In a significant win for policyholders, the Supreme Court has today refused Allianz Insurance plc’s application for permission to appeal in London International Exhibition Centre v RSA & ors.

The claim was brought by London’s ExCeL exhibition centre, who sought an indemnity for their Covid-19 business interruption losses under an ‘At the Premises’ (‘ATP’) Disease insurance clause. The defendant insurers denied liability on the basis that ATP clauses were not in the scope of the Supreme Court’s 2021 ruling in FCA v Arch (the ‘FCA Test Case’). The case was selected as a test case due to the importance of the outcome to potentially many thousands of other policyholders and was named as one of The Lawyer’s Top 20 Cases of 2023, and subsequently as a Top 10 Appeal of 2024.

The case was decided in favour of the ExCeL centre in the Commercial Court in June 2023. Mr Justice Jacobs granted the insurers permission to appeal on the grounds of the public importance of the case, but noting at the time that he was doubtful as to whether the appeal had any real prospect of success. In June 2024 the Court of Appeal agreed, issuing a unanimous decision upholding the earlier finding that the Supreme Court’s concurrent causation ruling in the FCA Test Case was equally applicable to ATP disease clauses.

Of the six defendant insurers to the case, only Allianz sought permission to further appeal to the Supreme Court. Allianz’s application has today been dismissed, on the basis that it does not raise an arguable point of law.

The Court of Appeal’s ruling now becomes final, paving the way for thousands of policyholders insured under ‘At the Premises’ disease clauses to pursue their claims.

Aaron Le Marquer, Head of Policyholder Disputes at Stewarts comments:

London International Exhibition Centre was represented by the Stewarts Policyholder Disputes team, led by Aaron Le Marquer and James Breese.

See previous updates on this case here:

• Court of Appeal upholds ‘At the Premises’ Covid BI test case ruling in favour of policyholders
• Court rules in favour of policyholders in ‘At the Premises’ test case

What’s next for Covid BI litigation?

The stage is also now set for the January 2025 appeals in Bath Racecourse v Liberty Mutual, in which Stewarts also acts for the Policyholder. In that case, the Court of Appeal will decide the market critical issues of

(i) whether insurers are entitled to claim the benefit of furlough monies paid to policyholders during the pandemic; and

(ii) whether multiple insured entities under a single composite insurance policy are each entitled to pursue separate claims.

See our updates on the case here:

• Covid-19 business interruption insurance litigation rumbles on