Does My Business Interruption Provide Coverage For Loss Income Due to COVID-19?
Does My Business Interruption Provide Coverage For Loss Income Due to COVID-19? As a general statement it depends. You would need to read the coverage set forth in your policy. First look to your policy declaration page, it will list all the coverage you purchased. First you want to look to see if you have business income and expense coverage (or something similar). The first place to look is not under what is covered. Rather what acts or incidents the policy does not cover (excluded claims). An insuranc
e is written so it provides coverage then, item by item removes certain losses from coverage. For example most policies exclude damages resulting from terrorism, war, and/or acts of god.
As it relates to COVID-19, the first thing to do is review the policy for a virus/bacterial losses exclusion paragraph. This would apply to ALL potential claims for loss due to virus or bacteria that applies to property damage to buildings or personal property and endorsements that cover business income, extra expense, or action of civil authority, such as mandated closures. Even if there is no specific virus/bacteria exclusion, most policies will include language excluding damages caused by government actions or inaction (depending on the action). In the case of COVID-19 the various government orders shutting down “non-essential” businesses.
The reality is your commercial general liability insurance policy is a novel of complex inclusions and exclusions, if you have questions as to your policy or what claims you may have, feel free to contact Thomas Law.
