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COVID-19 and business interruption insurance—cover for ‘Plague’ (Rockliffe Hall v Travelers Insurance)

Published on: 01 March 2021
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Article summary

Insurance & Reinsurance analysis: the High Court considered one of many topical insurance issues left unresolved by the recent Supreme Court ‘test case’ on business interruption insurance (The Financial Conduct Authority v Arch Insurance (UK) Ltd & Others [2021] UKSC 1), namely whether there was cover for losses arising from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic under a policy with a ‘closed list’ disease clause. The policy in question provided cover against the outbreak of a range of infectious diseases, including ‘Plague’ but not COVID-19. The policyholder argued that the word ‘Plague’ should be read as a general term for an infectious disease with a high mortality rate, epidemic or pandemic, such that loss caused by COVID-19 would be covered. The court rejected this interpretation and held that the word ‘Plague’ was intended to refer to the specific disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. The clause therefore did not cover loss caused by COVID-19 and the policyholder’s claim was...

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