Opinion ID: 6350548
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Heading: Bed bugs?

Text: AFM Mattress Company ran 52 mattress stores in Indiana and Illinois. Motorists Commercial Mutual Insurance Company insured AFM with a policy covering loss of Business Income, Extra Expense, and loss due to actions of a Civil Authority. The Business Income provision states: We will pay for the actual loss of Business In- come you sustain due to the necessary “suspen- sion” of your “operations” during the “period of restoration”. The “suspension” must be caused by direct physical loss of or damage to property at premises which are described in the Declarations and for which a Business Income Limit Of Insurance is shown in the Declarations. The loss or damage must be caused by or result from a Covered Cause of Loss. The Extra Expense provision states: We will pay Extra Expense (other than the ex- pense to repair or replace property) to: (1) Avoid or minimize the “suspension” of bus- ness and to continue operations at the de- scribed premises or at replacement prem- ises or temporary locations, including relo- cation expenses and costs to equip and op- erate the replacement location or temporary location. (2) Minimize the “suspension” of business if you cannot continue “operations”. No. 21-1865 3 The Civil Authority provision states: In this Additional Coverage, Civil Authority, the described premises are premises to which this Coverage Form applies, as shown in the Declarations. When a Covered Cause of Loss causes damage to property other than property at the described premises, we will pay for the actual loss of Busi- ness Income you sustain and necessary Extra Expense caused by action of civil authority that prohibits access to the described premises, pro- vided that both of the following apply: (1) Access to the area immediately surround- ing the damaged property is prohibited by civil authority as a result of the damage, and the described premises are within that area but are not more than one mile from the damaged property; and (2) The action of civil authority is taken in re- sponse to dangerous physical conditions re- sulting from the damage or continuation of the Covered Cause of Loss that caused the damage, or the action is taken to enable a civil authority to have unimpeded access to the damaged property. But the policy also contained a Virus Exclusion:
plies to all coverage under all forms and en- dorsements that comprise this Coverage Part or Policy, including but not limited to 4 No. 21-1865 forms or endorsements that cover property damage to buildings or personal property and forms or endorsements that cover busi- ness income, extra expense or action of civil authority.
by or resulting from any virus, bacterium or other microorganism that induces or is ca- pable of inducing physical distress, illness or disease. AFM puts the occurrence this way: “When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020 and the governors of Illinois and Indiana ordered the closure of business throughout their respective states, AFM was forced to cease business activities at all 52 of its stores.” (Appellant’s Br. at 5.) AFM submitted a claim for coverage. Motorists denied it.