We know many of you have concerns about insurance and how your policies will respond as the impacts of coronavirus reverberate worldwide and closer to home.
Insurance policies will vary but as a guide, here’s a summary of how the insurance covers you’re most concerned about are likely to respond to coronavirus.
Travel Insurance
Insurers are regularly reviewing and updating their advisories as the situation unfolds, but it’s fair to say that there are some challenges and grey areas when it comes to how various policies will respond. Cover under travel insurance will vary depending on the type of cover you have, who you are insured with, and when you made your travel arrangements or arranged your cover. If you have any concerns or questions, please contact us to discuss your specific circumstances.
Material Damage and Business Interruption Insurance
Material damage and business interruption policies require a physical loss or physical damage to trigger a policy response. Most of these polices also exclude cover for notifiable infectious disease under the Health Act 1956. Consequently, as coronavirus does not cause any physical loss or damage to property and infectious diseases are excluded, any losses related to coronavirus will likely not be covered under material damage and business interruption policies.
Marine Cargo Insurance
We know shipments to and from New Zealand have incurred delays and are likely to do so for some months. Marine policies generally exclude financial loss resulting from delays, irrespective of the cause, and so it is unlikely any coronavirus related claims would be accepted by marine insurers.
Government Support
The COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme announced by the Government yesterday allows employers up to $150,000 in compensation over the next 12 weeks to keep employees on. They will pay up to $585 per full-time worker and $385 per part-time employee. Any business that can show a 30 per cent decline in revenue for any month between January and June, when compared with the same month last year, will be eligible. It is available now. Refer: https://covid19.govt.nz/
Stay in touch
Please get in touch with your broker if you have any concerns around your insurances and coronavirus. Simply call us on (04) 586 2728 to speak with your broker, or contact your broker directly.
