Supreme Court date set for business insurance test case
The dispute between UK insurers and the Financial Conduct Authority over business interruption insurance during the Covid-19 pandemic will be heard by the Supreme Court on 16 November.
The “leapfrog” appeal against the September High Court decision will be heard remotely over four days, when both the regulator and a range of insurers will seek to overturn aspects of the complex judgment.
The Supreme Court is hearing the case unusually quickly as it is time-sensitive, involving around 370,000 policy holders who, due to complicated wording, are unsure whether they are entitled to make a claim for business interruption due to Covid-19.
The dispute between UK insurers and the Financial Conduct Authority over business interruption insurance during the Covid-19 pandemic will be heard by the Supreme Court on 16 November.
The “leapfrog” appeal against the September High Court decision will be heard remotely over four days, when both the regulator and a range of insurers will seek to overturn aspects of the complex judgment.
The Supreme Court is hearing the case unusually quickly as it is time-sensitive, involving around 370,000 policy holders who, due to complicated wording, are unsure whether they are entitled to make a claim for business interruption due to Covid-19.
In a statement on its website, the FCA said: “We believe that this ‘leapfrog’ appeal to the Supreme Court is the fastest way to get legal clarity for all parties in the event that it is not possible to find a solution with insurers which resolves the outstanding issues, before the appeal takes place, to enable payouts on eligible claims.”
The FCA took the matter to court seeking clarification and resolution on a variety of different wordings used across the industry in business interruption insurance policies. Lord Justice Flaux and Mr Justice Butcher gave a 162-page ruling, which did not expressly come down on one side or the other. Instead, it went through the wordings bought up at the trial and provides specific guidance.
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