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Chubb Faces Litigation Over Denial of COVID-19 Business Interruption Coverage

"If we are unable to prevail in this particular case with such a clear policy, that means every insurer will get off the hook and avoid meeting its obligations, even though it collected premiums for years and years," said Podhurst Orseck partner Steven Marks.

April 22, 2020 at 09:00 AM

4 minute read

Raychel Lean

The original version of this story was published on Daily Business Review

A South Florida restaurant forced to close under COVID-19 stay-at-home orders filed a putative class action Monday accusing the world's largest property casualty insurer Chubb Ltd. and its subsidiary Westchester Surplus Lines Insurance Co. of systematically refusing to honor business-interruption policies, in what it calls a "blatant breach" of contract.

Named plaintiff Cafe International Holding Co. LLC, which owns IT Italy in downtown Fort Lauderdale, has retained Steven Marks of Podhurst Orseck and Stephen Zack of Boies Schiller Flexner to represent it in the putative class suit against New Jersey-based Chubb.

Hundreds of thousands, "if not millions," of policyholders could be affected, according to the plaintiffs team, who said the stakes are high.