The industry legal test case is in relation to the operation of infectious disease exclusions prevalent
in the Business Interruption section in Business Package insurance policies within Australia. The test
case was co-ordinated by the Insurance Council of Australia and the Australian Financial Complaints
Authority on behalf of all insurers that sell products with Business Interruption cover and insureds
who have purchased the cover. The test case required some real-life current claims cases that would
help to inform the outcome and assessment of policies and claims for all providers of business
interruption. Two insurers and their policyholders volunteered to be those cases. Hollard was one of
them.
Hollard has volunteered to be part of the industry test case prepared by the ICA. Whilst we remain
of the clear view that business interruption coverages do not cover pandemics, we believe the
process of legal review is valuable to us and you our customers. By choosing to associate as a party
in the industry test case, Hollard considered that it could play a valuable role to assist the whole
insurance industry, in reaching a better understanding of how local infectious disease exclusions
respond to the unique circumstances of this pandemic.
We, along with other insurers, will study the judgement in detail over coming days including in
consideration of a potential appeal to the High Court of Australia. However, it is also important
to note that claims will still turn on individual circumstances and, even if the exclusion is found not
to apply, business interruption cover under many of the policies in the market will still need other
triggers to be satisfied.
Due to the issues that may be subject to appeal we cannot provide any further clarity at this
stage. We need to study the judgement and the potential for an appeal. Hollard will communicate
further once we have made any decision that will affect our current position to claimants and
affected policy holders. In the event of an appeal we will continue to seek to ensure that the legal
process is expedited as much as possible and we will know more about what this means
for a claim made on one of our policies once we have a final judgment, including on any appeal.
There is no need for you to take any further action at the moment – if appeals go ahead, we will
contact you as soon as possible after the final judgment on appeal. If you have any queries please
contact us at biclaims@hollardcommercial.com.au or on 02 9551 1033.
If you want to submit a claim now or for other information requests on claims lodgements, please
visit our Business Interruption Online Claims page.
There is also a list of documents that the claims team will need to assist with the assessment of
business interruption claims.
This is always an option available to our insureds, however it is important to note that
the current legal process (including that on any appeal) needs to run its course so Hollard is
maintaining its current position already communicated to our insureds. In the event of an appeal we
will continue to seek to ensure that the legal process is expedited as much as possible and we will
know more about what this means for a claim made on one of our policies once we have a final
judgment, including on any appeal
We have prepared for either eventuality of this judgement and that is why we have implemented a
designated information and claims lodgement link on our website - visit our Business Interruption Online Claims page.
Our claims team will endeavour to keep up the standards you have come to expect but, as with any
major event where claims activity or information requests increase, there can be some
disruptions. So there might be some delays in service standards initially whilst we continue to
monitor the impact and allocate additional resources.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic we have continued to provide a range of relief benefits to our
customers and partners, including extensions of cover and credit terms, and financial hardship
arrangements. In addition, our website includes a flyer on supporting Vulnerable customers, and has
links to other Government information and resources available to those experiencing difficulties at:
https://www.hollardcommercial.com.au/about-hci/information-for-policyholders/small-businesslinks/.
We encourage you to inform our claims department if you have a claim for a vulnerable customer
and they will be able to assist you. Or alternatively we have a dedicated email address where you
can send the information which will be treated with the utmost confidentiality the email address
is: hcicareofficer@hollardcommercial.com.au
Contact your account manager, email the query to biclaims@hollardcommercial.com.au or contact
us on ph: 02 9551 1033
All insurers are regulated by APRA. As part of APRA’s prudential requirements insurers are required
to keep sufficient reserves to enable payment of claims.