HOUSTON – Hurricane season isn’t quite here yet, but there may be a different kind of disaster to feed the appetites of storm chasing attorneys for the time being – COVID-19 business interruption claims.
Since 2007, The Record has reported on the thousands upon thousands of lawsuits Texas trial lawyers bring against insurance companies every time a storm, whether it be rain, wind or hail, strikes the state, including cases being handled by the Daly & Black law firm.
For example, Daly & Black lost a hail suit against the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association back in September. At trial, testimony was given that the plaintiff’s roof shingles were “hand manipulated” and jurors opted not to award any damages.
Around the same time, Daly & Black was also imploring district judges in Jefferson County to stay numerous Hurricane Harvey lawsuits that TWIA, the defendant in the cases, sought to move forward.
The endless flood of storm lawsuits led the Texas Legislature to change the law in 2017. But now, a new tide may be rolling in.
On its website, Daly & Black has added a new tab labeled: “COVID-19 Business Interruption.” Once clicked, the words “Are Business Interruption Losses Covered By My Insurance Policy?” immediately pop up in bright blue.
Below that question is a recent video of President Donald Trump talking about how he’d like to see the insurance companies pay, if they need to pay, for business interruption claims.
Keep scrolling down and next is a video featuring John Black, a founding partner at Daly & Black.
“Our law firm is currently at the forefront of looking at this issue and analyzing these policies and we plan on filing cases of significant value in the near term and testing these cases in the courts,” Black says in the video.
Daly & Black is not the only Texas law firm trolling for clients.
Bill Voss of The Voss Law Firm, another firm specializing in insurance litigation, recently sent out the following email: “Breaking: Leading Insurance experts estimate that 75-80% of all business interruption insurance polices have virus exclusions. Are you part of the 20-25% that's covered? Is COVID-19 covered under "Act of God" Policies? Call Voss at (281) 842-8679 - We can help you find out. The light at the end of the tunnel can sometimes be a train.”
Eric Dick, another storm-chasing attorney, has also been busy emailing: “If you own a restaurant or a bar and you have a business interruption insurance policy you can probably claim your losses under ‘civil authority.’”
Steven Badger, an insurance defense attorney with Zelle LLP in Dallas, says its no surprise that policyholder attorneys are already marketing for clients and lawsuits.
“We see that after every disaster,” Badger said. “Instead of filing premature … actions, attorneys should advise their clients to file insurance claims and allow the claims process to proceed in the normal course. The attorneys should then review the policy language and fairly evaluate whether the policy intended to provide coverage for these losses.
“They will find that most were not.”
Badger says if a legitimate dispute exists as to whether COVID-19 claims are covered, they can be addressed in the courts, just like they are after every catastrophe.
“This situation is no different,” Badger said. “The magnitude of this situation requires a government solution outside of the insurance context. Only 30 percent of small businesses even have business interruption insurance. So obviously a broader solution is needed to help most businesses.”
Zelle LLP represents the commercial insurance industry in emerging risk and catastrophe exposures.