“
We have to be clear: there will be other pandemics.
"While the economy is gradually picking up colors after a year and a half marked by the coronavirus epidemic, the CEO of Axa calls for rethinking the way in which economic players are insured against the risks associated with pandemics.
Thomas Buberl thus proposes the creation of a "
new public-private mechanism
", which would be established "
in the manner of the regime set up to cover natural disasters and terrorist attacks
", he explains to the Parisian.
Read also: Covid losses: Axa wants to make peace with restaurant owners
“
We have for the first time suffered a disaster that no insurance in the world can cover: that of a pandemic and containment on a global scale.
We have already had cases of restaurants closed because of salmonella, and in this case, we were covering the operating loss.
But if all the restaurants close, we are no longer able to provide
insurance
,
”insists Thomas Buberl.
A first attempt in 2020
A compulsory insurance scheme to cover administrative closures linked to a pandemic has already been considered by the government.
In 2020, it had even been the subject of several months of negotiations: Bercy and representatives of the insurance profession had discussed at length to create such a compensation scheme, bringing together public authorities and private insurance companies.
Read also: Axa sold its insurance activities in Greece to Generali for 167 million euros
Falling behind due to lack of consensus, this project was finally buried by the Ministry of the Economy and Finance in December 2020. “
I heard the concerns of all companies that do not want new charges, which would be unbearable for them
”, justified Bruno Le Maire at the time.
The Minister of the Economy then considered "
disproportionate
" the cost of such insurance in the face of the risk of the emergence of a pandemic, which he considered less frequent than that of natural disasters, for example.
Axa put his hand in his pocket
In the absence of an insurance plan covering the consequences of a pandemic, insurers and restaurateurs have conducted tense negotiations on the issue of compensation since the start of the health crisis.
In total, 1,500 legal proceedings target, for example, the Axa group in France.
The court decisions they have generated have so far proved to be heterogeneous, but it is clear that the insurer has often lost.
After these months of arm wrestling, Axa finally decided to release an envelope to the tune of 300 million euros for 15,000 of them.
This concerns restaurateurs who have taken out the insurance contract which guarantees compensation for operating losses linked to an administrative closure.
"
We want to put that behind us
", indicated Thursday Thomas Buberl, stressing that the envelope released by the insurer "
is not a compensation, it is a transaction
" to the tune of 20,000 euros per file approximately.
This means that if the customers accept it, they will at the same time have to waive any legal action against the insurer in this case.
Read also: Macron facing the restaurateurs this Tuesday before the reopening of the rooms
A proposal that is not up to the task, according to several restaurant owners 'unions: "
20,000 euros in compensation is ridiculous
", judged Didier Chenet, president of the GNI, employers' union of independent hotel and restaurant workers. . "
They only cover the catering part, the turnover of the hotel industry is not taken into account in the compensation, but we have hoteliers and restaurateurs who have contracts which cover the totality of the activity",
a he continued, urging his members
"to negotiate real compensation
".
