The NHL’s Calgary Flames have filed a $125 million lawsuit with the Calgary Court of Queen’s Bench against the team’s insurers, alleging they did not enforce the terms of its “all risks” policy amid the pandemic.
Forbes reported that the team’s 2021 revenue was $71 million, a sharp decline from the $120 million reported in 2020 and $138 million in 2019. It’s not clear how much the premiums were for the Flames’ policies.
The Flames allege the policy was supposed to cover “massive losses” for “all risks of direct physical loss or damage,” but their insurers concluded that “viruses do not cause physical loss or damage.” The insurers have not filed a statement of defense.
Pandemic Policies
Other NHL teams and the league itself have filed similar lawsuits.
- The NHL and 20 other clubs sued insurers in June 2021, with the league alleging breach of contracts for refusing to reimburse more than $1 billion of pandemic-related losses. A Santa Clara County Superior Courts judge rejected the lawsuit in February.
- The judge negated the league’s claim that “COVID-19 physically changed the air and surfaces at their properties.”
The NHL isn’t the only professional sports entity to sue insurers regarding their COVID coverage. MLB and all its teams filed lawsuits against their insurers, as did several NBA teams including the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers.
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