Virus Exclusion Bars Coverage for Calif. Medical Clinic, Federal Judge Rules

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge has ruled that a policy’s virus exclusion relieves State Farm General Insurance Co. of the duty to provide coverage for a medical clinic’s COVID-19-related business income losses.

In a Dec. 10 order, Judge Haywood S. Gilliam Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California explained that government orders requiring the clinic to limit its operations were issued to prevent the COVID-19 virus from spreading. Therefore, the virus exclusion applies to the clinic’s losses, the judge reasoned.

HealthNOW Medical Center Inc., which operates the Root Cause Medical Clinic, says it …