1, 2020

The recent procedural ruling by a Pennsylvania federal court highlights another area of uncertainty in the growing wave of insurance litigation related to COVID-19: will these cases proceed in state or federal courts? The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania on its own volition remanded a Pittsburgh restaurant’s lawsuit seeking insurance coverage for business interruption losses stemming from the COVID-19 shutdown. The court questioned but did not determine whether it had diversity…

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Is Civil Authority Insurance Coverage the Solution for Businesses Sustaining Losses from COVID-19?

By Katherine J. Henry & Andrea Kotrosits

May 22, 2020

Many of the early insurance-related COVID-19 lawsuits seek insurance coverage under the civil authority coverage grant in commercial property policies. Restaurants filed the first cases (Cajun Conti LLC, et al. v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London, et al. and French Laundry Partners LP, et al. v. Hartford Fire Insurance Co., et al.) quickly followed by similar lawsuits filed by the Chickasaw and Choctaw tribes in Oklahoma. Even more recently, restaurants in Chicago and Tampa filed…

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Louisiana Seeks to Protect Businesses, Big or Small, from COVID-19

By Stephanie J. Dinan & Katherine J. Henry

May 18, 2020

Louisiana, like many other states, has proposed two insurance coverage bills in response to COVID-19’s devastating impact on businesses. While Louisiana’s House bill is limited to small businesses, the Senate bill is not. Both require insurers to cover COVID-19 related losses under certain circumstances. House Bill 858 requires every insurance policy issued to insureds with less than 100 full-time employees that covers loss or damage to property, including the loss of use and occupancy and…

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Homesick for Home Games: Plaintiffs File Class-Action Suit Against MLB Demanding Refunds for Tickets

By Stephanie J. Dinan & Katherine J. Henry

May 15, 2020

COVID-19 has changed the daily lives for all Americans, and this includes a spring with no baseball. Fans across the nation had tickets in hand for the 15 games set for Opening Day on March 26, 2020. However, on March 12, 2020, Major League Baseball (MLB) announced that Opening Day would be postponed. Now, seven weeks into the original MLB schedule and no games played, fans are beginning to see the season as cancelled, despite…

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Business Interruption Coverage for COVID-19 Losses: You Can Satisfy the “Physical Loss or Damage” Requirement in Your Commercial Property Policy

By Christine Spinella Davis

April 24, 2020

Although your insurance company undoubtedly will try to convince you that you have no coverage for your business interruption losses from COVID-19, do not be so quick to accept the insurer’s position. In its simplest terms, the business interruption coverage in most commercial property policies provides coverage for a covered cause of loss if (1) a suspension of operations has occurred for a certain period of time; and (2) the suspension is caused by direct…

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Check Your Commercial Property Policy for Potential Coverage for COVID-19

By Christine Spinella Davis

April 8, 2020

If your organization sustains COVID-19 losses, carefully examine your commercial property insurance policy for coverage. Although your insurer may deny coverage by claiming that your policy requires physical loss or property damage, do not accept that assertion. Adhesion or attachment of the coronavirus onto an insured’s property may constitute “direct physical loss” and trigger coverage under many property policies. A close reading of your policy and understanding of the law in your jurisdiction is essential…

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States Look to Business Interruption Insurance Coverage to Save Small Businesses from COVID-19

By Katherine J. Henry, Stephanie J. Dinan & Andrea Kotrosits

April 2, 2020

As COVID-19 halts commercial activity throughout the United States, states have jumped into action to preserve insurance coverage for small businesses. New Jersey led the way by proposing legislation requiring property policies to cover business interruption losses resulting from COVID-19: “[n]otwithstanding the provisions of any other law, rule or regulation to the contrary, every policy of insurance insuring against loss or damage to property, which includes the loss of use and occupancy and business interruption…

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Beware of Insurers’ Attempts to Use Fear of COVID-19 to Deny Coverage

By Katherine J. Henry & Andrea Kotrosits

March 26, 2020

As COVID-19 leads to event cancellations worldwide, the insurance market is scrambling to minimize its financial exposure to event cancellation claims. Although we have seen event policies with COVID-19 exclusions and others with contamination exclusions that insurers will cite to deny coverage, many event cancellation policies lack these problematic exclusions. But insurers are turning to another defense by contending that cancellation based on attendees’ fear of COVID-19 does not trigger coverage and are doing so by relying…

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The “Physical Loss” Requirement for Business Interruption Claims Amid the Coronavirus

By Heather Howell Wright & G. Benjamin Milam

March 25, 2020

The massive economic disruption caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic raises questions about insurance coverage for business interruption losses from communicable disease. Does viral contamination constitute the “physical loss” required to trigger this type of coverage? Although courts have not yet provided guidance specific to COVID-19, past rulings suggest that coronavirus contamination may constitute physical loss or damage triggering coverage for business interruption losses. Business interruption (BI) insurance, also known as business income or time…

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DEVELOPMENTS AND TRENDS IN INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR COMMERCIAL POLICYHOLDERS

Blog Authors

Hurricane Season: Why All Property Owners Should Consider Flood Insurance

Court Declines Jurisdiction Over COVID-19 Insurance Dispute

Is Civil Authority Insurance Coverage the Solution for Businesses Sustaining Losses from COVID-19?

Louisiana Seeks to Protect Businesses, Big or Small, from COVID-19

Homesick for Home Games: Plaintiffs File Class-Action Suit Against MLB Demanding Refunds for Tickets

Business Interruption Coverage for COVID-19 Losses: You Can Satisfy the “Physical Loss or Damage” Requirement in Your Commercial Property Policy

Check Your Commercial Property Policy for Potential Coverage for COVID-19

States Look to Business Interruption Insurance Coverage to Save Small Businesses from COVID-19

Beware of Insurers’ Attempts to Use Fear of COVID-19 to Deny Coverage

The “Physical Loss” Requirement for Business Interruption Claims Amid the Coronavirus

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