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Albert (Bert) B. Randall, Jr. discusses the range of pandemic-related business claims, legal outcomes to date and policy renewal advice.

Almost immediately after Covid hit, many businesses saw the writing on the wall. As revenue sputtered or came to a halt, those businesses started turning to their insurance carriers to see whether losses could be covered.

In this podcast, Albert (Bert) B. Randall, Jr. dissects the pandemic's impact on coverage litigation — business interruption, workers' compensation, Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) and brokers' liability claims.

As Bert points out, legal outcomes in the United States to date have heavily favored insurers, especially at the federal level. But, he says, "should a policyholder prevail, you're likely going to see copycat litigation spring up fairly quickly."

The vast majority of the litigation to date has involved business interruption losses – with courts generally finding no physical damage or loss – and workers' compensation claims, in which Bert believes employers will become more creative in rebutting presumptions.

And what if there are new governmental shutdowns and mandates? Bert says if that happens and more governmental funding is not available and businesses "start incurring additional losses that are greater than what their operations can handle, you may see them forced into litigation."

Looking down the road, Bert notes that the pandemic has dramatically altered the business landscape: "Going into renewals, policyholders really need to examine how their operations have changed and what are their new exposures."

Listen to the full interview with Bert Randall on the impact of Covid-19 on the practice of insurance coverage law.

About Albert (Bert) Randall:

Bert Randall is the President of Franklin & Prokopik, and is based out of its Baltimore, Maryland office.  His varied practice involves both complex civil litigation and strategic planning for his clients.  Bert heads F&P's Labor & Employment Practice Group and is a senior member of its Business & Corporate Practice Group where he advises and defends companies ranging from small family-owned businesses to Fortune 500 companies.  He serves as general counsel to some of Maryland's largest trade associations, has testified before Maryland's General Assembly on a variety of employment-related legislation and is a nationally recognized speaker and author.