An emergency summary procedure carried out by the Paris Commercial Court has ruled that AXA must pay a restaurant owner two months’ worth of coronavirus-related revenue losses, the lawyer representing the plaintiff announced on Friday. It is thought that the ruling could spark a wave of copycat litigation in France. The bill faced by restaurants, hotels and bars incurred by…
Credit ratings agency Fitch has said that “loose” business interruption (BI) wordings in some cases may well impact the credit quality of some UK non-life insurers, as court cases brought by businesses hit by the virus lockdown escalate. “The credit quality of some UK non-life insurers could be affected by court rulings on the validity of business interruption claims arising…
An open letter signed by almost 700 business owners in the UK has accused the insurance industry of an “abrogation of responsibility” by refusing to pay out on business interruption (BI) insurance claims brought because of the country’s lockdown. The letter to the Association of British Insurers (ABI) says that the stonewall on BI claims will result in the failure…
Despite facing heavy losses, the event cancellation insurance market remains open but capacity is limited and infectious disease cover is hard to come by, Marsh JLT Specialty told CRE. Event cancellation has been one of the hardest-hit insurance lines during the coronavirus outbreak as sporting fixtures, events, conferences, trade shows and film and TV production have been postponed or cancelled.…
Lloyd’s has been revealed as the biggest insurer of Canada’s controversial Trans Mountain tar sand pipeline, followed by Munich Re, with Zurich and Chubb not far behind and increasing their participation in the programme. The majority of the insurers are European and the deal was brokered by JLT before it was taken over by Marsh. The news comes despite the…
The recently formed Hospitality Insurance Group Action (HIGA), created to pursue business interruption (BI) claims for virus-related losses suffered by companies in the UK hospitality sector, has decided to focus its efforts on policies issued by Aviva and QBE, advising policyholders to sign up by 5 June. The HIGA announced that its legal advisers Mishcon de Reya, in conjunction with…
An “overwhelming” majority of insurance experts surveyed by the Wisconsin School of Business (WSB) believe that legislative proposals requiring business interruption (BI) insurers to cover claims stemming from Covid-19 related shutdowns, even if the insurance policies exclude pandemic-related losses, threaten the solvency of the insurance industry. The study, released by the US’s National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), finds that…
Lloyd’s insurer Beazley has raised £247m in fresh capital, which it says will shore up the group’s capital position in light of the uncertainty surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic and, at the same time, enable it to take advantage of growth opportunities from the hardening market. The insurer announced this morning that it had successfully placed new shares in the company…
The risk of Covid-19-related business interruption (BI) claims feeding into the catastrophe bond market is “very low”, according to analysis carried out by London- and Zurich-based specialist insurance market investment manager Twelve Capital. The firm has published an analysis of the potential exposure of the cat bond market to virus-related BI claims and found that only one out of 200…
Average commercial insurance rates rose by an eye-watering 21% in the UK during the first quarter and were up 8% in continental Europe, according to Marsh’s latest index, which says Covid-19 will likely impact pricing for the remainder of this year. Many of the increases were driven by financial lines, particularly D&O, but property market rises are now significant and…