As you may be aware, attorneys nationwide are pursuing widespread litigation against insurers, in an attempt to contort business interruption (BI) policies to cover businesses’ losses from the coronavirus pandemic.

As the insurance regulation expert and former Senator of Nebraska Ben Nelson explains in a recent op-ed, these lawsuits are misguided as the focus should be on passing government-backed pandemic relief—the viable solution struggling businesses need.

Below are key points from Sen. Nelson:

• Global pandemics are uninsurable. “The cost of underwriting these pandemics would be massive for insurers—nearly $400 billion per month—which would make such coverage extremely, and likely prohibitively, costly for small business owners. Requiring insurers to pay out for uncovered claims would be unfair to other policyholders who already paid to have their claims insured and would threaten the ability of the industry to serve policyholders and lead to the collapse of the industry, especially as we enter the busy hurricane and wildfire summer season.”
  

• The litigation trend is distracting and a waste of resources for struggling small businesses. “BI litigation is not only unproductive and unnecessary, it is also a clear attempt to profit off small business owners and disrupt progress toward sustainable, government-backed solutions to the economic challenges our country is facing.”
  

• Amid this crisis, the federal government is the only entity with the capacity to support small businesses and the broader economy. “[O]nly the federal government has the financial capacity to provide the critical relief small businesses need today. I’ve witnessed first-hand debates regarding whether the government should intervene during an economic crisis. Given the scale of this pandemic and economic recession, a federal response is critical. The government has already taken steps to help provide safety nets for Americans and industries—from stimulus checks to bailout money—and continuing to support small businesses in need is merely the next step.”
  

You can read the full op-ed here. This post can be viewed here, and for more information and resources, visit fairinsure.org