Educational Consulting Firm Loses Bid for COVID-19 Coverage

JACKSON, Miss. — A policy’s virus exclusion bars coverage for an educational consulting firm’s COVID-19 business interruption losses, a Mississippi federal judge has ruled, granting Sentinel Insurance Company Ltd.’s motion to dismiss a declaratory judgment lawsuit.

In a June 29 order, Chief Judge Daniel P. Jordan III of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi rejected The Kirkland Group’s argument that its virus-related losses were caused by an “explosion” or “falling objects.”

In March 2020, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves temporarily closed all public schools and instructed residents to avoid gatherings of more than 10 people due …