AXA and the restaurant owner: The Court in favour of the insurer

On 3 December 2020, the Aix-en-Provence Court of Appeal ruled in favour of AXA in its dispute with a restaurant owner. In an initial judgment handed down on 23 July 2020, the Marseille Commercial Court had ordered the insurer to give the restaurant owner a compensation of 66 385 EUR (80 456 USD) for Covid-19-related business interruption.

On the same day, the Court of Appeal said there was no ambiguity in the policy, which explicitly excludes coverage for business interruption in the event of cessation of activities. The court also considered that the President of the Court lacked competent to assess the claims made by the restaurateur against his insurer.

After winning the case, the French group confirmed that its insurance policy clearly excluded compensation for business interruption in the event of a government-imposed decision to shut down institutions.