Lockdowns and other restrictions around the world have resulted in many disputes between businesses and insurers over the payment of claims for business interruption. Public-facing businesses forced to close due to lockdown restrictions, including restaurants, bars, and gyms, are among those likely to have business interruption policies. A survey released in August by technology company Fiverr found one in five small businesses have lost more than $100,000 because of the pandemic. At the moment, insurers have put exclusion clauses into their policies arguing the pandemic is now a “known event” that cannot be covered by insurance. Let us remember that insurance is a means of protection from financial loss. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent or uncertain loss.

Insurance companies could collapse under Covid-19 losses. Insurers warn that the wave of business interruption lawsuits could flood them. Analysts warned this year that the industry could face at least $100 billion in losses from the pandemic, which could end up being the largest in insurance history.

Pandemic is the type of coverage that businesses thought they had paid for when they bought their current business interruption policies before the coronavirus pandemic. This will be a major opportunity because post-COVID, it would be as irresponsible to not buy insurance against pandemics as it would be to not buy insurance against fire. Besides, insurers could create products including pandemic coverage which may mean the insurance will entail an increased or extra premium. 

In summary, it's understandable that insurers don't want to cover business interruption or loss of profits because of the pandemic, as a consequence of the losses from the last year, but if insurers want to exclude this risk from the insurance contract, a first option would be to inform the insured, clearly, precisely, and without contradictions, about the limitations of the contract. 

COVID-19 will pose new challenges to global economic activity, of which insurance is and will continue to be a fundamental piece. I believe that insurance must catch up and accompany these changes, this evolution, as it has historically done. It's an opportune time for the insurance activity to gain positive visibility before society, making it clear that insurance is necessary and useful in unforeseen situations, and creating insurance products with coverage for these situations, and maybe with an increased premium. Finally, that is the insurer's goal: to manage the risks of individuals and companies with solvency.