Business Interruption Industry Test Case
The Insurance Council of Australia and the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) ran an industry test case examining policy terms in business interruption policies.
The test case is now finalised following the High Court of Australia’s determination on 14 October 2022 that they would not hear any appeals. Therefore the Full Federal Court decision in February 2022 now stands as final.
The Federal Court found that in most of the policies considered, the indemnity clauses did not trigger and the insurers were not liable to indemnify the policyholders for COVID-19 related business interruption claims.
Further information about the test case and the judgements can be found on the Insurance Council of Australia's website.
Please note that the test case had no impact on the application of the Biosecurity Act pandemic exclusion and policies containing this exclusion will continue to exclude COVID-19 related business interruption losses.
Claims previously being held until the conclusion of the test case will now be issued with an outcome as soon as possible. Customers should lodge a claim if they believe they have a claim. We will assess each claim in accordance with the policy terms and the circumstances of the claim.
