Swiss court strikes down Covid insurance liability claim

Pandemic lockdowns and other restrictions have hit the Swiss catering trade and other small businesses. Keystone / Pablo Gianinazzi

The Swiss Federal Court has dashed hopes that small companies could be entitled to insurance payouts for lost business during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The test case was brought by a restaurant owner from the town of Baden in northern Switzerland who argued that lost earnings were covered by an insurance policy.

An initial court hearing last May ruled that the insurance company should pay CHF40,000 ($43,000) for earnings lost during a lockdown imposed the previous year.

Butthe verdict was overturned on appeal by the Swiss Federal Court, in a decision announced on Friday.

The case hinged on the exact wording of the insurance policy. The latest verdict declared that it was sufficiently clear that the contract did not cover such a severe pandemic. An exclusion clause was therefore lawfully triggered by the insurance company.

The plaintiff’s lawyer told Swiss public broadcaster SRFExternal link that he was “extremely disappointed” with the ruling that could affect hundreds of small catering businesses.

The insurance company, Helvetia, said it was satisfied that it has “finally created legal certainty” over the issue.