[News] Flames suing insurers for $125 million in COVID related losses

[sureLoss]

https://calgaryherald.com/news/local...box=1647883584

The Calgary Flames have launched a $125-million lawsuit against its insurers for losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement of claim filed in Calgary Court of Queen’s Bench, the team says the coronavirus fits squarely within the contemplated coverage it purchased from a group of six different insurers.

“Calgary Flames (limited partnership) bought — at significant expense — a best-in-class ‘all risks’ business interruption insurance policy from the defendants,” the claim states.

“The all risks policy broadly covered ‘all risks of direct physical loss or damage.’ The all risks policy promised to indemnify Calgary Flames LP against loss of revenue and certain other expenses if it could not use its arenas or other insured properties due to the impact of external physical peril,” it states.

“These covered perils include known and unknown risks, including noxious substances that render arenas unusable. COVID-19 and the COVID-19 virus were precisely among the perils and risks covered. In short, Calgary Flames LP purchased the all risks policy to cover the losses that it could suffer as a worldwide series of physical catastrophes like those brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The claim does not divulge what the team’s premiums on the policy were.

The named defendants are Westport Insurance Corp., Royal and Sun Alliance Insurance Company of Canada, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, Aviva Insurance Company of Canada, Northbridge General Insurance Corp., and Special Program Group Canada Inc., operating as Can-Sure Underwriting.

The claim goes on to state the virus “caused physical changes to the air, surfaces, and interior spaces of the Saddledome and other insured properties and rendered the Saddledome and other insured properties physically unusable for their intended purposes. COVID-19 and the COVID-19 virus resulted in government orders forbidding access to the Saddledome or other insured properties due to the damage caused by and the risks posed by (the coronavirus).”

The lawsuit claims the insurers specifically chose not to include a “broad virus or pandemic exclusion that other insurers specifically used to exclude coverage for all losses in any way related to virus or pandemics. Rather the insurers offered coverage with narrower and fundamentally different exclusions (called either a ‘contamination exclusion’ or ‘pollution exclusion’) that did not bar coverage for the types of COVID-19 losses suffered by Calgary Flames LP.”

It says the pandemic measures instituted by health authorities renders the Saddledome unusable for its proper purpose.

[TheRealPepman]

Well this is a first for a sports team. Perhaps more teams will follow suit? Or is this a strange/"get money back" move done by CSEC?

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Interesting. Have any other teams done this? I would’ve thought most teams would have similar coverage. Or have any other teams got paid?

[PeteMoss]

including noxious substances that render arenas unusable

This seems like a stretch.

[Toonage]

Best of luck with that

[Hockeyguy15]

I have no sympathy for insurance companies. Best of luck to the Flames.

[Puppet Guy]

Originally Posted by PeteMoss

including noxious substances that render arenas unusable

This seems like a stretch.

There's an Oilers joke in there somewhere.

[D as in David]

Originally Posted by PeteMoss

including noxious substances that render arenas unusable

This seems like a stretch.

You've never been to Rogers Place, I'm guessing.

[dino7c]

It's not really strange IMO

You spend your money on insurance to cover all risks and when something happens they say...oh except that.

These companies are crooks, happens on the smaller scale all the time

[old-fart]

Insurance companies will look for any reason NOT to pay a claim. Unless they have specifically excluded pandemics, this could be an interesting case. Makes perfect sense to sue.

[TheIronMaiden]

Go Flames Go!

[Parallex]

Well... good luck to them. If Canadian courts are anything like American ones they're going to need it.

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/ar...ainst-insurers

[tripin_billie]

Interesting to see the Flames following up with their own suite. They weren't part of the 20 teams that already sued as a combined entity: https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com...es-321181.aspx

I hope the teams all win. Insurance companies love to collect premiums and then try to squirm out of paying with any measure possible. If you can't actually cover the losses (and the insurer should be re-insured for this), then they shouldn't be offering the insurance product in the first place.

[calgarywinning]

Originally Posted by Hockeyguy15

I have no sympathy for insurance companies. Best of luck to the Flames.

The problem with this is they will just make us pay more whether they win or lose. Dirtbag industry.

[Johnny Makarov]

Can they sue the anti-vaxxers too?

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Hockeyguy15

I have no sympathy for insurance companies. Best of luck to the Flames.

Agreed, just as bad as Oil companies.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by old-fart

Insurance companies will look for any reason NOT to pay a claim. Unless they have specifically excluded pandemics, this could be an interesting case. Makes perfect sense to sue.

From the wording of the release that appears to be the case, that there some some specific exclusion for pandemics or disease and the wording of the insurance policy seems to tilt specifically toward your traditional physical interruptions to use of sporting facilities like physical damage, noxious gases, etc.

The Flames are trying to argue that viruses are physical and can be inhaled and they should be paid out by their policy.

As others point out, it sounds like they had a standard business-interruption policy and those didn't typically cover pandemics and most lawsuits are failing in the states. Business interruption insurance covers losses of income only when there has been physical damage — such as from fire/food/smoke damage, etc. — but not when the premises remain unharmed. The wording of the Flames release seems to be arguing that the virus caused physical changes to the air, surfaces, and interior spaces to get around this.

[zamler]

Noxious substances sustain Edmonton. We are merely repulsed they are molded by it.

[Locke]

Having been screwed by Insurance for pretty much the entirety of my life....

Go Flames Go!!

That being said, this will be interesting. Weaseling out of paying is what every great insurance company does, so I'm intrigued to see how this plays out.

[Krovikan]

Originally Posted by Parallex

Well... good luck to them. If Canadian courts are anything like American ones they're going to need it.

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/ar...ainst-insurers

Canadian courts are quite different then US courts, it's impossible to use US decisions to figure out what a ruling would be in a Canadian court. Everything from oversight, jurisdiction, how judges are employed, guiding documents, etc. are all extremely different.