Latest Business Interruption Headlines
All the headlines from our Business Interruption Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Stress Testing Shows Most Insurers to Withstand Pandemic Hit
Jun 1 2020 // Analysts at the AM Best ratings firm say their initial stress tests of insurance companies globally to gauge the preliminary impact from the COVID-19 pandemic on their financial strength found good news: “most...
Viewpoint: What’s Fair When It Comes to Paying Insurance Claims?
May 28 2020 // The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has tragically resulted in the deaths of 100,000 Americans, changed our day-to-day lives, hampered our economy, and forced us to reexamine how we live. As the country moves to reopening, after...
Lawmaker Details Federal Reinsurance for Pandemic Business Interruption, Event Losses
May 27 2020 // New York Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney has introduced the Pandemic Risk Insurance Act of 2020, a federal backstop for pandemic-related business interruption insurance modeled after the Terrorism Risk Insurance...
Property Damage – Is It Because the Government Says It Is?
May 27 2020 // Property Damage: Is it “Property Damage” Just Because a Jurisdictional Order Uses the Term “Property Damage”? Some plaintiff attorneys are almost giddy over the fact that several jurisdictions used...
Times Square to Go Dark to Shine Light on Fight Over Business Interruption Insurance
May 26 2020 // The digital billboards in New York City’s famous Times Square will go dark tonight at 9 pm ET for one minute to dramatize the plight of restaurants, non-profits and retailers across the country that are suffering...
Update: AXA to Pay Business Interruption Claims to Restaurants After Court Ruling
May 26 2020 // A Paris court ruled last week that AXA should pay a restaurant owner two months of revenue losses caused by the virus pandemic. AXA had argued its policy did not cover business disruption caused by the health...
French Court Orders AXA to Pay Restaurant’s COVID-19 Business Interruption Losses; AXA Vows to Appeal
May 22 2020 // A Paris court ruled that insurer AXA must pay a restaurant owner two months’ worth of coronavirus-related revenue losses, the restaurateur’s lawyer said on Friday, potentially opening the door to a wave of...
Insurers, Agents Propose Pandemic Business Relief Plan; Plaintiffs Offer BIG Compromise
May 22 2020 // Key segments of the property/casualty insurance industry, which is facing mounting claims for business interruption losses from the pandemic, have thrown their lobbying weight behind a proposed federal program to replace...
Federal Coronavirus Business Interruption Suits Now Top 100; Many More Expected
May 22 2020 // A federal court has received notice that 101 lawsuits have been filed as of Wednesday seeking coverage from insurers for business interruption losses caused by COVID-19. Plaintiffs attorneys say they expect the number to...
I’m From the Government and I’m Here to Help – Part 3
May 20 2020 // This is third in a series of posts where I plan to respond to the bills that several states have filed to force insurance companies to pay business income claims related to COVID-19. Not reimbursing insurers means higher...
P/C Insurers Back a Federal Pandemic Loss Fund But Not a Backstop Like TRIA
May 19 2020 // Property/casualty insurance carrier groups are developing a proposal for a federal program to replace revenues lost by businesses shut down during pandemics like COVID-19, but their program won’t be modeled after the...
AM Best’s Stress Testing Indicates Most Insurers Can Withstand Pandemic Hit
May 18 2020 // Analysts at the AM Best ratings firm say their initial stress tests of insurance companies globally to gauge the preliminary impact from the COVID-19 pandemic on their financial strength found good news: “most...
Why Trust When You Should Know?
May 18 2020 // It is often said that people buy insurance trusting that it will be there when they actually need it, and this is very true. But why trust when you should know? Also true, but rarely said is the following, “Often,...
Transparency Is Key for Insurance Agents Handling Coronavirus Claims
May 18 2020 // Business interruption insurance has been a much-debated topic during the coronavirus crisis, with some businesses already pushing back against virus-related claim denials. In several cities, groups of businesses have filed...
States Will Not Win in Mandating Coronavirus Business Interruption Coverage: S&P
May 18 2020 // Standard & Poor’s said it does not expect state legislators to succeed in their efforts to retroactively expand business interruption insurance coverage for COVID-19-related losses. The reason: An expectations of...
COVID-19 Clouding Cannabis Industry Pitfalls Amid Upbeat Outlook
May 18 2020 // The cannabis industry is being affected by COVID-19 much like other business sectors, but the complexities of this budding industry make its eventual recovery from the pandemic and ensuing economic fallout even harder to...
California Music Venues Sue Insurer over Business Interruption Related to COVID-19
May 15 2020 // San Francisco Bay Area-based music venue Ivy Room has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of California-based music venues against a major insurance provider, saying the venues were wrongfully denied coverage for losses...
Business Interruption Claimants Like How Some Localities Worded Emergency Orders
May 15 2020 // Cities and counties across the country may have handed plaintiff’s attorneys an argument to use in lawsuits against insurers that seek business-interruption coverage for losses caused by coronavirus closure...
Zurich Insurance Estimates Coronavirus Pandemic Claims to Hit $750 Million for 2020
May 14 2020 // Zurich Insurance estimates that the overall property and casualty (P&C) claims from the COVID-19 pandemic will be in the region of $750 million for 2020. To put that into context, Zurich’s CFO George Quinn said...
Fitch Sees Little Stress on Insurer Ratings From Pandemic. Thus Far.
May 14 2020 // Having reviewed 70% of all of the North American insurers it rates for the effects of the coronavirus and economic downturn, Fitch Ratings has affirmed the ratings of 72% of the carriers with stable outlooks. Only 4% have...
