By Kyriaki Noussia
The spread of COVID-19 has had a global impact, with the human toll being significant, and with the economic cost being unquantifiable. With regards to business and contractual relationships, legal liabilities owed to disruption, cancellations, or to the imposed halt of everyday life are perhaps the most notable. In this forthcoming new article at the International Journal of International Banking Law and Regulation I think through the issues related to frustration of contracts where the circumstances have changed due to unnatural events such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. I discuss the impact of COVID-19 on insurance, in particular business interruption, travel and general liability insurance, as well as the likelihood of success of future claims, the scope of coverage, together with the meaning and interpretation of the term “force majeure” and how this will relate to exclusions from insurance coverage is discussed. Possible interpretations to be followed by courts in future claims and liability for catastrophic risks and methods of compensation are examined and conclusions on the role of insurance in the COVID-19 pandemic are drawn.
Link
