15 January 2021 Insurance – Business interruption insurance – COVID-19 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) commenced the present test case under the Financial Markets Test Case Scheme (the scheme) for the benefit of insurance policyholders, who held insurance policies which covered them against losses arising from interruption of business, to urgently clarify whether or not there was cover in principle under a variety of different standard insurance policies for COVID-19 related business losses. The defendants were eight insurers who were leading providers of ‘business interruption’ insurance. The aim of the proceedings was to achieve the maximum clarity possible for the maximum number of policyholders and their insurers by considering a representative sample of standard form business interruption policies. The proper interpretation of four types of clauses in particular were considered, namely; (i) ‘disease clauses’; (ii) ‘prevention of access clauses’; (iii) ‘hybrid clauses’ and; (iv) ‘trends clauses’. The proceedings were heard initially by the Commercial Court, where the FCA had issued a claim form asking the court to make declarations about the meaning and effect of the relevant policy wordings. The FCA was substantially successful in its claim in the Commercial Court. Accordingly, the main appeal in the present case was that of the insurers. However, the FCA also appealed in relation to certain issues in which it had not succeeded in the Commercial Court. The intervener, a policyholder action group, also appealed on similar grounds to those advanced by the FCA.