The vast majority of organisations do not have cover for coronavirus under their Business Interruption insurance. Not all insurance policies are drafted clearly, and the best way for us to confirm whether you are covered or not is to contact us. Contrary to what you may read on social media or even via trusted news sources, the change in the Government’s stance to “lockdown” will have no effect on the majority of insurance policies. Some insurance policies do have an element of cover, but this is likely to be limited and is mostly the consequence of poor policy drafting rather than a specific decision to provide insurance cover.
Owing to the ongoing confusion around some of the more poorly drafted policy wordings and the interpretation of some policies by insurers who deny there is cover when this is questionable at best, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has now decided to test the insurer’s arguments in court, to create a common law and transparent approach to the key arguments. We would expect this to only impact a small number of policyholders, but we welcome the FCA’s approach and hope this work will be completed urgently.