GALVESTON COUNTY, TEXAS Celebrating 178 Years Friday, April 24, 2020 | THE DAILY NEWS | B3

CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK | LEGAL CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK | JOBS 26 million have sought US jobless aid since virus hit

Associated Press may be too soon to do so without causing new in- »»WASHINGTON fections. In Georgia, gyms, More than 4.4 million hair salons and bowling laid-off workers applied alleys can reopen Friday. for U.S. unemployment Texas has reopened its benefits last week as job state parks. cuts escalated across an Yet those scattered economy that remains all re-openings won’t lead to but shut down, the gov- much rehiring, especially ernment said Thursday. if Americans are too wary Roughly 26 million peo- to leave their homes. Most ple have now filed for job- people say they favor stay- less aid in the five weeks at-home orders, according since the coronavirus out- to a survey by The Asso- break began forcing mil- ciated Press-NORC Cen- lions of employers to close ter for Public Affairs and believe it won’t be safe to AP/File photo their doors. About one in six American workers lift social distancing guide- A customer enters the Billy Goat Tavern in 2005 under ’s Michigan Avenue. The once-busy diner tucked lines anytime soon. And below a Michigan Avenue overpass in Chicago famously inspired a Saturday Night Live skit starring John have lost their jobs in the past five weeks, by far the there are likely more lay- Belushi and as short-order cooks. But the money the Billy Goat Tavern is losing now because of offs to come from many state-imposed business closures during the coronavirus outbreak is no joke. worst string of layoffs on record. That’s more than small businesses that have the number of people who tried but failed to receive live in the 10 largest U.S. loans from a federal aid cities combined. program. Legal battles loom as businesses Economists have fore- The number of people cast that the unemploy- who are receiving unem- ment rate for April could ployment benefits has go as high as 20 percent. reached a record 16 mil- hit by virus sue insurers The enormous mag- lion, surpassing a previous nitude of job cuts has high of 12 million set in plunged the U.S. econ- 2010, just after the 2008- By MICHAEL TARM valid claims, the business omy into the worst eco- 2009 recession ended. This Associated Press “They are in the business of lawyers contend. They nomic crisis since the figure reflects people who point to separate policy »»CHICAGO selling people insurance for Great Depression of the have managed to navigate provisions requiring that the application systems in A once-bustling bar 1930s. Some economists exactly this kind of situation. insurers pay losses when say the nation’s output their states, have been ap- and grill tucked below a civil authorities intervene proved for benefits and are Michigan Avenue overpass could shrink by twice the They can’t now cry they’re during emergencies and amount that it did during actually receiving checks. famously inspired a “Sat- order businesses to close. Women make up a urday Night Live” skit star- poor when the very situation the Great Recession, The Billy Goat Tavern’s which ended in 2009. majority of workers in ring and Bill legal team says their case some industries that have Murray. But the money the they are insuring arises.” An urgent question for may be that much stronger the unemployed is how been hit hardest, such as Billy Goat Tavern is losing because their insurer did health care, where many during the coronavirus Chris Esbrook quickly the economy may not write in a virus exclu- rebound. Most econo- jobs outside hospitals have outbreak is no joke. Lawyer for Billy Goat Tavern sion and then still denied been lost, and hotels and The tavern and millions mists expect some em- coverage. ployers to start rehiring restaurants. Heidi Shier- of other shuttered busi- the insurance association Similar conflicts are play- Pressure on insurers isn’t holz, an economist at the nesses nationwide have estimated. Those unprece- ing out in Europe and Asia, within months, though only coming in the form of significant job gains aren’t progressive Economic turned to their insurers to dented numbers would be though they aren’t likely to lawsuits. Policy Institute, calculates multiple times higher than considered likely until later help recoup their losses see the torrent of lawsuits State lawmakers, in- that 56 percent of the lay- claims following the Sept. in the year. following state-mandate sure to come in the litigious cluding in , New offs have involved women. 11 attacks. Few experts foresee a closures, which combined United States. York and New Jersey, have African-Americans The expectation is that downturn anywhere near may exceed $300 billion a The question on which proposed laws that would and Latinos are typically insurers will continue to many cases will hinge is as long as the Great De- month. But insurers have dictate insurers accept among the first to be laid reject the vast majority of whether the presence of the pression. During the De- widely rejected the claims, business claims for corona- off in recessions. Though claims, triggering waves of virus in or near a business pression, unemployment so the Billy Goat joined a virus damage, in some cas- the government doesn’t growing line of businesses, lawsuits from businesses in can be categorized as direct stayed high for nearly a es even if policies exclude track the jobless claims including barbershops and nearly every town and city. physical damage, some- decade, with the jobless pandemics. data by gender or race, a casinos, suing insurers to Such a filing frenzy could thing that would otherwise rate remaining above 14 Industry advocates say survey by the University of force them to pay. add to logjams in courts be clearly covered. It’s a percent from 1931 all the such mandates could drain Southern California found “These