Insurers are pleading with the High Court to quash a ruling that JobKeeper subsidies should not be subtracted from anyThe insurers argue it is wrong that they must pay out policies in full when pandemic-affected policyholders also received subsidies – and maintain such a ruling would have deeper industry ramifications.Customers are meanwhile also asking the High Court to overturn rulings and ensure that coverage kicks in even if select policy clauses excluded pandemics.
The Insurance Council of Australia said it understood there was “frustration that the matter continues through the courts”, but policyholders and insurers needed “definitive guidance from the courts” about applying business interruption policy wordings. Another bevy of cases was run to test different interpretations of business interruption insurance, including COVID-19 outbreak proximity or the impact of specific policy clauses banning pandemic claims.
“Considering the generosity of the ‘JobKeeper’ program, the quantum of those payments is likely to be significantly affected by the answer to the questions that [IAG] seeks to raise on appeal,” the insurer’s application stated.