The business interruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has generated a flood of client inquiries about coverage disputes across several industries such as the airline, hotel, restaurant, and manufacturing industries. As discussed in our blog, “Epidemiology’s Impact on COVID-Related Business Interruption Disputes,” attorneys are preparing for arising litigation by consulting with epidemiologists and other public health experts to pinpoint the exact cause of business closures or reduced functions and activities. However, at the core of many of these disputes are issues involving the interpretation and understanding of policy language. Bad faith denials of coverage for claims under property & casualty, business interruption, virus exclusion, civil authority, and others have caused economic instability or fallout to small and large businesses across the globe.
Two complexities to litigating coverage disputes correlate to the uniqueness of each insurance policy and the construction of the contract under specific state insurance contract law. A parsing of the meaning of clauses and exclusionary language for viruses and bacteria within the policies are areas that will require experts with experience underwriting, investigating, denying, and allowing claims to offer supporting expert witness testimony.
Below are the types of experts who can best address insurance policy questions for coverage disputes.
- Former insurance claims administration executives understand claims processing, claims investigation, and bad faith set-ups and denials.
- Former insurance underwriting executives are familiar with coverage and actuarial issues related to underwriting.
- Industry executives knowledgeable of the claims at issue and their impact on the insureds’ business
WIT’s COVID-19 expert team includes academic and industry professionals with vast knowledge and experience in fields affected by the pandemic. Check out our COVID-19 Initiative page to learn more about our expert team or contact us to discuss your expert witness needs. Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter to stay up-to-date on our latest insights.