Supreme Court to rule on Covid business interruption insurance this week

The insurance industry and hundreds of thousands of policyholders will, on Friday 15 January, learn the result of a high-profile court case about business interruption insurance during the coronavirus pandemic.

The urgent litigation has had a fast journey through the courts, as it involves around 370,000 policyholders who, because of complicated wording, are unsure whether they are entitled to make a claim for business interruption owing to Covid-19. The regulator and the insurance industry are seeking guidance from the court on the wording of key policies.

It is “probably the most important insurance decision of the last decade”, according to the FCA. Following a High Court decision in September, it was fast-tracked straight to the Supreme Court, where an appeal was heard in November.

The insurers appealing are Arch Insurance (UK), Argenta Syndicate Management, MS Amlin Underwriting, Hiscox, QBE UK, Royal & Sun Alliance and Zurich.

Hiscox Action Group, which represents Hiscox customers, also took part in the appeal.

 

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