Covid insurance claims – could you be due one?

Recently a High Court ruling found in favour of an assortment of businesses that included Pizza Express, who were seeking insurance payouts for losses related to COVID-19.

This is a breakthrough for businesses and could set a precedent that may lead to hundreds of thousands more claims. It is widely known that many businesses suffered great financial loss as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns.

The judgement that was handed down on Friday 16th June decreed that businesses who had appropriate policies in place that could claim in the case of someone having Covid in the vicinity of their premises, also applied to ‘at the premises’ cover. This means that any businesses with such insurance cover who had been afflicted by cases of COVID-19 at their premises, may be able to launch a successful claim for loss of earning payouts.

Law firm Stewarts acted on behalf of the ExCeL London Conference Centre who were also seeking and subsequently awarded damages. Stewarts’ head of policyholder disputes, Aaron Le Marquer, suggested this result could open the door for many more claims of this type to come. He stated: “It’s possible that there might be some very big claims to come out of this as well as a lot of small claims.”

This is welcome news to the sector that has been really hard hit over the past couple of years, not least by COVID-19 and all the challenges it posed.

If you are a business owner and think you were afflicted also with COVID-19 related losses, it may be advisable to seek legal advise on whether there could a claim for you worth pursuing.

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