Unipolsai Assicurazioni SpA v Covea Insurance PLC
| Judge | Mr Justice Foxton |
| Neutral Citation | [2024] EWHC 253 (Comm) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Court | Queen's Bench Division (Commercial Court) |
| Counsel | Aidan Christie Kc,Jocelin Gale,Clare Kc,Rebecca Sabben Clare Kc |
| Date | 09 February 2024 |
Neutral Citation Number: [2024] EWHC 253 (Comm)
Case Nos: CL-2023-000132 & CL-2023-000159 & CL-2023-000494
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
BUSINESS AND PROPERTY COURTS OF ENGLAND AND WALES
COMMERCIAL COURT (KBD)
Royal Courts of Justice, Rolls Building
Fetter Lane, London, EC4A 1NL
Date: 09/02/2024
Before :
MR JUSTICE FOXTON
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Case No: CL-2023-000494
Between :
UNIPOLSAI ASSICURAZIONI SPA
(substituted as Claimant for
UNIPOLRE DESIGNATED ACTIVITY
COMPANY, IRELAND)Claimant
– and –
COVÉA INSURANCE PLCDefendant
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Aidan Christie KC and Jocelin Gale (instructed by DWF Law LLP) for UnipoleRe
Alistair Schaff KC and Simon Kerr (instructed by Slaughter and May) for Covéa
AND
Case No: CL-2023-000132 and CL-2023-000159
Between :
MARKEL INTERNATIONAL INSURANCE
COMPANY LIMITEDClaimant
– and –
GENERAL REINSURANCE AGDefendant
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Rebecca Sabben-Clare KC (instructed by CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang
LLP) for Markel
Dominic Kendrick KC and Rebecca Jacobs (instructed by DLA Piper UK LLP) for General
Reinsurance
Hearing dates: 11 and 12 January 2024
Draft Judgment Circulated: 30 January 2024
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Approved Judgment
(Rev 2)
This judgment was handed down remotely at 10.00am on 09 February 2024 by circulation to
the parties or their representatives by e-mail and by release to the National Archives.
.............................
THE HONOURABLE MR JUSTICE FOXTON
Mr Justice Foxton
Approved Judgment
UnipolRe v Covéa Insurance
Markel International v General Reinsurance
The Honourable Mr Justice Foxton:
A INTRODUCTION
A1The appeals
1.This judgment is given in two appeals brought under s.69 of the Arbitration Act 1996:
i.The appeal by the Claimant formerly UnipolRe Designated Activity Company
(“UnipolRe”) against a Partial Final Arbitration Award of 24 July 2023 (“the
Covéa Award”) determining issues of principle regarding the treatment of
claims by Covéa under a Property Catastrophe Excess of Loss Reinsurance (“the
Covéa Reinsurance”) for indemnity against business interruption losses caused
by the Covid-19 pandemic.
ii.The appeal byMarkel International InsuranceCompanyLimited (“Markel”)
and cross-appeal by General Reinsurance AG (“General Reinsurance”) against
a Partial Final Arbitration Award of 27 January 2023 (“the Markel Award”)
determiningissuesofprincipleregarding thetreatmentof claimsbyMarkel
under a Property Catastrophe Excess of Loss Reinsurance (“the Markel
Reinsurance”) for indemnity against business interruption losses caused by the
Covid-19 pandemic.
2.In very broad terms, the appeals raise the following issues:
i.First, whether the Covid-19 losses for which Covéa and Markel sought
indemnity under, respectively, the Covéa and Markel Reinsurances, arose out of
and were directly occasioned by one catastrophe on the proper construction of
the Reinsurances. Both the Covéa and Markel Awards found that they did.
ii.Second, whether the effect of the respective “Hours Clauses” in the Covéa and
Markel Reinsurances, which confined the right to indemnity to “individual
losses” within a set period, had the effect that the reinsurances only responded to
payments in respect of the closure of the insured’s premises during the stipulated
period.The Covéa Award foundthat thiswas not theeffect of the “Hours
Clause” in the Covéa Reinsurance. The Markel Award found that this was the
effect of the “Hours Clause” in the Markel Reinsurance.
3.The losing parties appealed against those findings. Markel and General Reinsurance
consented to both parties having permission to appeal on the point on which they had
lost(asrecorded in a Consent Orderdated 21March 2023). I granted UnipolRe
permission to appeal on 25 October 2023 and, after holding a directions hearing in
both cases, Iorderedthatthe hearings should be heard before the samejudge on
consecutive days, with the parties to both appeals having access to and the ability to
make submissions on the materials deployed in the other appeal.
4.These remain separateappeals, and theconduct of thearbitral references and(to a
lesserextent)theargumentson theappealdifferedto some extent.However,the
3
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