Kanye West Files $10M Lawsuit against Insurance Company

Kanye West and Kim Kardashian arrive on the red carpet at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards on August 28, 2016. West has sued an insurance company for $10 million for failing to pay out on an insurance policy after he canceled a tour in 2016. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI| License Photo

 

Aug. 2 (UPI) -- Kanye West is suing insurer Lloyd's of London and its affiliates for $10 million after the company failed to pay out claims stemming from a canceled tour.

West had scrapped the remainder of his Saint Pablo tour in Nov. 2016 after he was hospitalized for undisclosed mental health issues and exhaustion.

The hitmaker's company Very Good Touring Inc., submitted a loss claim two days after West was hospitalized, but his company states it has not been paid. Very Good Touring has now sued Lloyd's of London and its various syndicates for breach of contract and breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, Us Weekly reported.

"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," reads the lawsuit obtained by The 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," it continues.

The lawsuit also alleges the 40-year-old's primary physician provided sworn testimony to the insurance company that West suffered from a debilitating medical condition that would keep him from touring. A hand-selected doctor by the insurers' also came to the same conclusion, the lawsuit says.

"Performing artists who pay handsomely to insurance companies within the Lloyd's of London marketplace to obtain show tour 'non-appearance or cancellation' insurance should take note of the lesson to be learned from this lawsuit: Lloyd's companies enjoy collecting bounteous premiums; they don't enjoy paying claims, no matter how legitimate," West's lawyer Howard King said.

"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 they they're buying peace of mind. The insurers know they're just selling a ticket to the courthouse," King continued.

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