Virus Exclusion Applies to Supplier's COVID-19 Losses, N.J. Federal Judge Rules

TRENTON, N.J. — A virus exclusion prevents a building materials supplier from obtaining coverage from Charter Oak Fire Insurance Co. and Travelers Indemnity Co. for losses it sustained during the COVID-19 pandemic, a New Jersey federal judge has ruled.

In a Sept. 22 order, Judge Michael A. Shipp of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey found OEG Building Materials’ losses fall within the exclusion, which says the insurers “will not pay for loss or damage caused directly or indirectly by” viruses or bacteria.

“To be sure, in the past year, many nearly identical virus exclusion provisions …