Business interruption insurance and liability issues remain on the front burners as governments begin gradually “” amid scary new projections about the pandemic.(, May 5, 2020) (, May 5, 2020) (, May 4, 2020) D.C.Business Interruption Insurance Move on Hold A measure that would make it easier for small businesses in Washington, D.C.

to claim coronavirus-related damages under business interruption insurance policies  after six of the 12 D.C.Council members raised concerns about its legality and the costs it could impose on insurers.Council Chairman Phil Mendelson struck the language from a broader pandemic emergency bill to allow for more debate.

Councilman Charles Allen had spearheaded the measure after many small businesses have seen their insurers deny such claims.The American Property Casualty Insurance Association  local businesses could claim losses of hundreds of millions of dollars each month.“These numbers dwarf the premiums for all relevant commercial property risks in the key insurance lines for D.C., which are estimated at $16 million a month,” David Sampson, the association’s president and CEO, wrote in a statement.

“We oppose constitutionally flawed legislation that retroactively rewrites insurance contracts and threatens the stability of the sector, to the detriment of all policyholders.” (, May 6, 2020) (, May 5, 2020) (, May 5, 2020) (, May 4, 2020) (, May 4, 2020) (, May 3, 2020) Care Homes Seek Shield From Lawsuits Faced with 20,000 coronavirus deaths and counting, the nation’s nursing homes are pushing back against a potential flood of lawsuits with a sweeping lobbying effort to get states to grant them emergency protection from claims of inadequate care.The Associated Press that at least 15 states have enacted laws or governors’ orders that explicitly or apparently provide nursing homes and long-term care facilities some protection from lawsuits arising from the crisis.And in the case of New York, which leads the nation in deaths in such facilities, a lobbying group wrote the first draft of a measure that apparently makes it the only state with specific protection from both civil lawsuits and criminal prosecution.

(, May 5, 2020) (, May 5, 2020) (, May 4, 2020) (, April 19, 2020)