Covid Insurance Coverage Decisions with Guest Marshall Gilinsky. Are Policyholders Catching Up?

September 22nd, 2022|Categories: ELP, Emerging Litigation & Risk, HB Emerging Law Notes|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

According to the online Covid Coverage Litigation Tracker (CCLT) run by Penn Law there have been more than 2,300 insurance coverage cases filed over denial of claims relating to Covid-19. Restaurants and bars were hardest hit by the pandemic and so led the way in seeking – and being denied – coverage, too. They are also leading the way in suing their insurers. The top five insurers in the defense position are Chubb Limited at #5, then #4 Lloyds of London, #3 Cincinnati Financial, and #2 Zurich.  And in the #1 position facing the most coverage suits is Hartford.  The insurance industry started off strong when this litigation began, winning the vast majority of the coverage suits. And they continue to do well, scoring with the argument that many of the claims do not involve actual property damage. Government closures don’t cause property damage, they [...]

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Charlie Kingdollar on Emerging Issues Facing the Property & Casualty Insurance Industry

March 17th, 2021|Categories: HB Emerging Law Notes, HB Tort Notes|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

Emerging Issues Facing the Property & Casualty Insurance Industry: What Has, What Is, What Will Be Charlie Kingdollar was Emerging Issues Officer for GenRe where he worked for 40 years, much of which was spent monitoring hundreds of new risks at any given time. In this article, Charlie discusses risks that have long-since emerged but continue today, risks that are starting to reveal themselves, and risks just starting to appear on the horizon. Read or download his article published in the latest issue of the Journal on Emerging Issues in Litigation.

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Covid-19 Insurance Coverage Disputes: Decisions on Physical Loss, Virus Exclusion

December 8th, 2020|Categories: HB Emerging Law Notes, HB Risk Notes, HB Tort Notes|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

Robert Laurie Melicent Thompson Vince Vitkowsky Elizabeth Ahlstrand Elizabeth Hoff Covid-19 Insurance Update by Gfeller Laurie LLP: Insurers Ahead, Policyholder Scores One With the current exception of JGB Vegas Retail Lessee, LLC v. Starr Surplus Lines Ins. Co., insurers continue to prevail in the overwhelming majority of those cases with decisions based on the absence of direct physical loss or analogous coverage terms, or on the presence of virus exclusions, or both. As the decisions proliferate, there is a certain repetitiveness in the arguments and analyses. Therefore, the synopses below will address only the essential holdings and certain distinctive or otherwise interesting aspects of the decisions. Decisions Granting Motions to Dismiss Based on Lack of Direct Physical Loss or Damage Uncork and Create, LLC v. The Cincinnati Ins. Co., Civil Action No. 2:20-cv-00401, 2020 WL 6436948 (S.D. W. Va. Nov. 2, [...]

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Business Interruption and Other Coverage Disputes Over COVID-19 Claim Denials

July 19th, 2020|Categories: Emerging Litigation & Risk, HB Emerging Law Notes, HB Risk Notes|Tags: , , , , , |

When it Comes to COVID-19 Shutdown Losses, Businesses Say Yes, Insurers Say No    Whenever a dispute arises over insurance coverage, the advice always starts off with “read the policy.” Well, policyholder businesses and insurers across the country are reading the same policies, but you wouldn’t know it. Claims are made. Claims are denied. Insureds say they are damaged. Insurers say they aren’t. And, because billions of dollars hang in the balance, litigation is born. And when you start messing with our favorite taste sensations, you know the sh!t is getting real. Here are a few recent actions for insurance law watchers out there.  --Tom Hagy, Managing Director Insurer-insured relationships sour in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Tennessee.   Owners of the popular Madison Sourdough bakery lost tremendous business because of a statewide “safer at home” order. Patrons and restaurants were denied their Viennoiserie, “yeast-leavened breakfast pastries,” a treat they came to love. The same was true for a chain of taverns, Willy McCoys. The drinking and eating establishments could not serve their loyal following of “everyday Joes” due to the COVID-19 [...]

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