7264. Business Interruption Insurance: Advanced Coverage Issues

This course builds on the foundations of first-party property insurance to examine business interruption coverage, one of the most heavily litigated and economically significant areas of insurance law. Students will analyze how courts, insurers, and policyholders have approached business income claims arising from major disruptions in recent history, including the COVID pandemic, the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center, Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy, wildfires in the West, and global supply chain failures. Coverage topics will include the "direct physical loss or damage" trigger and its interpretation in the pandemic litigation, the period of restoration, the measurement of lost income and extra expense, civil authority and ingress/egress coverage, contingent business interruption and dependent property exposures, utility service interruption, virus and anti-concurrent causation exclusions, and emerging questions about non-physical and cyber-related business interruption. The course will also address the practical side of these claims, including the role of forensic accountants, appraisal, proof of loss, and bad faith.