‘Insurance catastrophe’ for businesses as coronavirus not covered

'Insurance catastrophe' for businesses as coronavirus not covered By Charlotte Grieve The Insurance Council of Australia has declared an "insurance catastrophe" as the industry braces for a spike in coronavirus-related claims while policies largely exclude quarantinable diseases. Business interruption insurance policies typically cover staff wages and rent or loan repayments during catastrophic events. In the past, this extended to infectious diseases but in 2004, the global insurance industry began to introduce exclusions for losses relating to quarantinable diseases, according to the ICA. ICA spokesman Campbell Fuller said while there was not a one-size-fits-all approach to insurance policies, and some individualised policies may include pandemic cover, most business insurance products exclude pandemics simply because the uncertainty of the risk is too high. "Insurers are always about calculating the risk, how do you calculate the impact of the pandemic?" …
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Australian businesses fight insurance industry for payouts over coronavirus revenue losses

Australian businesses fight insurance industry for payouts over coronavirus revenue losses ABC Investigations / By Pat McGrath and Kyle Taylor Detlef Haupt in his Sydney cafe.(ABC News: David Maguire) Detlef Haupt survived a near-knockout blow when the COVID-19 economic crash drained his cafe of customers and put the future of his 15-year-old business on the line. Key points: Australians are battling insurers to claim pay-outs they say they are entitled to as a result of lost revenue due to COVID-19 Some insurers are relying on fine print in policies that reference legislation that no longer exists The insurance industry has defended itself, saying that paying out such claims would cost $10 billion

His only small comfort during the worst of the downturn was the belief his insurance policy covered him for this exact kind of revenue shock.

His insurer believed otherwise.

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