Restaurant Industry Seeks Guidance from President in COVID-19 Coverage Battle

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Five well-known chefs have asked President Trump for support and guidance in their efforts to require insurers to pay COVID-19-related business interruption claims filed by restaurants across the nation.

In an April 1 phone call, chefs Thomas Keller, Wolfgang Puck, Daniel Boulud, and Jean- Georges Vongerichten introduced the president to Business Interruption Group (BIG) a newly formed legal, political, and communications campaign launched in partnership with insurance attorney John W. Houghtaling II of Gauthier, Houghtaling LLP in Metairie, La.

BIG says on its website, www.werbig.org, that it is demanding “immediate insurance payment for civil authority coverage that …