Restaurants And Insurers Square Off In Battle Over Pandemic Payments

A lobbying effort has pitted the restaurant industry against insurers as the American economy attempts to find its way out of the coronavirus pandemic, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The restaurants want President Donald Trump to pressure insurance companies to cover “business interruption” claims during the pandemic. Restaurants and allies say the mass shutdowns of most businesses constitute business interruptions, even though some restaurants have policies excluding losses from pandemics.

They want insurers to pay out restaurants even if the restaurants didn’t have coverage for pandemics before, according to a group called Business Interruption Group (BIG). The group is made up of various well-known names in the industry, including Thomas Keller of Napa Valley-based French Laundry, fusion cook expert Wolfgang Puck, and José Andrés, a chef-activist who has opposed Trump in the past, canceling a restaurant opening in one of Trump’s hotels after Trump made disparaging comments about immigrants on the campaign trail.

The BIG Coalition says restaurants, as the country’s largest employer with over 15 million jobs and around $1 trillion in contributions to the economy, need whatever help they can get.

But insurers say the restaurants’ push for more coverage could end up “exploiting” the insurance system and undermine it in the long run, having the effect of stopping the recovery before it even starts, according to David Sampson, president and CEO of the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.

Supporting the insurers is a group of Republican senators, who on April 10 sent Trump a letter strongly advising against “knee-jerk administrative action” that could undermine long-term recovery efforts with the insurance system.

If the federal government doesn’t end up finding a solution, those left unpaid by insurers could seek legal recourse to force payment.

Conservative groups have publicly advocated for limits on lawsuits surrounding the pandemic, accusing some groups of being “predatory” and simply out to line their own pockets while the country tries to recover.

However, for now anyway, Trump has listened to the restaurants, saying it would be disastrous if they didn’t get insurance payments through the pandemic and, after a call with several chefs, Trump said it was important to give restaurants and bars incentives to stay open.

Trump also appointed Keller, Puck and others to a new task force to explore how to restart the economy.