Q&A: Business Continuity in the Digital Age

There has been a significant amount of discussion, both within and outside of P&C industry, about whether a commercial insurance policy offers pandemic coverage for business interruption losses.

Generally speaking, commercial liability policies exclude business interruption coverage for pandemic. However, the industry has recommended that commercial insureds talk to their brokers or commercial insurance providers to confirm specific coverage, since commercial policies can be customized to individual circumstances.

The question came up recently during the first episode of our webinar series in mid-April, COVID-19: Business Continuity in the Digital Age. Here’s how webinar panelist Steve Whitelaw, vice president of broker and industry partnerships at Applied, tackled the question.

Q&A with Steve Whitelaw (Mar. 22, 2020)

Q: Why did insurance companies not come up with some sort of pandemic insurance after the Ebola and SARS outbreaks occurred?

A: Pandemic insurance has existed for many years. However, many organizations have not insured themselves for such disruptions. The All England Club has been paying for pandemic insurance for 17 years and has recently filed a claim for COVID-19 following cancellation of the 2020 Wimbledon games.

Feature image by iStock.com/Nuthawut Somsuk