Page 2 - John Berrill News Today

The Federal Court of Australia has dealt a blow to a number of small businesses, including retailers, who have made been denied insurance payouts for losses sustained during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Australian businesses that are trying to recover money they believe is owed to them by their insurers for COVID-related losses will continue their fight in the Federal Court next February. Last week,

ASIC probing long wait for insurance payouts Few small businesses have lodged claims for business insurance they paid for and the way it has been handled by the sector is only part of the problem. Apr 19, 2021 – 12.00am Share Of the more than 330,000 small businesses eligible to lodge business interruption insurance claims, less than 1 per cent have done so, prompting the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to step in to boost the numbers and launch surveillance work to ma...

“But no they haven’t, all they’ve done is put out an issues paper and called out for submissions. They haven’t produced any legislation or follow ups, nor have they come up with any set of universal terms and conditions. Nothing has happened. It’s now nearly been two years.”  Berrill said the Government had not done anything as it was not a priority for them as Treasury had a lot on its plate and the COVID-19 pandemic had been a distraction.   “But COVID-19 makes some of this s...

The National Opal Collection store in Melbournes CBD was forced to close due to the COVID-19 pandemic alongside its sister store in Sydneys The Rocks, while border restrictions to international tourists have seen sales plummet by more than $3 million. Australian opal dealer challenges COVID-19 insurance rejection Posted January 19, 2021 | By Arabella Roden • Editor Damien Cody, director of opal retail and wholesale business Cody Opal Australia, has publicly challenged insuran...

Australian businesses fight insurance industry for payouts over coronavirus revenue losses TueTuesday 15 Detlef Haupt in his Sydney cafe. ( Share Print text only Cancel Detlef Haupt survived a near-knockout blow when the COVID-19 economic crash drained his cafe of customers and put the future of his 15-year-old business on the line. Key points: Australians are battling insurers to claim pay-outs they say they are entitled to as a result of lost revenue due to COVID-19 Some insurers are relying...

However, he noted, there were some areas that needed addressing as some products limited the liability for the insurers by applying very restrictive activities of daily living tests meaning “the ability to claim is narrowed significantly and there are some products where premiums are high because the risks for claim and the client experience is poor”.  “These need addressing and they were spelled out in the Royal Commission in which Hayne put down when he recommended there be a review of...