Mishcon de Reya, the law firm representing the Hiscox Action Group, has triggered the arbitration clause in nearly 350 policyholders’ contracts and is targeting a £40 million payout.
The Hiscox Action Group consists of Hiscox clients whose coronavirus-related business interruption claims have been rejected.
Mishcon says the total number of policyholders and expected payout will rise significantly as more Action Group members sign up to the proceedings and their losses are added to the total.
Additional claims are also likely to be bought by policyholders under the Insurance Act which penalises insurers for not settling legitimate claims swiftly.
“We were only appointed two months ago and have moved incredibly swiftly to get to this point,” said – Richard Leedham, the Mishcon partner dealing with this action.
“We know that many of our claimants are small businesses who desperately need this money to survive and we are pushing as hard as we can to help them.”
The Hiscox Action Group has been told that the FCA action being taken against various insurers including Hiscox will not hinder the Arbitration process and that the proposed timetable based on a series of test cases offers the best way forward.
Mark Killick, the founder of the Hiscox Action Group, added, “Today’s launch of the expedited arbitration claim marks an important milestone in our campaign to force Hiscox to do the right thing and honour its obligations.
“It will be interesting to see if Hiscox is now willing to work with us to swiftly resolve this issue or if it seeks to delay things even further.”
