In one of the more notable COVID-related insurance lawsuits so far, heavy metal overlords Metallica have sued “Lloyd’s of London” and others in Los Angeles Superior Court for failing to provide them with an indemnity.
According to press reports, the band allege that they purchased “cancellation, abandonment and non-appearance insurance” which ought to have responded when they were forced to cancel a six-leg tour of South America in April 2020 by reason of Covid-related travel restrictions. Insurers are said to have withheld cover based upon a communicable disease exclusion, which Metallica are denying applies.
This is a departure from many of the Covid-related lawsuits filed so far on both sides of the Atlantic. These have tended to involve companies looking to claim under business interruption policies for losses they have incurred as a result of government-imposed lockdowns.
It remains to be seen how Metallica will fare. An early issue must surely be the identity of the defendants since “Lloyd’s of London” is famously only a marketplace for the purchase of (re)insurance and not actually Metallica’s insurer.
Other insurers named in the lawsuit are said to include Talbot Syndicate, Liberty Mutual Insurance Europe SE, Brit Syndicates 2987 and 2988, Munich Re, Great Lakes Insurance SE.
