Policyholders succeed in UK Business Interruption Test Case at first instance

Introduction On 15 September 2020, the England and Wales High Court handed down its judgment in the highly publicised business interruption test case: The Financial Conduct Authority v Arch and Others [2020] EWHC 2448 (Comm). This judgment is a significant development for property insurers underwriting risks in the United Kingdom, with the Court finding that cover is potentially available under a suite of property insurance policies for business interruption losses sustained on account of the COVID-19 pandemic. The potential availability of cover arises from the Court’s findings that ‘non-damage’ extensions of cover relating to notifiable diseases and prevention or restriction of access are potentially triggered by the pandemic, and its finding that the method of determining causation and loss which was applied in Orient Express[1] did not apply to the wordings under consideration in this case. The judgment will be of supreme significance to insurers who have underwritten business interruption…