As the number of coronavirus cases continues to surge across the country, insurers are already seeing numerous lawsuits for bad faith and business interruption claims related to the virus. The issue of bad faith looms for many insurers that are denying claims or investigating them to determine whether coverage exists.

This edition of Insurance Speak features a conversation with Brian Kabateck, the founding and managing partner of Kabateck, LLP, a well-known law firm based in Los Angeles. Kabateck has successfully won significant cases for policyholders against multiple insurance companies and shares his insights on what carriers need to know to avoid costly mistakes and better serve their policyholders, so they don't end up in litigation.

Approximately 6,500 lawsuits related to the pandemic have been filed across multiple industries, with almost 1400 of them involving the insurance industry. Kabateck says that the pandemic is a once in a generation event, and businesses are looking for ways to cover their losses. "Restaurants were decimated by the pandemic," he shares and there is an ongoing debate on how business interruption coverage will be applied to these losses.