Roux Webinar: Navigating Business Interruption Claims from the COVID-19 Pandemic
Presented by Ryan Stifter, M.S. of Roux and Michael A. Hamilton of Goldberg Segalla
Wednesday, April 15th at 1pm EDT
Property & Casualty insurers expect the COVID-19 pandemic to generate 30 million claims from businesses—10 times the previous annual record following Hurricane Katrina—totaling as much as $383 billion in monthly losses. Business interruption coverage, commonly a part of commercial property policies, provides relief to an insured for lost profit and extra expenses when its business operations are disrupted by “direct physical loss or damage” to insured property. Interpreting the “direct physical damage” requirement can be complicated by the varying ways in which the virus can affect use of property, prior court decisions, and contemporaneous lawsuits and ad hoc legislation seeking liberal policy construction or outright universal coverage. For claims moving forward, the expansive and continuing economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic complicates determining the quantum of loss for an individual business in terms of its allocation among other factors and the duration of the loss.
This webinar will review typical standards for business interruption coverage under commercial property policies and how the virus, current legal action, and the unique measures being taken to protect public health and the economy could impact coverage determinations. Attendees will also understand unique valuation issues that may arise, in instances where such claims are moving forward, and actions parties can take now to develop well-documented claims facilitating both processing and reserve estimation during the expected surge in claims.
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