Kanye West’s company is reportedly suing various syndicates of Lloyds of London for $10m (£7.6m) after the hip hop star cancelled a string of concerts last year and checked into a neuro-psychiatric centre in Los Angeles.
According to Hollywood Reporter, Very Good Touring is taking the insurer to court because the latter is hinting that it will refuse to pay out after the gigs were cancelled because of a medical condition, purportedly brought on by marijuana use.
The publication says a loss claim was tendered two days after the musician checked himself into a psychiatric centre in LA, but he and his company still have not been paid more than eight months later, according to the suit.
“Nor have they provided anything approaching a coherent explanation about why they have not paid, or any indication if they will ever pay or even make a coverage decision, implying that Kanye’s use of marijuana may provide them with a basis to deny the claim and retain the hundreds of thousands of dollars in insurance premiums paid by Very Good,” a complaint filed on Tuesday in California federal court reads, according to Hollywood Reporter.
“The stalling is emblematic of a broader modus operandi of the insurers of never-ending post-claim underwriting where the insurers hunt for some contrived excuse not to pay.”
Kanye West cancelled 21 dates of his Saint Pablo Tour in November last year.
Also cited in Hollywood Reporter, Mr West’s lawyer, Howard King, urged other “artists who pay handsomely to insurance companies within the Lloyd’s of London marketplace to obtain show tour ‘non-appearance or cancellation’ insurance” to “take note”.
“Lloyd’s companies enjoy collecting bounteous premiums; they don’t enjoy paying claims, no matter how legitimate. Their business model thrives on conducting unending ‘investigations,’ of bona fide coverage requests, stalling interminably, running up their insured’s costs, and avoiding coverage decisions based on flimsy excuses. The artists think [that] they’re buying peace of mind. The insurers know they’re just selling a ticket to the courthouse,” he is quoted as saying.
Lloyd’s of London was not immediately available for comment when contacted by The Independent.
