Durban – Financial services group Santam announced on Monday that it would begin the process for assessing claims for policies with contingent business interruption (CBI) extensions in line with the recent court judgments.
In a statement the insurance group said that the claims assessment process would specifically apply to policies impacted by the recent judgment in the Western Cape High Court in the case between Santam and Ma-Afrika Hotels and The Stellenbosch Kitchen, and the judgment of the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in the case between Café Chameleon and Guardrisk Limited. In line with the court rulings, this applies to Santam policies written by its Hospitality and Leisure Division (H&L).
The insurance group said the process would include assessments for the applicable H&L business interruption claims that were previously rejected in the months after the national lockdown commenced on 27 March 2020.
According to a court judgment, the government’s imposition of a lockdown in response to multiple outbreaks of a ‘notifiable disease’ that is Covid-19, throughout the country, and predominantly in Cape Town, where Café Chameleon operates its business, was covered by the infectious diseases clause.
