Business Interruption test case Federal Court appeal hearing concludes

The Full Court of Federal Court of Australia has concluded hearing appeals in the second COVID-19 business interruption insurance test case.

The Insurance Council of Australia CEO, Andrew Hall said, “This is an important step towards finalising this matter and we are grateful to the Court for expediting the process so a determination can be reached as soon as possible. Insurers, including those not directly involved in the court proceedings, are committed to applying the principles of the courts’ final ruling consistently and efficiently to all business interruption claims.”

The Court has reserved its judgment, which is anticipated by the end of the year or shortly thereafter. Appeals were brought by both policyholders and insurers on a number of issues arising from the judgment delivered by Justice Jagot of the Federal Court of Australia on 8 October 2021.

Policyholders filed appeals to the Full Court of the Federal Court on five of the test case matters and insurers filed cross-appeals and notices of contention in relation to those five matters. Five other matters in the test case involving insurers Chubb, Allianz and Guild were not appealed. You can access the online files of the COVID-19 Business Interruption Insurance Test Cases on the Federal Court website.