More claims are yet to be finalised, but policyholders include British nightclubs and other live event music venues
Insurer Hiscox has paid out more than £5.2m of Covid-19 business interruption (BI) claims after specialist broker NDML secured settlements for 72 claimants.
This equates to an average of almost £73k per claimant, with more claims still to be finalised between NDML and Hiscox. These policyholders, which include British nightclubs and other live event businesses, will receive 100% of their settlement with no administration or legal fees deducted.
This follows nightclubs and live music event businesses being ordered to shut down due to the UK government imposing national lockdown measures to mitigate the spread of coronavirus.
Simon Mabb, NDML’s managing director, said: “I’m incredibly proud of the team effort that brought us to where we are today. From our in-house claims specialists, to Michael Kill and the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) team, to the invaluable efforts contributed by [barrister] Philip Kolvin.
“The hard work has paid off and I’m really pleased to see our policyholders receiving some of the highest business interruption settlements following Covid-19, thanks to the trust they placed in us from the very start.
”We’re now all looking forward to seeing the industry get fully back on its feet and forge a path to recovery.”
Team effort
NDML and the NTIA mounted legal challenges and appointed leisure industry specialist barrister Philip Kolvin QC, who supported the action pro bono, after the broker’s clients insured with Hiscox were unable to receive business interruption payouts relating to claims arising from the Covid-19 pandemic and associated lockdown measures.
The collective also participated in the FCA’s test case at the Supreme Court, to challenge Hiscox and other insurers’ positions on BI claims.
For NDML and NTIA, the agreed settlement figure demonstrates the importance of working with industry specialists who are dedicated to fighting for businesses that have been most affected by the pandemic.
After the legal challenges were concluded, NDML was able to expedite policyholders’ claims. Hiscox has put together a specialist team to handle these settlements quickly, the broker added.
The hard work undertaken by the NDML claims team and policyholders allowed these BI claims to be among the first processed, with all the necessary supporting data being prepared immediately after the Supreme Court judgment was handed down in January.
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