Business interruption insurance after Covid-19

Damian Glynn, director and head of financial risks at Sedgwick, noted some litigation following Covid has provided clarity on the nature of business interruption cover, but cautioned it would be a “disservice to insurers” to suggest legal cases alone have driven any policy wording changes.

Reflecting on the industry’s reputation, Glynn added: “I’m not sure how high the public’s view of general insurance was to begin with. It would be foolish to suggest all this litigation has made anything any better than it was before.”

Matthew Connell, director of policy and public affairs at the Chartered Insurance Institute, said business interruption insurance was a product that had grown out of cover around property damage, but came to mean lots of different things to different people. 

It would be foolish to suggest all this litigation has made anything any better than it was before.

Damian Glynn, Sedgwick

He said: “Maybe that is where some of the cause of this gap between understanding and explanation is taking place.”

Looking ahead, Glynn warned of further challenges to the reputation of business interruption insurance.

Power failures could become another test case, he noted, given varying terms and conditions on coverage. 

He also flagged the use of the term “gross profit” and pay-out timescales as ongoing problem areas.

The episode also explores how digital tools, pre-loss modelling and parametric triggers could help modernise how business interruption insurance claims are prepared and settled in the future.

Download the episode via your podcast provider of choice – Apple, Google, Samsung, Spotify, Audible, and more — by searching Insurance Post.