coronavirus business interruption News

Hiscox Action Group Launches £40M Arbitration Claim for COVID Biz Interruption Dispute

The law firm that represents the Hiscox Action Group has commenced an arbitration against Hiscox Insurance for non-payment of business interruption insurance totaling £40 million ($50 million). The action group, composed of disgruntled Hiscox policyholders, is represented by London law …

South Africa Regulator Probes Insurance Contracts Over Unpaid COVID-19 BI Claims

A South African regulator is studying insurance contracts after customers complained that claims related to the coronavirus were unfairly rejected. One outcome from the process could include an order from the Financial Sector Conduct Authority on the fairness of wording …

Some Question Insurers’ Estimates of Coronavirus Business Interruption Claims

U.S. property and casualty insurers have cast the coronavirus pandemic as an unprecedented event whose massive cost to small businesses they are neither able nor required to cover. The industry has warned it could cost them $255 billion to $431 …

The BIG Idea for Business Interruption Coverage: What It Is and Isn’t

Good faith coverage disputes over pandemic-related business interruption coverage don’t have to be fought out in courts, and retroactive rewrites of business interruption coverage language are unfair, according to a plaintiffs lawyer who represents restaurants. John Houghtaling, II, a lawyer …

S&P Pegs Coronavirus Losses at $15-$30B. Chief Risk Officers Think That’s Low.

Analysts for Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings shared a view that U.S. underwriting losses from COVID-19 would fall in the $15-$30 billion range. However, risk officers speaking at a rating agency conference last week said the estimate is light. S&P …

AXA Identifies 1,700 Restaurant Contracts with Unclear Terms on Pandemic Payouts

French insurer AXA has identified 1,700 contracts signed with restaurant owners in France where the terms are not clear as to whether business interruption losses due to the COVID-19 crisis should be covered, its CEO told Le Monde in an …

British Regulator Enlists 8 Insurers in Pandemic Test Case of Business Interruption Cover

Insurers including Hiscox, RSA and QBE will take part in a UK test case to decide whether their policies should pay out millions of pounds to companies hit by the coronavirus pandemic, the industry regulator said on Monday. A national …

EU Urged to Create Insurance Catastrophe Backstop for Pandemics, Huge Cyber Attacks

A European Union framework is needed to provide insurance cover for catastrophes such as pandemics and huge cyber attacks, the Federation of European Risk Management (FERMA) said on Tuesday. This would involve public-private partnerships and could cover events which hit …

Update: AXA to Pay Business Interruption Claims to Restaurants After Court Ruling

A Paris court ruled last week that AXA should pay a restaurant owner two months of revenue losses caused by the virus pandemic. AXA had argued its policy did not cover business disruption caused by the health crisis. Stephane Manigold, …

French Court Orders AXA to Pay Restaurant’s COVID-19 Business Interruption Losses; AXA Vows to Appeal

A Paris court ruled that insurer AXA must pay a restaurant owner two months’ worth of coronavirus-related revenue losses, the restaurateur’s lawyer said on Friday, potentially opening the door to a wave of similar litigation. The ruling will be of …