Business interruption claims related to covid-19 and the FCA test case

We remain focused on resolving all outstanding business interruption claims and this continues to be a priority. Significant progress has been made: as of August 2022, 97% of all claims notified had received an outcome from us.

If you wish to submit a claim now, you can still do so via our dedicated business interruption claims portal: claims.hiscox.co.uk.

To submit a claim, you will need the following information to hand:

• Hiscox policy number;
• Insured premises address and postcode;
• Dates on which your business closed and reopened after each restriction period

If you are unable to use the portal, are experiencing technical issues or require any further assistance, we have also set up a dedicated business interruption phoneline, 01206 773 941, which is open 9  a.m. - 5 p.m. / Monday to Friday.

If you have received a reply that you're not happy with, or a settlement offer that you wish to reject, you can discuss it with a member of our claims team. You can do this through the Hiscox contact you have been liaising with during your claims journey, or alternatively through our dedicated business interruption phoneline, 01206 773 941, which is open 0900 - 1700 / Monday to Friday.

There are four stages to the claims process:

1. registering a claim and completing an initial eligibility assessment
2. submitting the relevant financial information
3. completing the claims assessment process
4. offer stage

You will receive periodic updates that indicate which stage of the process your claim has reached. Business interruption claims are particularly complex claims, so it may be that we need to discuss your claim with you at various points in the process. You will have a loss adjuster or claims handler allocated to your claim who will be able to provide answers to queries, assist you with the process and provide further explanations where required.

The portal is the easiest and quickest way to register and progress a claim. If further assistance is required, or if for any other reason you are unable to use the portal or the link provided, please call us on 01206 773 941 or email [email protected].

In June 2020, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) commenced Court proceedings to seek clarity about the application of certain non-damage business interruption policy wordings to losses resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic. Hiscox was one of eight insurers that had some of its business interruption policy wording considered by the Court as part of the Industry Test Case.

Following the Judgment handed down by the High Court in September, permission to appeal to the Supreme Court was granted to the FCA, a policyholder group and six insurers, including Hiscox.

On 15 January 2021, the Supreme Court handed down its Judgment, comprising more than 100 pages of legal analysis. The full Judgment is available to view at on the Supreme Court's website (external link) (external link).

In addition to the above, you can find more information on the FCA's business interruption (external link) (external link) page.

The High Court Judgment of 17 October 2022 (Stonegate Pub Company Ltd v MS Amlin Corporate Member Ltd, Liberty Mutual Insurance Europe SE and Zurich Insurance plc; Greggs Plc v Zurich Insurance plc and Various Eateries Trading Limited v Allianz Insurance plc cases) does not alter the way in Hiscox has and continues to assess and settle Covid-19 business interruption claims.

Hiscox was not involved in these proceedings and our policy wording is not the same as the policy wordings considered in these cases.

However, parts of the Judgment dealt with more general issues that are relevant to all business interruption insurers, such as the treatment of Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (furlough) payments. We will continue to monitor whether any of the parties involved in these proceedings appeal the Judgment and the outcome of any appeal judgment.