Due to the circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses were forced to shut down for various reasons, including government closure orders, lack of business or coronavirus contamination of the property. As a result, businesses submitted claims in connection with business interruption legislation, seeking coverage under first-party property policies. As property policies typically contain a virus exclusion, various insurers legitimately denied coverage based on the virus exclusion in the policy and/or because the presence of the virus did not constitute "direct physical loss" as required by the policy. As such, various businesses filed lawsuits against the insurers seeking coverage. Courts in various states have issued differing decisions as to whether there is coverage for business interruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic and/or whether government shutdown orders constitute a "direct physical loss" that triggers the policy. Below are links to the various states' respective decisions.
Links to COVID-19 Coverage Decisions
Originally published August 24, 2020.
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