Partner Richard Leedham, who is currently representing the Hiscox Action Group, a collective of Hiscox clients whose coronavirus-related business interruptions claims were rejected, has written about his virtual court experience for The Law Society.
This was a unique case for various reasons. It was brought by the insurance industry regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), who have said that up to 370,000 UK businesses could be affected by insurers' failure to pay out on BI claims.
On 1 May 2020, the FCA announced that, acting in the public interest, it would seek court declarations aimed at resolving contractual uncertainty in selected BI insurance policies.
A claim form was issued on 9 June, two CMC's held remotely later that month (the first dealing largely with locus/expedition, the second with intervention), with a full trial taking place before two judges, including a Court of Appeal judge, from 20 to 31 July. The whole process took less than two months.
The result of the test case will be legally binding on the insurer parties to the test case in respect of the policies considered.
Read the full article here.