A flurry of Covid-19 business interruption claims expected in the GCC

A late rush of claims will be litigated in the region ahead of the pending March 2023 limitation period

The last flow of business interruption claims stemming from COVID-19-related lockdowns in the Gulf Cooperation Council region can be expected between now and the spring.

March 2023 signals the three-year anniversary of the restrictions on the movement of people imposed by most governments in the Gulf Cooperation Council region in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the wake of those restrictions, a number of hospitality, food and beverage, retail operations and others notified claims for loss of income under business interruption insurance covers that were of their property all-risk insurance policies. 

While many of these notifications have now been resolved, there is a residual number of claims remain have not yet been pursued in court. Most GCC jurisdictions have a three-year limitation period in place for claims to be made under insurance policies. 

While the limitation period provisions are not necessarily decisive to the issues, we expect that insureds wishing to pursue claims for COVID-19 BI losses under insurance policies will be advised to commence proceedings ahead of the expiry of the three-year limitation period in March 2023.

View all our Insurance 2023 Predictions here