COVID-19 has caused major business disruption around the world, but it’s unclear how much insurance policies cover in the case of a pandemic.
In the UK, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced that it is looking to give both insurers and the insured some clarity as to what business interruption policies actually cover by obtaining a court declaration.
It aims to bring relevant cases to court as soon as possible for an authoritative declaratory judgement regarding the meaning and effect of some policies.
“We are intending to take this action in the public interest to advance our consumer protection and market integrity objectives,” the FCA said in a statement. “We believe the circumstances of the current coronavirus emergency and its effect on businesses holding [business interruption] policies means that any uncertainty needs to be resolved as quickly as possible.”
The regulator has already noted that most policies of this kind only cover property damage. In the cases it does cover diseases, the FCA said it believed it is very much down to the wording in each individual policy whether or not it would cover the case of a global pandemic.
In the UK, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced that it is looking to give both insurers and the insured some clarity as to what business interruption policies actually cover by obtaining a court declaration.
It aims to bring relevant cases to court as soon as possible for an authoritative declaratory judgement regarding the meaning and effect of some policies.
“We are intending to take this action in the public interest to advance our consumer protection and market integrity objectives,” the FCA said in a statement. “We believe the circumstances of the current coronavirus emergency and its effect on businesses holding [business interruption] policies means that any uncertainty needs to be resolved as quickly as possible.”
The regulator has already noted that most policies of this kind only cover property damage. In the cases it does cover diseases, the FCA said it believed it is very much down to the wording in each individual policy whether or not it would cover the case of a global pandemic.
Copyright © 2018 RegTech Analyst
