Business Interruption Claims

We thank our business customers for their patience during the Business Interruption (BI) test case process. The BI test cases sought to provide clarity in relation to the application of policy wordings during the COVID-19 pandemic. The BI test case process has now been completed and we’re able to implement the decision of the Courts now that the final judgment has been received. Read more about the BI test case process.

If you need any support with the claims process, give us a call and our friendly team of consultants will be happy to help.

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COVID-19 Business Interruption claims

COVID-19 led to many challenges for our business customers. If you believe your circumstances entitle you to claim under your Business Interruption (BI) cover, then you should consider lodging a claim.

Lodging a Business Interruption claim

Learn more about making a claim or give our claims team a call on 13 10 13. If you have a broker, contact them for more information.

Once you’ve lodged a claim, we’ll review each claim subject to the terms of your BI Insurance cover. Before your claim can be paid, you must be able to demonstrate a loss that’s covered by the policy. We may also need you to provide evidence to support your claim. We’ll tell you the type of information we need. Once we’ve assessed your claim, we’ll let you know the outcome.

We’re committed to supporting our customers through the claims process and assessing claims as soon as possible.

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Questions to consider when making a claim

Do you have an eligible claim?

If you believe your circumstances entitle you to claim under your BI cover, then you should consider lodging a claim.

Give our claims team a call on 13 10 13. If you have a broker, contact them for more information.

Has your business been affected by a confirmed COVID-19 case or outbreak?

If your business was affected by a COVID-19 case or outbreak, it may have disrupted your business in a number of ways. These can include the following:

A confirmed case of COVID-19 at the insured premises that interferes, interrupts, or requires the business to close.
A closure because of a known COVID-19 case within the vicinity limit (as detailed in the PDS, e.g. 20km) of the premises.
A closure because of a confirmed COVID-19 outbreak in the vicinity of your business.

In all these instances, we’ll need you to provide evidence. This can include:

Health authority advice.
Emergency professional cleaning invoices.

If the confirmed COVID-19 case wasn’t at your premises, you’ll need to be able to identify where it was in relation to your business. Please note, as per the judgment in the second BI test cases (including the appeal to the Full Court of the Federal Court) a confirmed COVID-19 case within the vicinity limit may not trigger the insuring clause.

Was your business mandated by a competent public authority to close or partially close? For example, did the state or local government order your business to close?

Examples of some of the types of businesses that were mandated for closure or partial closure include pubs, licensed clubs, gyms, indoor sporting venues and beauticians.

Have there been any changes to your business operations in the last 12 months?

Your business may have had to change its trading hours. Or, you might have modified the business to allow you to trade under COVID-19, e.g. operating as a window-only or takeaway-only business.

Whatever changes were made, we’ll need your previous 12 months sales data prior to the date of loss, as well as sales data during the loss period.

If we agree you have an eligible claim, what kind of information will you need to provide?

Once we’ve reviewed your claim, and we’ve agreed that you have an eligible claim, we may ask you to provide the following financial information:

Quarterly business activity statements.
Monthly or annual profit and loss statements.
Monthly payroll summary reports by employee.
Supporting invoices for increased or additional costs incurred to mitigate loss or maintain business operations.
Evidence of any government benefits your business has received, e.g. JobKeeper.
Details of all rental relief provided by your landlord.

Where we need additional information in support of your claim, we’ll let you know as soon as we’ve reviewed your claim.

How long does it take for a claim to be paid?

We’ll make sure that we manage your claim as quickly as we can in order to finalise claims as soon as possible. If you have a broker, contact them for further information regarding your claim or your BI policy or both.

Further background

On 14 October 2022, the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) concluded its series of court ‘test cases’ to clarify the circumstances that would trigger a claim to be paid under BI cover due to COVID-19. In summary:

The first BI test case took place in June 2021. The NSW Court of Appeal found insurers couldn’t rely on pandemic exclusions contained in BI coverage that reference the repealed Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth).

The second BI test case judgment was delivered by the Full Court of the Federal Court on 21 February 2022. The High Court refused to grant the special leave application for the second BI test case on 14 October 2022. The second BI test case process has now concluded. This has now provided clarity on a number of policy issues such as:

How the definitions of infectious disease are to be interpreted in policy wordings.
What constitutes a COVID-19 outbreak.
How the proximity requirement is to be interpreted.
The impact of government orders and other mandates.
Other policy wording matters.

This means that in the factual circumstances set out in test cases, the relevant insuring clauses won’t be triggered. This means there may be no cover under the policy for these types of claims.

We appreciate your patience while these matters have been resolved. Clear guidance and agreement by the courts has been essential in determining how we interpret and apply the relevant policy wordings to BI claims. The High Court ruling and conclusion of the test case process means that claims will ultimately be determined based on the applicable principles of the final judgment of the Full Court of the Federal Court in this test case and that of the first test case, as well as the terms of the particular BI policy of the policyholder.

For more information regarding the BI test cases, visit the Insurance Council of Australia website.

Ready to make a claim?

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Allianz acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we live and work across Australia. We pay our respect to First Nations Elders past and present.

Any advice here does not take into account your individual objectives, financial situation or needs. Terms, conditions, limits and exclusions apply.

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