The arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic may not have been an
absolute surprise to epidemiologists but for many businesses, it
was a completely unexpected, despite the rapid spread of the
previous SARS outbreak a few years ago.
The All
England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) showed extraordinary foresight
by taking out pandemic insurance for the past 17 years, initially,
in response to the SARS outbreak, which meant that the cancellation
of the Wimbledon Championships that the AELTC was poised to host,
was mitigated by a substantial insurance payout.
Businesses turning to their commercial insurance policies were
initially told by the insurers that the clauses relating to event
cancellation and business interruption were unlikely to apply in
respect of Covid-19. The insurers were seeking to rely on the
judgment relating to the case in 2010, Orient-Express
Hotels where a hurricane was responsible for the business
interruption and the policyholders lost the case; in the test
