The problem for policyholders is that they’re required to show physical loss or damages to make a claim for business interruption. Typically, he said, insurers will pay out business interruption insurance if, for instance, a company has to shut down because of a fire or a natural disaster. Civil authority provisions cover shutdowns mandated by state or local governments in response to nearby disasters, such as a business that’s ordered to close its doors because of a chemical release at a manufacturing plant down the street, Badger said.

COVID-19 shutdowns, he said, don’t fit either of those scenarios. Policyholders whose businesses were closed because COVID-19 molecules were found on their premises may argue that the virus constituted physical damage. That will be a question for courts to decide, Badger said. But widespread shutdowns of uninfected businesses, in order to slow the spread of the virus, cannot trigger business interruption or civil authority coverage.