Eagles sue insurance company over pandemic losses
Businesses small and large, including professional sports teams, have been going to court to get insurers to pay.
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The Eagles have sued an insurance company in a dispute over what the NFL franchise is owed from a policy as a result of economic losses from the pandemic.
Since the pandemic forced shutdowns and continuing restrictions beginning last year, businesses small and large have been fighting in courts nationwide trying to collect on claims denied by insurers.
The Eagles join other professional sports franchises including the NBA’s Houston Rockets, Sacramento Kings, and Los Angeles Lakers as well as dozens of minor-league baseball teams seeking payouts from their insurers.
On March 11, the Eagles filed a 141-page complaint in the Philadelphia Common Pleas Court against Factory Mutual Insurance Co., which is based in Rhode Island.
In an email, Steven Zenofsky, spokesperson for FM Global, the firm’s parent company, said: “FM Global values the long-term relationships we have with our policyholders and we are proud to be leading the industry for claims service. It is unfortunate when legal matters arise because we strongly believe our insurance policies are clear on the coverage provided.”
Insurers have said that they don’t have enough money to cover all the pandemic claims.
The Eagles organization, represented by lawyers from Blank Rome LLP, said in the complaint that “despite best efforts to navigate the pandemic,” the Eagles and its insured subsidiaries “have incurred and continue to incur substantial financial loss” caused by the coronavirus and resulting disruption of business.
The complaint describes the Eagles paying “top dollar” for “best-in-class insurance coverage” from Factory Mutual, but when the sports franchise sought to collect, it was denied by the insurer.
“In total, the Policy provides coverage of up to $1 billion per occurrence for precisely the type of losses incurred by the Eagles,” the complaint says.
“But Factory Mutual stated that it intends to strictly limit coverage to the $1 million aggregate sublimit for Communicable Disease coverage,” the complaint says.