businesses are in when they reopen fully af- question courts haven’t de- way to 1940. But unem- insurance funds needed that 21 percent of African the most trying times in ter the pandemic eases. finitively answered. ployment is considered to pay claims during up- Americans and 18 percent their history and are going Among dozens of law- Proving a microscopic likely to remain elevated coming hurricane season of Latinos say they have to their insurance compa- suits filed to date is one virus was ever even on a well into next year and and when other natural lost jobs in the past month, ny to get what they paid by the Choctaw Nation business’s premises, never probably beyond. disaster inevitably strike. compared with 15 percent for,” said Chris Esbrook, casinos in Oklahoma and mind damaged it, could The painful econom- The laws, they argue, also of whites. a lawyer for the landmark another by the Los Angeles pose a challenge to plaintiff ic consequences of the would undermine the con- Just about every major tavern, which opened in law firm of celebrity attor- attorneys. virus-related shutdowns tract law upon which free industry has absorbed 1934 and, as legend goes, ney Mark Geragos. The Pennsylvania Su- have sparked protests in markets rely. sudden and severe lay- cursed the . “You pay insurance for preme Court last week may several state capitals from “If elected officials re- offs. Economists at the Insurers say policies decades for precisely the have inadvertently helped crowds insisting that busi- quire payment for perils Federal Reserve estimate for natural or man-made unthinkable, and when it business owners make their nesses be allowed to re- that were excluded, never that hotels and restau- disasters don’t cover vi- happens these insurance case when it upheld a state open. Thursday’s report, rants have shed the most rus outbreaks that bring companies do the uncon- order closing nonessential underwritten for, and for showing that the pace of economies to a standstill, scionable” by rejecting businesses during the pan- which no premium was layoffs remains immense, jobs — 4 million since and high-stakes battles in claims, Geragos told The demic, likening the coro- ever collected, catastroph- could heighten demands Feb. 15. That is nearly courtrooms coast to coast Hollywood Reporter. navirus to hurricanes in its ic results will occur,” said for re-openings. one-third of all the em- Charles Chamness, pres- Some governors have ployees in that industry. are sure to follow. What’s at LITTLE SYMPATHY ruling. stake could be the survival “COVID-19 pandemic is, ident of the National As- begun easing restrictions Construction has shed of thousands of businesses Forcing insurers to pay by all definitions, a natural sociation of Mutual Insur- despite warnings from more than 9 percent of its if insurers don’t pay and hundreds of billions of dol- disaster and a catastrophe ance Companies. health authorities that it jobs. the insolvency of big-name lars a month could quickly of massive proportions,” the If you feel that planning your own funeral insurance companies if deplete the $800 billion set majority opinion said. is difficult, think of how your family would feel doing so. they do. aside to cover future home, Insurance companies say auto and other losses, ac- When you pre-plan your funeral In doing this you have also “Pandemic outbreaks most policies that cover un- you specify your desires. helped reduce the stress your are uninsured because they cording to the insurance anticipated interruptions To this end your funeral is family would otherwise face at are uninsurable,” David A. association. to a business’s operations directed as you prefer. this difficult time. Sampson, president of the The attorney for the Billy specifically exclude pan- We Specialize in pre-arrangements, call us today. American Property Casu- Goat, which expanded from demics. Such exclusions be- alty Insurance Association, its flagship site to include came more common after a HAYES FUNERAL HOME said this month. establishments around Chi- SARS virus outbreak in the 10412 Highway 6 • Hitchcock – Santa Fe STRAINING TO SURVIVE cago, says he has little sym- early 2000s devastated busi- pathy for insurers. nesses in parts of Asia. 409-925-3501 • www.hayesfuneralhome.com No revenue is flowing “They are in the business A message seeking com- into the Billy Goat, which of selling people insurance ment from the insurer the previously drew hundreds for exactly this kind of situ- Billy Goat is suing, Society Happy Hour Car of tourists a day, includ- ation,” Esbrook said. “They Insurance, wasn’t returned. ing some who remember can’t now cry they’re poor A note to policyholders 1/2 Price Drinks Trouble? the best-known line from when the very situation on the website of Travel- We’ve got you a series of late 1970s SNL they are insuring arises.” ers Indemnity, the insurer 7 Days a Week skits in which restaurant President Donald Trump Geragos is suing, reads like COVERED! staff rebuffs patrons order- recently expressed sympa- a blanket denial of virus 2-4pm ing anything but the house thy for businesses asking shutdown claims because Call Today specialties: “Cheezborger, insurers to pay up for busi- they’re “not a result of direct Texas City Santa Fe cheezborger, cheezborger! ness interruption coverage. physical loss or damage.” It 3221 Palmer Hwy 4202 FM 1764 409-949-9443 No Coke ... Pepsi.” “When they finally need also cites virus exclusions in Gerald Chevalier As many as 30 million it, the insurance company its policies. small businesses strain- & James Newlin says, ‘We’re not going to CIVIL AUTHORITY ing to survive with little give it,’” he said at a corona- INTERVENTION G & J to no revenue could sub- virus task force news con- Transmotive 3016 Palmer Hwy mit virus-related claims ference. “We can’t let that But such exclusions don’t Texas City, TX 77590 worth up to $430 billion, happ e n .” mean businesses don’t have Mon - Fri 8am - 6pm