Supreme Court backs small businesses over Covid-19 insurance claims 15th January, 2021 by Melita Kiely
The UK Supreme Court has ruled in favour of small firms following a legal battle over business interruption insurance claims, meaning hundreds of bars could soon receive payments to help them through the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Supreme Court’s decision has been hailed a “landmark victory”
Watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) brought the test case to the Supreme Court, with eight insurers agreeing to take part in the proceeding. The appeal aimed to clarify whether a number of insurance policy wordings cover business interruption losses due to the Covid-19 pandemic and public health measures taken by UK authorities in response to the pandemic from March 2020.
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The first round of US bank quarterly earnings will be released before the market opens today, while markets are also preparing for a slew of economic data.
European markets are trading sharply lower at midday, as data revealed the UK could be on course for a double-dip recession.
Initial Reactions to UK Supreme Court’s Ruling on Business Interruption Claims
Insurers, policyholders and industry observers have issued comments on the UK Supreme Court’s ruling that insurers should pay small businesses for many business interruption claims from the COVID-19 lockdowns.
The UK Supreme Court dismissed appeals by six insurers – Hiscox, RSA, QBE, Argenta, Arch and MS Amline – determining that “many thousands of policyholders will now have their claims for coronavirus-related business interruption losses paid.” The insurers had argued that business interruption policies contained pandemic exclusions and should not be covered. No further appeals will be allowed.
The full judgment is available on the Supreme Court website.