Therefore, turning a ‘blind eye’ to the nooks and crannies of your policy details could leave you and your staff in financial jeopardy if you’re not covered for Covid-19.
Licensees Association chief executive Nick Griffin said: “While making it a notifiable disease, it could lull an awful lot of people into a full sense of security.
“We are seeing cases where people believe they are covered and they are not as a consequence of the coronavirus not being listed on their policy as a notifiable disease.
“It is imperative that we all check the level of our cover and if not covered, seek assistance.
“While the Government is out there saying, ‘don’t worry about it, you're going to be covered’, that's absolute nonsense.”
Burying heads in the sand
The Licensees Association has secured access to an insurance policy with cover of up to £50,000 for pubs and two separate policies with cover for either £150,000 or £250,000 for hotels dependent on the premises.
And, because of the urgency of the situation, the association is opening these up to everyone, not just those who aren’t members of the association.
Griffin continued: “Burying our heads in the sands is not the way forward. We need to be proactive about this because if you don’t act now, these sorts of covers will disappear.
“There are a lot of self-employed people out there in the pub sector and it can be an absolute nightmare because they’re not going to be able to pay their staff.
“So, turning a blind eye is no good right now.”
Griffin explained the application process is simple. Either email the Licensees Association or himself directly at nick@licensees.org and he can take you through it.
A fine-tooth comb
So, as the UK comes to terms with coronavirus, whether operators opt for this policy or not, they would be smart to go over their insurance policies with a fine-tooth comb to check if they are covered for certain costs of a virus outbreak.
Marc Brennan, a commercial insurance broker from James Hallam, also recommended publicans of this.
“From an insurance perspective, businesses would be well advised to talk to their insurance broker and ask if their policy provides protection for:
- Loss of revenue following closure on order of a public authority or as a result of an infectious disease
- Clean-up costs following disease, murder or suicide
- Crisis management costs.”
Griffin added: “Insurance cover is a vital tool for business to survive, we hope most never need to use it, but they should certainly have it. Cover for coronavirus will give you peace of mind.”
