Kanye West is suing syndicates of Lloyd’s of London amid allegations they have not paid out on a loss claim resulting from his cancelled tour dates last year.
The rapper and his company, Very Good Touring Inc, have filed a $10 million lawsuit alleging the syndicates have failed to pay on his claim eight months after it was filed.
A loss claim was reportedly submitted two days after West entered a neuropsychiatric centre at UCLA in Los Angeles last November. The rapper pulled the final 21 dates of his Saint Pablo Tour.
In the court papers, first reported by The Hollywood Reporter, West’s lawyers suggest that Lloyd’s is refusing to pay out because of a medical condition caused by using marijuana, which West denies.
“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," states the complaint filed in California federal court. "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."
A spokeswoman for Lloyd's of London told the BBC: "We're not able to comment on matters in litigation."