Before you lodge a claim, it’s important to do what you reasonably can to prevent any further loss, damage, or liability.
How to make a claim
If you’re new to making a Business Interruption (BI) claim, here’s how our process works.
1. Get the details
Have your policy number ready and the details of what’s happened.
2. Start your claim online or by phone
To start your claim online, fill in the form and we’ll be in touch.
3. We’ll be in touch
Once we’ve assessed your claim, we’ll let you know the outcome.
Need help? If you need any support with your claim, give us a call and our friendly claims consultants will be happy to help.
What happens next?
Once you’ve lodged your claim, we’ll review it subject to the terms of your BI Insurance cover.
Before your claim can be paid, you must be able to demonstrate a loss that’s covered by the policy. We may also need you to provide evidence to support your claim. We’ll tell you the type of information we need. Once we’ve assessed your claim, we’ll let you know the outcome.
We’ll support you through the claims process and assess your claim as soon as possible.
COVID-19 BI claims
If COVID-19 affected your business and you believe you’re eligible to claim under your BI cover, consider lodging a claim. Learn more about COVID-19 BI claims.
Ready to make a claim?
Frequently asked questions
If you believe your circumstances entitle you to claim under your BI cover, you should consider lodging a claim.
If you’re unsure, give our claims team a call on 13 10 13. If you have a broker, contact them for more information.
Once we’ve reviewed your claim and we’ve agreed it’s eligible, we may ask you to provide the following financial information:
- Quarterly business activity statements
- Monthly or annual profit and loss statements
- Monthly payroll summary reports by employee
- Supporting invoices for increased or additional costs incurred to mitigate loss or maintain business operations
- Evidence of any government benefits your business has received, such as JobKeeper
- Details of all rental relief provided by your landlord
If we need additional information to support your claim, we’ll let you know.
We’ll process your claim as quickly as we can to finalise your claim as soon as possible. If you have a broker, contact them for further information about your claim or your BI policy or both.
If a COVID-19 case or outbreak has affected your business, it may have disrupted your business in a number of ways. These can include the following:
- A confirmed case of COVID-19 at the insured premises that interferes, interrupts, or requires the business to close
- A closure because of a known COVID-19 case within the vicinity limit of the premises, such as 20km, as detailed in the Product Disclosure Statement
- A closure because of a confirmed COVID-19 outbreak in the vicinity of your business
In these instances, we’ll need you to provide evidence. This can include the following:
- Health authority advice
- Emergency professional cleaning invoices
If the confirmed COVID-19 case wasn’t at your premises, you’ll need to tell us where it was in relation to your business. Note: a confirmed COVID-19 case within the vicinity limit may not trigger the insuring clause. This was the judgement in the second BI test cases, including the appeal to the Full Court of the Federal Court.
Your business may have had to change its trading hours. Or you might have modified the business to allow you to trade under COVID-19, such as operating as a window-only or takeaway-only business.
Whatever changes you made, we’ll need your previous 12-months sales data before the date of loss, as well as sales data during the loss period.
The BI test cases sought to provide clarity about the application of policy wordings during the COVID-19 pandemic. This process has now been completed and we can implement the decision of the Courts’ final judgment.
On 14 October 2022, the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) concluded its series of court ‘test cases’ to clarify the circumstances that would trigger a claim to be paid under BI cover due to COVID-19.
The first BI test case took place in June 2021. The NSW Court of Appeal found insurers couldn’t rely on pandemic exclusions contained in BI coverage that reference the repealed Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth).
The second BI test case judgment was delivered by the Full Court of the Federal Court on 21 February 2022. The High Court refused to grant the special leave application for the second BI test case on 14 October 2022. It has provided clarity on policy issues such as:
- How the definitions of infectious disease are to be interpreted in policy wordings
- What constitutes a COVID-19 outbreak
- How the proximity requirement is to be interpreted
- The impact of government orders and other mandates
- Other policy wording matters
This means that in the factual circumstances set out in test cases, the relevant insuring clauses won’t be triggered. There may be no cover under the policy for these types of claims.
The courts’ clear guidance and agreement have determined how we interpret and apply the relevant policy wordings to BI claims. The High Court ruling means claims decisions are based on the applicable principles of the Federal Court’s final judgment and the policy holder’s BI policy terms.
For more information about the BI test cases, visit the Insurance Council of Australia website.
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Any advice here does not take into account your individual objectives, financial situation or needs. Terms, conditions, limits, and exclusions apply. Before making a decision about this insurance, consider the relevant Product Disclosure Statement (PDS)/Policy Wording and Supplementary PDS (if applicable). Where applicable, the PDS/Policy Wording, Supplementary PDS and Target Market Determination (TMD) for this insurance are available on this website. We do not provide any form of advice if you call us to enquire about or purchase a product.
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