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A restaurant in British Columbia has filed a class action lawsuit against Allianz Global Risks US Insurance Company for allegedly denying coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic in yet another business interruption insurance class action lawsuit.
The plaintiff, Yulancy Enterprises, is a restaurant at the Central City Mall’s food court in Surrey and a policyholder of business interruption coverage with Allianz Global Risks US Insurance Company.
Allianz Denies Policyholder Business Interruption Coverage
The plaintiff claims to have an “all risks” policy with Allianz that does not exclude interruptions for viruses nor pandemics.
The Allianz class action lawsuit claims that the restaurant’s business interruption coverage includes all risks of direct losses to the premises which also includes actual losses, extra expenses, contingent business interruption, and interruption by a civil authority.
The specific conditions of the restaurant business interruption coverage say that in the event of a business interruption not only business income, but extra expenses will be covered “in order to continue as nearly as practicable the ‘normal’ conduct of the ‘Business,’”according to the Allianz class action lawsuit Canada.
Losses in business income also include events of prevention of goods supplied, customers being prohibited, or neighbouring businesses’ traffic being reduced and therefore affecting the insured business. In the restaurant’s case, the business was in the mall, meaning nearby traffic to the restaurant was reduced.
Lastly, the Allianz class action lawsuit describes the policy’s interruptions by a civil authority clause. The insurance policy states it is “extended to insure the loss of ‘Business Income’, loss of ‘Rental Income’ or ‘Additional Increase in Cost of Working’, as applicable, suffered by you during the period of time, not exceeding one ‘month’, while access to the ‘Premises’ is prohibited by order of civil authority,” says the court documents.
The restaurant and Class Members in the Allianz class action lawsuit claim the insurance policy was supposed to grant them peace of mind while the pandemic’s orders shut down restaurants.
Pandemic Causes Major Business Interruptions For Restaurants
On or about March 17, 2020, it was announced that there was a COVID-19 outbreak in British Columbia and the health officers called the outbreak a regional event, according to the Allianz class action lawsuit.
Then, on about March 20, 2020, in an effort to slow the COVID-19 outbreak, all businesses that serve food and drinks were ordered to restrict their services to only take out or delivery. 
Restaurants were also forced to limit the number of occupants to a maximum of 50 and ensure social distancing measures were followed.
At the same time, Vancouver established a $50,000 fine for any businesses that did not follow social distancing rules.
Furthermore, the restaurant business interruption class action lawsuit alleges an employee at the Central City Mall contracted COVID-19 and the mall needed to tighten its safety measures. Shopping at the mall was drastically reduced and the food court’s seating was closed. The restaurant was forced to halt its normal operations due to the pandemic.
The Class Members were forced to close or severely restrict their operations after this unforeseeable event occurred. The Allianz insurance class action lawsuit claims that the Class Members have suffered losses as a result of the pandemic with no relief from their insurers.
Business interruption coverage has been a hot topic during the pandemic, as the hospitality sector has taken a major hit. Other business interruption coverage class action lawsuits have been filed claiming similar grievances. One shockingly similar restaurant business interruption class action lawsuit in Toronto has also accused Allianz of denying coverage. A Toronto owner of several restaurants was denied business interruption insurance despite having held a policy that included coverage for loss of revenue and added expenses.
Allianz Insurance Sued for Breach of Contract
Yulancy Enterprises and Class Members claim Allianz Insurance breached contract for denying policyholders coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Allianz class action lawsuit says the insurance company has acted in bad faith by not paying out Class Members claims.
Allianz is accused of breaching Canada’s Insurance Act, RSBC 1996, c. 226.
The Class Members are seeking punitive, special, and general damages plus court costs in the Allianz class action lawsuit.
Yulancy Enterprises filed the Allianz class action lawsuit on its behalf and on behalf of other Canadian restaurant owners, with the exclusion of those in Quebec, who have been denied coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic.
If you are a B.C. business owner who was denied business interruption coverage amid the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, legal help is available for you! Fill out the form on this page and an experienced lawyer will review your case for free. You may be eligible to join this business interruption insurance investigation.
Yulancy Enterprises and Class Members are represented by Anthony Leoni and Silvana Herra of Rice Harbut Elliot LLP.
The Allianz Class Action Lawsuit is Yulancy Enterprises Ltd. v. Allianz Global Risks US Insurance Company, Case No. S2011440, in The Supreme Court of British Columbia, Canada.
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