Business Interruption Claim Disputes Have Hurt Insurer’s Reputations

Richie Whitt, Co-CEO of Markel, has warned that the re/insurance industry’s response to the dispute around COVID-19 business interruption (BI) claims may have a long-term negative impact on its reputation.

Speaking with Andy Marcell, CEO of Reinsurance Solutions at Aon, as part of the broker’s series of virtual ‘fireside chats’, Whitt confronted the issue of insurance branding amid the fallout from the pandemic.

“It hasn’t been good for the industry in terms of our reputation, unfortunately. We’re going to pay billions and billions and billions in losses as a result of COVID, but unfortunately I think most people are going to remember the losses we don’t believe we should have to pay, which is the business interruption in most cases,” he told Marcell.

The overall cost of the COVID-19 crisis remains difficult for re/insurers to quantify due to its ongoing nature and the prospect of further lockdown measures around the globe, Whitt noted.

And this dynamic is compounded by the legal and judicial challenges surrounding issues like business interruption, which will ultimately decide how coverage is interpreted.