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Verdict: Insurers win corona lawsuits for business closure - are hosts now left empty-handed?

2021-03-17T16:37:46.233Z


In view of the loss of sales due to the lockdown, many innkeepers insist on their policies on business closures. But now customers have suffered severe defeats.


In view of the loss of sales due to the lockdown, many innkeepers insist on their policies on business closures.

But now customers have suffered severe defeats.

Munich - In front of the Munich Regional Court II, three insurance companies have prevailed against complaining customers from the catering industry who demanded payments for the first corona lockdown in spring 2020.

The 10th civil chamber has dismissed the complaints in a total of four proceedings, as the court announced on Wednesday.

The innkeepers had taken out insurance against business closures with Allianz, Helvetia and the liability insurance company.

The proceedings totaled 460,000 euros.

The reason for the dismissal of the lawsuits is that the three companies have included in their respective insurance conditions a list of diseases and pathogens to which the respective policies apply.

Since Covid-19 is not found in these listings, there is also no insurance cover according to the judgments.

Corona closings process: judgments are not final

The decisions are not final, nor do they mean legal clarity.

Hundreds of similar lawsuits are pending across Germany, and different chambers have come to different assessments - in some cases even in the same city, as in Munich.

In previous cases, the 12th Civil Chamber of the Munich Regional Court I had criticized the insurance conditions of Allianz as "non-transparent" because Covid-19 was not mentioned in the contested contracts, but also not excluded - unlike in the case of prion diseases such as the BSE cattle epidemic, where the largest European insurer had explicitly stated that the business closure insurance does not pay.

Allianz had reached several settlements in similar cases

However, the alliance had turned off the subsequently threatened defeat by reaching a settlement with the plaintiff hosts before the verdict was pronounced.

In the case of the lawsuit brought by the tenant of the Munich Augustinerkeller, Allianz had to pay a good million.

An innkeeper who filed a lawsuit had also recently prevailed against his insurance company before the Düsseldorf Regional Court.

As far as is known, however, the insurers have won in the majority of the cases decided so far.

According to lawyers, legal clarity may not exist for a few years, when the Federal Court of Justice has to deal with the issue as the highest authority.

(dpa / utz)

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2021-03-17

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