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The nightmare for every business economist: Although you think you are safe due to the closed business closure or business interruption insurance during Corona times, the insurance company refuses to pay. It is not uncommon for the survival of the business to depend on the assistance of the insurance company.
If the insurance conditions contain a list of illnesses ("those listed below by name"), the insurer is happy to submit that this is a conclusive list and that a corona-related business closure does not constitute an insured event if - as is regularly the case - the corona virus is not included in the list. In the opinion of the insurers, this should apply even if reference is made to the Infection Protection Act (short: IfSG) within the relevant insurance clauses.
This view now has the LG Munich I with judgment of October 01.10.2020st, 12 (Az. 5895 O 20/XNUMX) a first clear rejection and the defendant insurer to one Payment to the policyholder in the millions!
LG Munich I for the first: Company closure due to Corona insured event even if Coronavirus is not named in the insurance conditions.
The decision of the LG Munich I was based on insurance conditions, which on the one hand often referred to the IfSG, but on the other hand contained a catalog of various diseases and pathogens - note: the corona virus was, as is so often not part of this catalog - that did not match the statutory one Catalog of the IfSG matched, but did not record various diseases and pathogens, but if they occur the authorities would be authorized to close operations according to the IfSG.
According to the convincing opinion of the court, the policyholder could in this case trust that the insurance cover granted is comprehensive and that business closings based on the IfSG are fully recorded. The otherwise ultimately restrictive clause, in which individual (but not all according to the IfSG!) Diseases and pathogens were listed, was held by the court because of a violation of the transparency requirement in accordance with Section 307 (1) of the German Civil Code (BGB) is invalid. The result: The corona-related business closure in question was, in the opinion of LG Munich I, an insured event, although the corona virus was not named in the insurance conditions.
LG Munich I for the second: Corona emergency aid does not count towards the insurance claim.
And the LG Munich I has also clearly positioned itself in favor of the policyholder on another point: The insurers have and are often argued that, even in the event that they are required to take part, they would at least allow short-time allowance to be deducted from the claim and that the state would grant them Liquidity assistance (“Corona emergency aid”) had to be provided because this involved “claims for damages based on public law compensation law”, for which there is a regular obligation to offset according to the respective insurance conditions. With this view, the LG Munich I made short work in a concise and convincing way - neither the Corona emergency aid nor the short-time work allowance are “compensation claims”, so that these benefits cannot be offset against the insurance claim.
But even if the insurance does not have to pay, all is not lost. Has your insurance broker suggested to you, for example, that the business closure insurance offered would also apply in the event of COVID-19, or did yours Insurance broker not pointed out to any gaps in insurance coverage, this can liable for the damage his. If the insurance contract is mediated by an insurance broker, the latter is liable for any incorrect advice. The "nice thing": You do not have to worry about the creditworthiness of the broker - at least as a rule - as insurance brokers are obliged to have appropriate professional liability insurance.
Last but not least, a note to all those who, following the inspiration of the Bavarian Minister of Economic Affairs, Hubert Aiwanger, took the “half chicken” and entered into a quick, but now retrospectively, possibly considerably too cheap comparison with their insurer: also in this one Cases, a legally sound review of the matter is worthwhile. Depending on the circumstances of the individual case, you may also have further claims here.
Therefore, in any case, have your claims checked easily and free of charge! Do You Have Questions? Call us!
