# Are we going to see a lot more virus liability waivers?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-going-to-see-a-lot-more-virus-liability-waivers/914505>\
**Category:** The Quarantine Zone\
**Tags:** covid-quarantine\
**Created:** [July 6, 2020, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-going-to-see-a-lot-more-virus-liability-waivers/914505 "2020-07-06T17:16:09Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![RealityCheck71](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitycheck71/32/3493_2.png) [@RealityCheck71](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityCheck71)\
**Post date:** [July 7, 2020, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-going-to-see-a-lot-more-virus-liability-waivers/914505/21 "2020-07-07T16:06:48Z")

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If God took his finger and gave the Earth a good poke, insurance companies would claim “acts of God” are a term of art and don’t literally mean an obvious action taken by God.

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**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\
**Post date:** [July 7, 2020, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-going-to-see-a-lot-more-virus-liability-waivers/914505/22 "2020-07-07T17:04:04Z")

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> [@Dr\_Paprika](#):
>
> some insurance companies are being sued for not paying out when clauses would seemingly imply they should.

Speaking as someone in the insurance industry, I’m seeing the opposite. I’m seeing legislators forcing insurance companies to pay even though the language policy explicitly excludes infectious disease. Or when there is no physical damage to the establishment, despite that being required to trigger the coverage.

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**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\
**Post date:** [July 7, 2020, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-going-to-see-a-lot-more-virus-liability-waivers/914505/23 "2020-07-07T17:22:52Z")

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I’m sure you are right. But I’m also sure both types of cases exist and each policy has different boilerplate. Since claimed damages are high, there is no doubt the future will bring more specific restrictions. I was thinking of one specific Canadian case. One sentence of a policy was highlighted in a news show. One sentence does not convey a whole agreement, which I have no desire to read anyway.

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**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\
**Post date:** [July 7, 2020, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-going-to-see-a-lot-more-virus-liability-waivers/914505/24 "2020-07-07T20:42:18Z")

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There have been recent Canadian stories about how many charities are being asked to sign policies excluding any possible future infectious claim, or tripling of cost for some condo owner insurance in BC. If there are claims and a desire for payouts (warranted or not), sharper criteria are inevitable.

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