Terrorism insurance pays out

Our client is a multi-site fine dining restaurant business, with operations across London, including Borough Market.

On Friday 29^th November 2019, Usman Khan killed two members of the public and threatened to injure or kill more at London Bridge, until eventually civilians and police intervened. It did not appear that the incident had the intention of damaging property, but rather was an attack on human life.

Revenues impacted due to unmanageable circumstances 

Following the events, our client suffered a reduction in sales.  The local authority restricted access to the area and public transport services were reduced, contributing to a reduction in expected footfall.  This unfortunately led to a £25,000 reduction in our client’s forecasted revenue.

£25,000 reduction in our client’s forecasted revenue.

How did the insurance respond?

There are two essential factors to consider here:

1. This was an act of terror and therefore would only be covered by a Terrorism policy
2. There was no damage to the property.  This is important because a claim for loss of revenue typically follows damage to property.

As part of our work in reviewing the client’s circumstances, we had recognised this potential shortfall and advised the client to extend their Terrorism policy to respond to events even when there is no damage to property.  We continue to see restaurants, hotels and other UK businesses have inadequate insurance protection, meaning they will have no cover if this type of terrorist attack impacts them.

Would your business insurance respond to this type of incident?

Claim paid within 72 hours.

We supported our client by working with them and their insurer to promptly and correctly submit a claim, thus ensuring they had the best chance at having their loss of expected income covered.  This claim settlement was paid within 72 hours of the terrorist event, helping our client avoid any financial pressure this interruption could have caused.

The Finance Director said:

This is great news. I wasn’t expecting to get any pay-out and definitely not as quick as this.

Call Lewis Doyle on 020 7543 2803 or complete this form if you would like us to review your existing insurance programme or provide a quote for your business insurance.