Midwestern Healthcare Network Not Covered for COVID-19 Losses, Minn. Federal Judge Rules

MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota federal judge has dismissed a healthcare network’s COVID-19 coverage action against American Guarantee and Liability Insurance Co., ruling that neither government closure orders nor the virus itself caused it to sustain “direct physical loss of or damage to” covered property, as required by the policy.

On Feb. 28, Judge Susan R. Nelson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota further found that the policy’s coverage for Civil Authority and Communicable Disease was not triggered because the government orders did not prohibit access to HealthPartners Inc.’s facilities or deem them uninhabitable.

HealthPartners is the …