Earlier this month, the court delivered a judgment that upheld carriers’ arguments in most matters in the test case.
In particular, Justice Jayne Jagot ruled that BI cover was only present for closures of businesses relating to an outbreak on assureds’ premises, and that where businesses had not been required by government to close but chosen to do so, they could not claim BI.
The judge also ruled, however, that where policies provided for infectious disease outbreaks within a certain radius of a business, customers were entitled to a payout.
The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) said today policyholders have filed appeals to the Full Court of the Federal Court on five of the test case matters, while carriers have filed cross-appeals and notices of convention in relation to those five matters.
The five other matters in the test case involving Chubb, Allianz and Guild are not being appealed.
The appeal is to be heard from 8 November.
Andrew Hall, CEO of the ICA, said: “We are grateful to the court for expediting this matter so a determination can be reached as soon as possible.
“Insurers, including those not directly involved in the court proceedings, have committed to applying the reasoning of the final judgments of the test cases in an efficient, transparent, and consistent way when assessing claims.”
