Coronavirus (COVID-19) business interruption insurance

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The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the government’s response to it have posed major challenges for the insurance and reinsurance industry, as well as for policyholders. Several lines of insurance business have been notably impacted. Travel insurance, event cancellation cover and life insurance were among the most visibly affected by claims early in the pandemic, while motor and home insurers had to adapt to fewer people driving and more people working from home.

Coronavirus (COVID-19)—business interruption insurance

As the government mandated lockdown continued, businesses reliant on customers or staff being physically present at their premises sustained mounting business interruption losses. Although support from the government in the form of furlough payments and business rates relief helped mitigate some of these losses, most business that had to close still realised significant revenue losses.

Many of these businesses found themselves uninsured, as property insurance policies covering business interruption losses typically require such losses to result from insured damage to property. Some businesses, however, had purchased property and business interruption insurance with additional extensions—so called ‘non-damage extensions’, designed to cover losses arising from other causes, such as disease within a specified

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Policyholders challenge coronavirus (COVID-19) furlough payouts at UK Supreme Court

Law360, London: Insurers are wrong to have deducted an estimated £1bn of taxpayer-funded furlough grants issued during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, representatives for policyholders argued before the UK Supreme Court on 11 February 2026 in a landmark case for business interruption claims.

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This week's edition of Insurance weekly highlights includes: Tyson International Company Ltd v Gic Re, India, Corporate Member Ltd (sued as the Sole Corporate Member for Syndicate 1947 At Lloyd's of London for the 2021 and 2022 Years of Account); Liberty Mutual Insurance Europe Se v Bath Racecourse Company Ltd (and 21 other Claimants listed in Appendix 1 to the Particulars of Claim); Pan-NOx Emissions Group Litigation; Driverless technology unlikely to immediately hit UK insurers; Lloyd's reinsurer loses fire payout jurisdiction dispute plus key cases and dates for your diary.

Lloyd's reinsurer loses fire payout jurisdiction dispute

Law360, London: An appellate court dismissed on 5 February 2026 the attempt by the corporate member of a Lloyd's syndicate to overturn a ruling that barred it from pursuing arbitration in New York against the captive insurer for Tyson Foods, in a dispute over cover following a fire at one of Tyson Foods’ plants in Alabama.

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