Fenchurch Law warns the clock is ticking for Covid-19 Business Interruption claims
Fenchurch Law, the UK’s leading firm for insurance policyholders, has issued a warning to brokers to ensure their clients file any Covid-19 business interruption (BI) claims now, before they are time-barred.
Five years on from the pandemic, experts at Fenchurch Law are highlighting that the limitation period for Covid-19 BI claims will expire in March 2026, leaving affected businesses with less than a year to act.
Over the last five years, a series of high-profile battles between insurers and policyholders in the UK over BI wordings have expanded the scope of BI policies. The result is that policyholders now have more potential opportunities to receive compensation for the loss of business during the early months of the pandemic.
Fenchurch Law’s Managing Partner, Joanna Grant, warns that brokers need to act now to give their clients the best chance of success:
“Many industries were decimated by the pandemic that swept the world in 2020, with few more severely impacted than the hospitality industry, the long periods of lockdown taking a significant toll.
“During the last five years, we’ve fought for clients to get a fair outcome from their insurers. Though the pandemic was unprecedented, insurance policy wordings should be fair, proportionate and transparent, and we have found time and time again, that this was not the case. We’re still coming up against legal challenges regarding how to apply policy wordings, most recently the Non-Damage Denial of Access appeal brought by Liberty, which found for policyholders in holding that in composite policies, 'any one loss' limits applied separately to each policyholder rather than in aggregate across all policyholders. We are also involved in new cases being issued in court, including most recently a claim brought by the owner of the Franco Manca chain of pizzerias against QIC in respect of their Covid-19 losses.
For some businesses, there may be a long road ahead, so we urge brokers start talking to clients now, long before the liability period runs out.”
Joanna Grant is the Managing Partner of Fenchurch Law UK
Fenchurch Law and Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C. Announce Strategic Partnership to Strengthen Policyholder Representation
Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C. (SDV) and Fenchurch Law have announced a new partnership, uniting two leading firms focused on representing insurance policyholders in coverage disputes. On either side of the pond, SDV and Fenchurch Law share a common mission of levelling the playing field between policyholders and insurers. Now, both firms look forward to joining forces to offer an expanded range of services for multinational policyholders and brokers.
SDV and Fenchurch Law’s Commitment to Policyholders
SDV is one of the few U.S.-based firms dedicated exclusively to representing policyholders in insurance coverage disputes. SDV has locations in the Northeast, Southeast, and West Coast, serving clients all across America. A versatile firm, SDV brings together Big Law expertise with a boutique service approach to provide legal options for policyholders, tailored to their needs. Besides advocating for clients during coverage disputes, SDV also assists with policy purchase, renewal, and modification to help clients find the coverage they need.
SDV represents policyholders across a wide array of areas of practice, including bad faith claims, cyber risk, Directors & Officers liability coverage, disability insurance claims, Employment Practices Liability claims, environmental insurance, insurance for international businesses, life and disability insurance, municipal coverage, natural disaster coverage, policy review and analysis. The firm’s Risk Transfer practice group, robustly staffed, is specifically concentrated on comprehensive review of insurance policy and contract language to protect the interests of both individual policyholders and brokers.
Fenchurch Law is an international firm with offices in Copenhagen and Singapore, in addition to London and Leeds in the UK, that has long provided insurance advice and representation in complex, high-value claims. True to its founding values, Fenchurch Law advocates only for policyholders, never insurers. Its team includes attorneys with previous experience working on all sides of the insurance market, including as brokers, claims adjusters or insurer-side representatives, bringing deep industry expertise to help secure recoveries for policyholders in disputed claims.
Fenchurch Law’s clients include global multinationals, high net-worth individuals, and businesses of all sizes across a wide variety of sectors, both UK-based and across the APAC and Scandinavian regions. The firm has particular strengths in handling claims involving construction, property, energy, financial lines, political violence, and international risks insured into the London market.
Both companies have a rich history and proven track record as elite firms in the field of policyholder coverage disputes.
Two Firms with Shared Values and a Shared Purpose
Both firms have a history of supporting the insurance broker community, combining the firms’ legal skills with brokers’ commercial leverage to achieve the best possible outcomes for both policyholders. Both firms have also lived their commitment to never bring claims against brokers.
It is these shared values of focusing exclusively on policyholder interests, and working closely with insurance brokers, that have brought the two firms together in this new collaboration. Through this partnership, SDV and Fenchurch Law look forward to offering representation to international policyholders and brokers worldwide, on a scale that has not previously been possible.
This will allow more multinational businesses access to specialized representation in their coverage disputes and expert counsel when they are making high-value insurance policy purchase and renewal decisions. It will also empower both firms to extend the range of services and areas of practice offered to their existing and future clients by tapping into each other’s deep expertise in specific insurance concerns.
