On 2nd October 2020, the Financial Conduct Authority and eight insurers and others returned to the High Court for a consequential hearing to finalise the wording of declarations in light of the earlier High Court trial (The Financial Conduct Authority –v- Arch Insurance (UK) Limited and others [2020] EWHC 2448 (Comm)), and some insurers sought permission for a ‘leapfrog’ appeal to the Supreme Court.
It will be recalled that the 15th September judgment followed a test case brought by the FCA and a number of insurers in order to determine whether there was cover for business interruption as a result of COVID-19 under several sample policy wordings. Our earlier blog summarised the outcome of the High Court’s judgment.
Recognising the importance of the issues, the High Court agreed to a ‘leapfrog’ application so that any issues that are not capable of being resolved in the next few weeks can be heard in the Supreme Court, thereby by-passing the Court of Appeal.
The insurers appealing are: Arch Insurance (UK) Ltd, Argenta Syndicate Management Ltd, MS Amlin Underwriting Ltd, Hiscox Insurance Company Ltd, QBE UK Ltd and Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Plc. It remains to be seen whether the Supreme Court will take a different view to the High Court.
Any business interruption claim turns on the particular facts and the specific policy wording. If you are wondering whether your insurance policy provides business interruption cover for COVID-19 related losses, and whether the appeal may affect your position, our specialist insurance coverage team can help.
For more information on the topic, please contact Philip Skwierczynski, Chris Heitzman or John Aitken.
