Business Interruption Insurance and the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The extent to which business interruption insurance policies respond to the disruption wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic has emerged as a significant legal issue in Australia and overseas. In the first Australian test case – HDI Global Specialty SE v Wonkana No. 3 Pty Ltd [2020] NSWCA 296 – a five-judge bench of the New South Wales Court of Appeal addressed the fact that many Australian policies contain exclusions from cover framed around reference to the now-repealed Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth), which has been replaced by the Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth). This note highlights key aspects of the reasoning of the members of the Court of Appeal and considers the lessons that emerge from the decision.