Safeco Insurance COVID-19 Denials Lawsuit Investigation

Did Safeco claim they won't cover coronavirus losses?

Many businesses have reportedly been told that their insurance will not cover losses due to COVID-19 or government-imposed shut downs. But legally, many insurance companies don’t have the final say in whether or not their policies will cover coronavirus.

If you have an insurance policy with Safeco Insurance, and have suffered business losses due to COVD-19, you may have a claim. Get a free policy review today.

Did You Buy a Business Insurance Policy Through Safeco?

Get a free consultation. Your claim may have been wrongfully denied.

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Safeco Business Interruption Insurance Lawsuits: Are My COVID-19 Losses Covered?

Many businesses pay for business interruption insurance to protect themselves should some unforeseen occurrence cause them to lose income or shut down. However, now that many of these businesses have had to shut down and have suffered grave financial losses as a result, insurance companies such as Safeco have refused to cover COVID-19 related losses.

While many of these companies claim that their policies do not include coverage for the coronavirus pandemic and related closures, this may not legally be the case. Pandemic-related losses are typically covered in several different ways, including:

  • Physical Loss: Some courts have found that loss of access to your property may actually count as a physical loss.
  • Civil authority: Some policies cover losses for government-mandated closures, which may not require you to have physical loss or damage in order to gain coverage.
  • Reasonable Expectations Doctrine: The reasonable expectations doctrine is a legal principle that focuses not just on the text of the policy, but also the reasonable expectations of the policyholder. Some courts use this doctrine to rule in favor of more coverage.
  • Virus Exclusions: Even if your policy excludes viruses, if the wording is ambiguous, or you also have civil authority coverage, you may still be covered for your COVID-19 business losses under the reasonable expectations doctrine.

Every individual policy is different, and may provide coverage in ways not previously disclosed. Get a free policy review today to learn more about your legal options.

Safeco Lawsuits: Safeco Reportedly Takes Advantage Of Its Clients

Safeco has faced many individual and class action lawsuits over the years. These lawsuits have been filed by a variety of different claimants, including business owners, home owners, motorists, and automobile drivers.

According to one lawsuit filed by a business owner, Safeco allegedly delayed payments of coverage to the plaintiff, failed to properly investigate the insurance claim, and unreasonably compelled the plaintiff to undergo litigation to recover compensation under the terms of the policy.

If you have a Safeco insurance policy, and believe you could be entitled to coverage, we may be able to help. Speak with an insurance lawyer to learn more about your options.

How do I know if I'm Insured by Safeco?

Safeco, a Liberty Mutual company, was originally established as the General Insurance Company of America in 1923. The company has since re-branded itself as Safeco, or Selective Auto and Fire Insurance Company of America.

If you have a Safeco insurance policy, it may have been issued by Safeco, or any of its affiliated underwriting companies. Policyholders with any of these underwriting companies may have a claim:

  • America First Insurance Company (NAIC #12696)
  • America First Lloyd’s Insurance Company (NAIC #11526)
  • American Economy Insurance Company (NAIC #19690)
  • American Fire and Casualty Company (NAIC #24066)
  • American States Insurance Company (NAIC #19704)
  • American States Preferred Insurance Company (NAIC #37214)
  • Consolidated Insurance Company (NAIC #22640)
  • Employers Insurance Company of Wausau (NAIC #21458)
  • Excelsior Insurance Company (NAIC #11045)
  • First National Insurance Company of America (NAIC #24724)
  • General Insurance Company of America (NAIC #24732)
  • Hawkeye-Security Insurance Company (NAIC #36919)
  • Indiana Insurance Company (NAIC #22659)
  • Insurance Company of Illinois (NAIC #26700)
  • Liberty County Mutual Insurance Company (NAIC #19544)
  • LM Insurance Corporation (NAIC #33600)
  • Liberty Mutual Mid-Atlantic Insurance Corporation (NAIC #14486)
  • Liberty Northwest Insurance Company (NAIC #41939)
  • Mid-American Fire & Casualty Company (NAIC #23507)
  • The Midwestern Indemnity Company (NAIC #23515)
  • Montgomery Mutual Insurance Company (NAIC #14613)
  • The Netherlands Insurance Company (NAIC #24171)
  • North Pacific Insurance Company (NAIC #23892)
  • Ohio Security Insurance Company (NAIC #24082)
  • Peerless Insurance Company (NAIC #24198)
  • West American Insurance Company (NAIC #44393)

Our Attorneys

Jason Gibbs

A founding partner at Gibbs Law Group, Eric has negotiated groundbreaking settlements that resulted in meaningful reforms to unlawful business practices. He was recently recognized as California Lawyer Attorney of the Year and was named to the Top Plaintiff Lawyers in California for 2019.

