How Are Insurers And Policyholders Faring in COVID-19 Business Interruption Coverage Litigation?

The Complex Insurance Coverage Reporter
Highlighting significant legal developments for complex insurance claims and coverage litigation.
How Are Insurers And Policyholders Faring in COVID-19 Business Interruption Coverage Litigation?
It is well known that, under New York statutory law, an insurer that fails, in a timely manner, to advise a claimant of a disclaimer to its insured for a bodily injury claim can waive certain coverage defenses. This is a general statement of one aspect of New York Insurance Law § 3420.
In Colony Insurance Company v. Buckeye Fire Equipment Company, the insured was named a defendant in hundreds of underlying suits relating to its manufacture of fire equipment containing aqueous film-forming foam, a fire suppressant.
The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Department, decided an appeal from a trial court’s 2018 summary judgment ruling on a number of coverage issues arising out of asbestos-related bodily injury claims against plaintiffs Carrier Corporation and Elliott Company.
After an insurance carrier denied a lawyer and her law firm’s claim for lost business income due to the COVID-19-related shutdown, she sued both her carrier and the insurance producer that procured the policy.
Insuring Against Climate Change:
How Traditional Insurers and Start-Up Companies are Implementing
Innovative Technologies to Address Climate Risks