10109.
(a) With respect to a policy of commercial insurance that provides coverage for business interruption, the following rebuttable presumptions affecting the burden of proof apply in a case in which the insured alleges that the business interruption was due to the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and occurred during the period of the state of emergency declared by the Governor due to the COVID-19 pandemic:(1) With respect to coverage for general business interruption and extra expenses, a rebuttable presumption applies that COVID-19 was present on the insured’s property and caused physical damage to that property which was the direct cause of the business interruption.
(2) With respect to coverage for business interruption due to an order of civil authority, a rebuttable presumption applies that COVID-19 was present on property located within the geographical location covered by the order of civil authority and caused physical damage to that property which was the direct cause of the insured’s business interruption.
(3) With respect to coverage for business interruption due to impairment of ingress and egress, a rebuttable presumption applies that COVID-19 was present on the property of a third party and caused physical damage to that property which was the direct cause that prevented the ingress and egress to the insured’s property and resulted in the insured’s business interruption.
(b) For purposes of this section, “civil authority” includes any federal, state, or local government, or the governing body or duly constituted agencies of any federally recognized Indian tribe, and their instrumentalities, divisions, political subdivisions, enterprise boards, and business entities.
(c) This section does not affect the applicability of any policy provision, including any language addressing loss or damage caused by a virus. However, COVID-19 shall not be construed as a pollutant or contaminant for purposes of any exclusion within a commercial insurance policy unless viruses are expressly included in that exclusion policy language.