Andre Mura

Andre represents plaintiffs in high-stakes complex litigation and appeals in state and federal courts throughout the country. He has authored briefs filed in the U.S. Supreme Court and received the California Lawyer Attorney of the Year Award in 2019.

Amy Zeman

Amy Zeman represents clients in a wide variety of complex litigation, with experience working closely with class representatives and consumer contacts. She uses her prior career experience as an accounting/ compliance manager in the financial services sector to identify and investigate fraud claims.

Aaron Blumenthal

Aaron Blumenthal represents consumers, employees, and whistleblowers in class action and other complex litigation.

Andrew Friedman

Andrew is a Partner at Cohen Milstein and the Co-Chair of the firm’s award-winning Consumer Protection practice group. Mr. Friedman is a nationally recognized leader in the area of complex, multi-state lawsuits against major insurers, credit card companies, and other manufacturers and service providers.

Geoffrey Graber

Geoffrey leads Cohen Milstein’s Business Interruption Insurance team. As a Partner and a member of the Consumer Protection practice group, he specializes in complex litigation involving false advertising, fraud, and other forms of unfair business practices at the hands of insurance companies, banks, health care companies, and others.

Victoria Nugent

Victoria is a Partner at Cohen Milstein and Co-Chair of the firm’s Public Client practice. She represents clients in civil law enforcement investigations and litigation involving consumer protection, fraud, and other areas of enforcement.

 

Eric A. Kafka

Eric is a member of Cohen Milstein’s Consumer Protection practice. He also serves on Public Justice’s Class Action Preservation Committee.

 

Karina G. Puttieva

Karina is a member of Cohen Milstein’s Consumer Protection practice and focuses on litigating class actions on behalf of consumers who have been harmed by large corporations.

We have assembled a coalition of two prominent law firms – Gibbs Law Group and Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll – with expertise in successfully litigating insurance fraud claims and other complex litigation. Spanning from the east to west coast, our firms have earned numerous awards for our innovative strategies and relentless efforts to advance and protect plaintiffs’ rights in complex cases, class actions and individual litigation.

Our clients benefit from our size and resources. Our attorneys have litigated against some of the largest corporations in the world, and we have recovered billions of dollars on our clients’ behalf. Together, our team is committed to going above and beyond for our clients as we strive to protect their rights.

titan of plaintiffs bar award
best law firm ranking
chambers USA leading firms award
daily journal top plaintiff lawyers award

Gibbs Law Group

Gibbs Law Group is a California-based law firm committed to protecting the rights of clients nationwide who have been harmed by corporate misconduct. We represent small businesses, individuals, whistleblowers, and employees across the U.S. against the world’s largest corporations. Our award-winning lawyers have achieved landmark recoveries and over a billion dollars for our clients in high-stakes complex lawsuits and individual cases involving consumer protection, data breach, digital privacy, and federal and California employment lawsuits. Our attorneys have received numerous honors for their work, including:

  • Daily Journal, “Top Boutique Law Firms in California” (2019)
  • Law360, “Titans of the Plaintiffs Bar- Eric Gibbs” (2019)
  • Law360, “Class Action Practice Group of the Year” (2020)
  • Daily Journal, Two “California Lawyer Attorney of the Year (CLAY) Awards” (2019)
  • Daily Journal, “Top Plaintiff Lawyers in California- Eric Gibbs” (2019, 2016)
  • Best Lawyers in America (2012-2019)

Cohen Milstein

Cohen Milstein’s award-winning Consumer Protection practice is at the forefront of representing individuals, retailers, restaurants, and other small businesses in insurance fraud and coverage litigation, having litigated individual and class action lawsuits against many of the leading health, life, and property and casualty insurance companies before state and federal courts across the United States.

We have received numerous accolades for our work in consumer law:

  • Law360, “Consumer Protection Group of the Year: Cohen Milstein” (2019)
  • Law360, “Practice Group of the Year – Consumer Protection” (2018)
  • The National Law Journal, “Winner – Elite Trial Lawyers – Consumer” (2018)
  • Law360, “Practice Group of the Year – Class Action” (2017)