header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
14 May 2020 / Joshua Munro , Theo Barclay
Issue: 7886 / Categories: Features , Commercial , Covid-19
printer mail-detail

Cause & effect

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.
20699
Business interruption insurance & COVID-19: causation & quantum issues. Theo Barclay & Joshua Munro report

In brief

  • Causation: variation due to different types of policy.
  • Mitigation: a hostile battleground.
  • ‘Other circumstances’ clauses: underlying market trends.
  • Quantum: detailed mechanisms of calculation.

Whether a business has cover for losses caused by COVID-19 and/or the lockdown depends, of course, on policy terms. Even if there is cover, insurers may have interesting defences on points of causation and/or loss, as discussed below. If claims are not carefully formulated as to causation and quantum from the outset and/or are not based on appropriate facts, they may fail.

Causation

The causation issues engaged will vary for the different types of policy under which claims are likely to be made:

  • Business interruption (BI) policies covering losses caused by restrictions imposed as a result of a notifiable disease; and
  • BI policies covering losses caused by physical damage to premises.
BI policies covering losses caused by restrictions imposed as a result of a notifiable disease

Most

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Jurit LLP—Caroline Williams

Jurit LLP—Caroline Williams

Private wealth and tax team welcomes cross-border specialist as consultant

HFW—Simon Petch

HFW—Simon Petch

Global shipping practice expands with experienced ship finance partner hire

Freeths—Richard Lockhart

Freeths—Richard Lockhart

Infrastructure specialist joins as partner in Glasgow office

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: No such thing as a ‘Welsh seat’
Talk of a reserved ‘Welsh seat’ on the Supreme Court is misplaced. In NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC explains that the Constitutional Reform Act treats ‘England and Wales’ as one jurisdiction, with no statutory Welsh slot
NLJ this week: Jury reform risks justice for efficiency’s sake
The government’s plan to curb jury trials has sparked ‘jury furore’. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke, partner at Hill Dickinson, says the rationale is ‘grossly inadequate’
NLJ this week: Crypto fightback offers ‘new frontier for law’
A year after the $1.5bn Bybit heist, crypto fraud is booming—but so is recovery. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Holloway, founder and CEO of M2 Recovery, warns that scams hit at least $14bn in 2025, fuelled by ‘pig butchering’ cons and AI deepfakes
NLJ this week: Time to revive the duty to report crime?
After Woodcock confirmed no general duty to warn, debate turns to the criminal law. Writing in NLJ this week, Charles Davey of The Barrister Group urges revival of misprision or a modern equivalent
NLJ this week: When are experts truly ‘necessary’?
Family courts are tightening control of expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Chris Pamplin says there is ‘no automatic right’ to call experts; attendance must be ‘necessary in the interests of justice’ under FPR Pt 25
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll