Pollution, Contamination Exclusion Bars Coverage For COVID-19 Losses, Judge Says

Mealey's (December 14, 2020, 3:41 PM EST) -- KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An insurer owes no coverage for business losses sustained by a business owner as a result of shutdown orders issued to slow down the spread of the novel coronavirus because the insured suffered no direct physical loss and because the policy’s pollution or contamination exclusion clearly bars coverage, a Missouri federal judge said Dec. 2 (Zwillo V. Corp., et al. v. Lexington Insurance Co., No. 20-339, W.D. Mo., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 230672)....