Virus Exclusion Blocks N.J. Caterer from COVID-19 Coverage

TRENTON, N.J. — A New Jersey catering business cannot recoup its COVID-19 business interruption losses from Citizens Insurance Company of America because its losses fall within the policy’s virus exclusion, a New Jersey federal judge has ruled.

In a July 14 order, Chief Judge Freda L. Wolfson of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey rejected T&L Catering Inc.’s argument that the exclusion does not apply because government closure orders issued in response to the pandemic, rather than the virus itself, were the proximate cause of its losses.

“Indeed, even though the Closure Orders were an immediate …