Court rules in favour of businesses wishing to claim business insurance for COVID-19 Losses.

It’s here a ruling that is likely to have significant repercussions for the insurance industry internationally – and it didn’t go insurers’ way. The Supreme Court chose to substantially allow the FCA’s and the Hiscox Action Group (HAG)’s appeal and dismissed insurers’ appeals.

FD Legal may now help Australian Businesses who have been prevented from claiming on their businesses insurance due to an insurance provider stating COVID losses fell outside of their PDS. If you are in this situation, you should immediately reach out for a free consultation to discuss your potential case. FD Legal is generally a no-win no-fee firm. Contact Us Now or call 1300 433 533.

With claims starting to flood into the firm with businesses seeking to hold their insurance company responsible, we have added a page with more details on business interruption insurance and COVID-19.

While a UK case. The implications of the ruling are considerably widespread. Giving hope to many Australian businesses, who have struggled from a COVID-19 downturn and found themselves unable to gain assistance from their insurance policy.

Court Rules in Favour of Businesses Claiming Insurance for COVID-19 Losses

The Supreme Court has chosen to allow the FCA’s and Hixcox Action Group (HAG)’s appeal and dismissed the insurer’s appeals. FD Legal may now help Australian Businesses that have been unable to claim their business insurance for COVID-19 losses due to insurance providers stating COVID losses were out of the scope of their PDS.

Six insurance companies have appealed the High Court’s decision, including Arch Insurance Ltd, Argenta Syndicate Management Ltd, Hiscox Insurance Company Ltd, MS Amlin Underwriting Ltd, QBE UK Limited and Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Plc (RSA).

The court addressed six areas of issues that arose on the appeals of the FCA concerning:

1. The interpretation of “disease Clauses”
2. The Interpretation of “Prevention of access clauses”
3. The question of what causal link must be shown between business interruption losses and the occurrence of a notifiable disease
4. The effect of “trends clauses”
5. The significance of quantifying business losses in the event of the pandemic, which occurred before the cover was available
6. Concerning causation and interpretation of trends clauses, the status of the decision of the commercial court in Orient-Express Hotels Ltd v Asssicurazioni Generali SpA (trading as Generali Global Risk)

Hiscox Action Group stated they were glad the court found a majority of policyholders of non-property damage BI cover to cover business losses caused by the government’s national response to COVID-19.

Prior to the court’s decision, insurers had argued what coverage was applicable and denied claims because the cover had not been intended to be provided or the interruption losses would have occurred at any event. Now with the court’s decision, insurers no longer have the right to argue or deny insurance claims for Covid 19 losses.

The article first appeared at Revealed