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Law360 (July 22, 2020, 9:35 PM EDT) -- Travel insurer Assicurazioni Generali Group was hit with another proposed class action accusing it of wrongfully denying coverage for a trip that was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a suit filed in Texas federal court.
The Monday complaint alleges that Generali has refused to provide reimbursements for canceled travel plans and beachside accommodations for a Florida wedding originally slated to be held this spring. The carrier promised it would send "detailed explanations" for the coverage denial but in fact never did, according to the suit.
Tralisa Sheridan of White Oak, Texas, said she bought a $180 travel insurance policy with Generali in March 2019, when she paid $3,500 through Vrbo.com to reserve beachside accommodations for her daughter's wedding in spring 2020. Sheridan's family and her son-in-law's relatives planned to drive to Florida on March 21, her complaint said.
However, on March 19, the group decided to cancel the trip and rental reservation due to government warnings of COVID-19 and concerns over the availability of gas amid the pandemic. Even if the group had elected to go, the wedding still would have been canceled since Florida shut down Navarre Beach, where the ceremony was to be held, on March 21, Sheridan said.
Sheridan called Generali on March 21 and was told to file her claim online, which she did the next day. Generali denied her claim in late April, saying she would receive an "email with detailed explanations shortly." However, as of the day she filed the lawsuit, she had not received any emails with the "detailed explanations" Generali promised, Sheridan said.
In the complaint, Sheridan said that the policy specifically covers travel cancellations due to unforeseeable events, such as a natural disaster that occurs before departure. She argued that neither she nor the rest of the travelers could have possibly foreseen the coronavirus outbreak when she booked the trip in 2019.
Sheridan's complaint described the COVID-19 pandemic as a natural disaster, citing that President Donald Trump has "officially approved declarations of disaster" for Texas and Florida and initiated federal disaster response activities.
"The whole basis for this complaint is the definition of natural disaster," Derek Potts, an attorney representing Sheridan, told Law360 on Wednesday, adding that Generali never defined what a natural disaster is in the policy.
"If an insurance company does not define a term in the insurance policy, a layperson buying the policy should be entitled to a reasonable interpretation of the term," he said.
Sheridan pointed out in the suit that her policy stated that it would provide for incidents of "being hijacked or quarantined," and clearly defined "quarantine" as "enforced isolation ... for the purpose of preventing the spread of illness, disease or pests."
The Texas resident said Generali has "adopted an approach to categorically issue denials to every claim arising during the natural disaster that was brought on by COVID-19." She is seeking to represent a nationwide class or an alternative Texas class of Generali travel insurance policyholders who have been prevented from traveling during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We're seeing too many examples of insurers in the travel and hospitality sector attempting to shirk their responsibilities and failing to honor rightful claims," said Potts, Sheridan's attorney. "Through a class action against these defendants, we will seek the compensation that thousands of individuals who booked through Vrbo and purchased this insurance are due." Potts added that he sees strong potential for multidistrict litigation for the unpaid travel insurance claims.
Sheridan is asking the court to hold that Generali has failed to compensate the proposed class for their losses as required by the policy. She is demanding damages to be determined in a jury trial.
Generali was slapped with another proposed class action in New York federal court in June accusing it of wrongfully withholding insurance premiums for trips canceled due to COVID-19. Florida resident Howard Morris, who bought a $1,298 travel insurance policy with Generali, alleged that the insurer refused to give any refunds of premiums paid for canceled trips despite his "numerous requests," and has instead been giving out vouchers that require rebooking by the end of the year.
Generali could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.
Sheridan is represented by Derek Potts and James Ryan Fowler of Potts Law Firm and R. Brent Cooper of Cooper & Scully PC.
Counsel information for Generali could not immediately be determined.
The case is Tralisa Sheridan v. Assicurazioni Generali Group S.p.A. et al., case number 2:20-cv-00244, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
--Editing by Daniel King.
For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.
