Since March, litigation has engulfed many organizations in disputes stemming from the novel coronavirus pandemic. Class action securities litigation, bodily injury lawsuits, and insurance coverage litigation have already made their way to courts nationwide. With court systems across the country beginning to embrace the operational changes needed for legal systems to return to some level of normalcy, expect more categories of litigation to get filed in response to the massive casualties, disruption, and social divisions over coronavirus. Pandemic-fueled litigation will test the reliability of the insurance coverage many organizations have purchased. A rise in litigation will necessarily translate into a rise in insurance claims under policyholders’ third-party liability insurance.
Industries reliant upon people gathering in the same location will suffer the brunt of the business displacement. The cruise industry, casinos, sports leagues, theaters, restaurants, and travel businesses generally, will feel a disproportionate amount of pain, at least for the near term.
