Johnson & Wales University sues insurer over pandemic losses

Johnson & Wales University downtown Providence campus. Photo by Steve Klamkin WPRO News

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Johnson & Wales University is suing its insurer over financial losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic, alleging the company breached its contract because it did not allow the university to claim pandemic-related economic losses.

The university, whose main campus is based in Providence, Rhode Island, said that the American Guarantee & Liability Company’s current policy does not have preventative pandemic-related coverage in its insurance policy to cover economic losses, The Providence Journal reported Sunday.

As a result of the pandemic, the university said it lost enrollment, tuition, housing and dining revenues while expensing additional COVID-19 safety protocols.

In the lawsuit, Johnson & Wales asked the court to rule that the insurer must cover its financial losses “totaling many millions of dollars.”

A spokesperson for Zurich Insurance Group, American Guarantee’s parent company, did not respond to an email from the newspaper. The company has not yet responded to the lawsuit in court.

More from 630WPRO.COM