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Business Interruption Insurance Class Action Lawsuit Overview:
- Who: Canadian business owners convinced a judge to certify a class action lawsuit against 14 property and casualty insurers.
- Why: Plaintiffs allege the insurers failed to provide them with what amounted to billions of dollars in business interruption insurance owed to them for COVID-19 related damages.
- Where: The class action lawsuit is pending in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
An Ontario Superior Court judge has certified a class action lawsuit alleging 14 property and casualty (P&C) insurers kept Canadian businesses from receiving billions of dollars in business interruption insurance.
Insurers refused to provide compensation to policyholders who experienced disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the class action lawsuit, which was filed on behalf of more than 100,000 Canadian business owners.
Kirk Baert, a partner at Koskie Minsky LLP, said, in a statement released at the time of the class action lawsuit’s filing in August 2020, that the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are specifically what business interruption insurance is intended to cover.
“Business interruption insurance is designed for circumstances such as the current pandemic,” Baert said in the statement. “Many business owners who have contacted our firm have paid significant insurance premiums going back a decade or more, to have business interruption insurance coverage in place, and now find that their insurance claims are denied without even a cursory investigation of their business losses during the COVID-19 shutdown.”
The insurance policies held by the plaintiffs do not exclude “contamination by pandemics,” according to the class action lawsuit.
All 14 of the Canadian insurers named in the class action lawsuit have jointly denied the allegations, according to The Globe and Mail.
Plaintiffs are seeking punitive damages of either $100 million or whatever the court deems to be fair.
Do you believe Canadian businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic should qualify for business interruption insurance? Let us know in the comments!
The plaintiffs are represented by Kirk Baert, James Sayce and Nathalie Gondek of Koskie Minsky LLP and Evatt Merchant and Christopher Simoes of Merchant Law Group LLP. The Business Interruption Insurance Class Action Lawsuit is Workman Optometry Professional Corporation, et. al. v. Aviva Insurance Company of Canada, et. al., Case No. CV-20-00643488-00CP, in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Canada.
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2 thoughts onBusiness Interruption Insurance COVID-19 Damage Denial Class Action Certified
Yes I believe they should. I lost more than half my business and I was with intact commercial insurance. They laughed at me and thought I was ridiculous for even asking and said I was not covered. I canceled my insurance immediately with then stating unfair business. I was paying $1200.00 a year
How do you sign up to be part of this class action against the insurers? Denying claims for Business interruption during Covid was about as low as can be