A Little Rock dental network is suing its insurance carrier for denying coverage for business losses suffered as a result of COVID-19.
Rock Dental Arkansas PLLC and Rock Dental Missouri LLC have filed a federal lawsuit against the Cincinnati Insurance Co. in U.S. District Court in Little Rock and are seeking unspecified damages.
Rock Dental had 49 locations in Arkansas and 16 in Missouri last year.
In Arkansas, state officials issued a directive on April 3, 2020, that elective dental procedures in the state would stop. The restrictions were in place until May 11, 2020. Missouri also had similar orders.
“As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting civil orders, Plaintiffs have suffered a loss of Business Income,” the suit said. But the suit didn’t say how much was lost.
The companies said they had an “all risk” policy that didn’t exclude or limit coverage for business income losses from viruses, pandemic coverage and communicable diseases.
Rock Dental filed a notice of loss to its insurance company, but the claim was denied, the lawsuit said.
Rock Dental is suing for breach of contract. Rock Dental is represented by James Allen Carney, Randall Keith Pulliam and Jake G. Windley of Carney Bates & Pulliam PLLC of Little Rock.
A spokesperson for Cincinnati Insurance said, “We respect the rights of all parties to have their issues heard and resolved in a court of law. For that reason, we do not comment on pending litigation.”
The company also said that it “remains committed to doing our part to support the families and businesses in our agents’ communities, helping them to proactively manage risks and promptly paying covered claims.”
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