Best Week quoted Haynes and Boone, LLP Partner Barry Buchman in a story discussing potential first-party insurance coverage for businesses affected by Hawaii volcanic activity.
Here’s an excerpt:
Insurers are likely to incur business interruption losses as volcanic activity on the Big Island in Hawaii impacts infrastructure, sends noxious gasses and ash into the air and triggers evacuations, according to Haynes and Boone insurance recovery practice group partner Barry Buchman. ...
“The mere threat of imminent danger can be enough” to trigger first-party coverage, Buchman told Best’s News Service. ...
“I don’t know why this would be any different from a hurricane or a mudslide or wildfires,” Buchman said. “This has caused substantial property damage [and] it’s causing government authorities to order more evacuations as more vents appear,” indicating civil authority coverage under first-party policies.
Buchman said the Kilauea eruption could lead to tighter contingent business interruption language in policies if it were to become a multibillion-dollar event. …
Excerpted from Best Week. To read the full article, click here. (Subscription required)