We note the judgement of the Court in respect of the policy wording in question. Insurance Ireland and its members will now fully consider the ruling.

More generally, we understand that this is a very difficult time for businesses and that business interruption insurance is a cause of concern in the marketplace. It is a very complex issue.

No insurance market in the world provides widespread insurance coverage for pandemics and Ireland is no exception.

As the Governor of the Central Bank highlighted last week, there are three types of policy in this context. There are some where there is no cover, there are others where there clearly is cover and there are some instances where it is ambiguous.

Most policy wordings are clear in terms of what cover is provided and what cover exclusions are in place.Where there is cover, our members have been dealing with those claims.

The decisions that insurers make about contractual obligations and claims handling are subject to rigorous regulation including the Consumer Protection Code and the Central Bank’s supervisory framework.