Caesars Entertainment – the casino and hotel operator behind Caesars Palace, Bally’s, Harrah’s, Planet Hollywood Las Vegas, and more – is suing its insurers for denying its business interruption claims for over $2 billion in losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
The lawsuit, filed in Clark County District Court on March 19, named 60 insurers which Caesars alleges rejected its claims. The company had about $3.4 billion in insurance policies for catastrophic business losses.
Las Vegas Review-Journal listed some of the names of the insurers involved in the case, which include Ace American Insurance Company, Allianz Global Corporation, and American Guarantee and Liability Insurance Company.
Attorneys representing Caesars said in the civil complaint that the casino company had paid $25 million in premiums to its insurers for “all risk” insurance, and that business interruptions caused by a pandemic should be covered.
“This risk was covered and not excluded in the All Risk Policies at issue,” the lawsuit said. But the insurers “have failed to pay a single penny for the business interruption at Caesars’ properties caused by … the novel coronavirus.”
The Associated Press reached out to several of the insurers named by the lawsuit.
A representative from Zurich NA said that it was not the company’s practice to comment on ongoing litigation.
Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty said that it was assessing claims from businesses worldwide, and would honor pandemic-related claims “where they are part of our policies and cover is clear.” But AGCS also added that many businesses were unable to purchase cover that would allow them to claim on their insurance for COVID-19 related losses.
