you have insurance for your business, you may have taken out business interruption insurance. You need to carefully consider your schedule, policy contract and policy wording to check whether your business interruption cover insures your business for business interruption due to an outbreak of an infectious disease within a radius of your business.
Since the outbreak of the pandemic, we have considered some insurance policies where the client is not covered in the event of an outbreak of something like Covid19. However, we have also seen insurance policies and considered wording where it definitely does provided cover for interruption of business due to an outbreak of an infectious disease.
Do not just accept a repudiation of a claim by your insurer- read your policy schedule and conditions! You may very well qualify for business interruption insurance if your policy wording and conditions provide for an outbreak of an infectious disease or virus. We have come across instances where claims were denied but upon the reading of the policy wording and conditions, it became clear that the claim should have been upheld and the insured should have been paid out. In such a scenario, you need to bring this to the attention of your insurer forthwith. If you believe you do have a valid claim for cover, you would need to inform your insurer (in writing, preferably). If your claim is still not upheld, and you clearly are entitled to cover, you would need to lodge a complaint with your insurer.
The World Health Organisation website clearly defines Covid19 as a disease. Accordingly, we are of the view that if your insurance provides for business interruption cover where there is an outbreak of an infectious disease, this would include the Covid19 pandemic, although each insurance policy should be considered on a case by case basis, as not all business interruption policies will cover it.
If you need assistance with legal advice or your rights against an insurer, please contact us info@spencelaw.co.za
This article is for information purposes only and should not be regarded as legal or financial advice, and it may contain errors and/or omissions. Spence Attorneys will not be held liable for any person acting on this article, or for any matter arising from this article.