Downtown army-navy store latest Boston company to sue insurer over coronavirus losses

The Kenmore Army & Navy Store, 477 Washington St. in Downtown Crossing, is suing its insurance company for the more than $320,000 it says it's lost due to the Covid-19 crisis - which it says its insurance company is supposed to cover.

In a suit filed in US District Court in Boston, Kenmore says it bought an "all-risk insurance policy" from Travelers Casualty Insurance Co. last November, with a "civil authority" clause promising to pay Kenmore for any losses caused by "loss of business income sustained when the action of a civil authority prohibits access to the business premises."

Kenmore says it hasn't been able to operate normally since March, when Gov. Baker issued his declaration of emergency and a series of orders aimed at slowing down the spread of the virus:

As a result of the foregoing facts and circumstances, there has been direct physical loss of and/or damage to property at the premises covered under the Policy by, among other things, the property being damaged, access to the property being denied, customers being prevented from physically occupying the property, the property being physically uninhabitable by customers, the function of the property being nearly eliminated or destroyed, and/or a suspension of business operations occurring at the property.

It's at least the third Boston company to file such a suit, joining Legal Sea Foods and Hampshire House Corp., the owner of the Cheers bar and 75 on Liberty.

Travelers has until next month to respond to the Kenmore suit.