Insurance Council of Australia advertising on COVID-19 related Business Interruption losses

The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) is running Business Interruption (BI) related advertisement campaign in a number of newspapers today (16 June) and on Friday (18 June).

The purpose of the advertisements is to alert business owners who may have COVID-19 related losses to contact their insurer or broker and lodge their claim for those losses. The advertisement also urges business owners to gather and retain evidence to substantiate their BI related losses.

The advertisement is running in major national and city newspapers. The Insurance Council maintains a web page in relation to Business Interruption test cases, and the page was updated on 15 June – see: https://insurancecouncil.com.au/bi-test-cases/

Information on COVID-19 related BI losses and claims is also available from ASIC: https://asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/news-items/business-interruption-insurance-claims-and-covid-19-what-you-need-to-do/

As well as from AFCA: https://www.afca.org.au/sites/default/files/2021-03/Establishing%20Business%20Interruption%20loss%20due%20to%20COVID-19_AFCA.pdf

The National Insurance Brokers Association (NIBA) has urged insurance brokers to discuss with their clients any coverage they may have had in relation to COVID-19 business interruption, and to lodge claims in respect of losses that may be covered by their policies.

NIBA has also indicated that brokers should also discuss the information clients may have available to them to substantiate their claims and demonstrate the extent of COVID-19 related loss. This would include any site specific notices from public health or other government authorities.