Insurers Win A Pair Of Business Interruption Lawsuits
Insurers won two large business interruption lawsuits last week, continuing a largely successful defense against paying pandemic business claims. In California, U.S. District Judge Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley ruled in favor of the insurance industry on pandemic business interruption claims filed by attorneys representing two French restaurants in the Napa Valley on the grounds that virus exclusion precludes damage coverage that were caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. "While the court recognizes the chaos that the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing protective measures have created businesses in this country and around the world, the court cannot put ambiguity into an insurance contract where there is none," said Judge Corley. This decision in California adds to the growing list of favorable decisions made over the past year and confirms the position of insurers that global pandemic risks are uninsurable. "Insurers are doing everything possible to respond to the pandemic, i...