Virus Exclusion Dashes Car Dealerships’ Hopes for COVID-19 Coverage

CAMDEN, N.J. — A New Jersey federal judge has dismissed a COVID-19 business interruption coverage action filed by four vehicle dealerships against Zurich American Insurance Co., ruling that the alleged losses fall within the policy’s virus exclusion.

In a Feb. 10 order, Judge Freda Wolfson of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey rejected the dealerships’ argument that the exclusion is ambiguous, ruling that “the provision in no way suggests that the virus must be present at the insured property for the exclusion to apply.”

Causeway Automotive LLC, Conti Causeway Ford Inc., Causeway Nissan LLC, and …