Please note: this article was correct at the time of writing and publication. However, please bear in mind that advice and guidance may change at short notice due to the nature of this unprecedented situation. We are doing our utmost to provide up to date information, as and when it happens.
For the latest, please visit www.ncass.org.uk/coronavirus
With regards to insurance, a caterer’s liability insurance does not cover event cancellation.
Our insurance partner, Giles Insurance has provided the following clarification regarding Covid-19 and events insurance:
“Cancellation insurance excludes communicable disease when such leads to the restriction of movement of people by any authority (epidemic or pandemic) so I’m afraid COVID-19 is now excluded from cover. This exclusion has been contained within cancellation polices since the SARS outbreak nearly 20 years ago.
Some clients have since (the introduction of the exclusion) asked us to extend cover to include communicable disease for additional premium, but even then cover is very restrictive – it responds to closure of the event or venue by order of the government, so not reduced attendance as a result of travel bans. Fear of disease can never be covered, in the same way that fear of terrorism is not insurable. Reduced attendance due to travel advisories is not covered as the CD exclusion applies to this extension in the same way as it does the core cover
As you can imagine, I’m afraid that we can no longer provide cover for COVID-19 as it is a known circumstance – this has been the case since early January 2020.”
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) have commented that:
“Commercial insurance policies provide cover against a wide range of risks, that can be tailored to the needs of individual businesses, including extensions to cover. Businesses who are concerned about this should check the scope of their cover and speak to their insurance adviser or broker.
“It may be possible to buy consequential business interruption cover for notifiable diseases as an extension to a business insurance policy, subject to any policy terms and conditions. Standard business insurance policies are designed and priced to cover standard risks, not those that are very unlikely, such as the effects of COVID-19.”
We advise you to check with your insurance company to check if you’re covered in the incident of COVID-19 forcing a business closure.
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