Wolseley owner wins High Court dispute over venue closure insurance

The owner of London’s Wolseley restaurant, Corbin & King, has won a High Court battle with insurer AXA over a form of business interruption insurance. In a case that is being closely watched by the industry, High Court judge Mrs Justice Cockerill was asked to interpret the wording of the “denial of access” cover provided by AXA to the property owner. The insurance provides cover to venues shut by a statutory body because of a local “danger”. Corbin & King owns a number of iconic venues, including Brasserie Zedel and The Delaunay. Corbin & King’s policy stated that it was entitled to an indemnity of up to £250,000 for each time access was restricted. As there were three lockdowns, there were three instances of restrictions. AXA argued that the policy therefore pays out a maximum of £750,000. Corbin & King argued that it was entitled to a total of £750,000 for each property on the insurance policy. In the ruling, Cockerill J said she had concluded “without difficulty that the correct answer is that this is a composite policy in respect of which each insured is entitled to claim £250,000 in respect of each claim”. There were a total of 10 claimants involved in the case. “AXA is bound to indemnify each of those claimants in respect of each of their premises up to a maximum amount of £250,000 in respect of each of the March 2020 closure, the September 2020 restriction and the November 2020 closure,” she stated. This means that the total payment may be as much as £7.5m. The ruling is the latest in a long series of disputes between businesses and insurers over Covid-19 cover. Last year, the Supreme Court ruled to clarify terms of business interruption policies. Corbin & King Ltd and others v AXA Insurance UK plc Mrs Justice Cockerill (High Court), 25 February 2022, [2022] EWHC 409 (Comm) Photo © Corbin & King Restaurant Group