The UK Supreme Court has refused Allianz permission to appeal an important judgment on pandemic-related business interruption insurance, in what has been described as a major win for policyholders.

Premier League football club Liverpool FC has settled a long-running legal dispute with a group of UK insurers over the payment of claims related to business interruption losses suffered as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns.

In a rare Covid-19 appeal loss for insurers, North Carolina’s supreme court has ruled that a group of restaurants are entitled to coverage for losses related to the pandemic because a reasonable policyholder could expect “direct physical loss” to property to be covered.

Allianz and Various Eateries have settled a long-running £16.4mn ($21.3mn) suit brought by the restaurant operator over the payment of claims related to business interruption (BI) losses suffered because of Covid-19 lockdowns.

A West End theatre owner has urged a UK appellate court to restart its long-running Covid-19 business interruption claim against Allianz, arguing that an earlier Commercial Court judgment was wrong to rule that its policy had not been triggered by the pandemic lockdowns.

The UK arm of French insurer Covéa has won its long-running dispute with Italian reinsurer Unipol over Covid-19 business interruption (BI) reinsurance recoveries, with a London appellate court upholding findings that the pandemic met the definition of “catastrophe” used in the policy.

Australia’s Federal Court has ruled against hearing a fresh wave of Covid-19-related business interruption (BI) claims as class actions, a move welcomed by insurers and which leaves SME policyholders to pursue the cases individually.

More than four years after the Covid-19 pandemic began, a UK appeals court has held in favour of a policyholder in a case likely to have wider implications for other insureds and for some of the outstanding reinsurance business interruption disputes that are set for arbitration.

An English appeals court has handed London’s ExCeL centre and other policyholders victory in a long-running Covid-19 test case, finding that the national pandemic lockdowns triggered the “at the premises” (ATP) clauses in their policies.

As insurers around the world contemplate developing public-private partnerships to insure future pandemic events after Covid-19, parametric structures are emerging as a front runner for platforms designed to assist smaller businesses.