In our recent article, we considered the arguments both for
and against insurance coverage, relative to potential Coronavirus
(COVID-19) related losses and liabilities, and stressed the
importance of the legal interpretive process in determining
coverage.
A number of these arguments have been echoed in the recent
decision of the Western Cape High Court in the case of
Café Chameleon CC v Guardrisk Insurance Company
Ltd. In this case, the court had to decide whether there was
cover under the business interruption section of an insurance
policy, for loss suffered "as a result of the interruption
caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant promulgation and
enforcement of the lockdown Regulations under the Disaster
Management Act." The court confirmed and applied the legal
interpretive process in its assessment of coverage under the policy
and in finding that the loss fell to be covered.
