Free initial consultation on Covid-19 business interruption claims
Specters Solicitors offers a free initial consultation on Covid-19 business interruption claims to help struggling businesses amid worrying impact of lockdowns and restrictions
Specters Solicitors is offering a free review of business insurance policy documents as part of a complimentary 30-minute consultation regarding Covid-19 business interruption claims. Following this initial review, if the City of London-based law firm's analysts think the policy may allow for a pay-out, Specters Solicitors will offer to act on a ‘No Win No Fee' basis, and therefore businesses will only pay legal fees if their case is successful in achieving a pay-out.
The firm is currently representing over 30 businesses, which includes restaurants, hotels, foodservice, pubs and bars, on claims against insurers who have refused to pay out on their insurance claims. Many UK catering businesses are currently enduring severe financial hardship due to the effects of lockdown and restrictions. According to Springboard, footfalls in Central London and city centres outside of the capital are currently -20% and -34 below the 2019 level respectively. Industry body UKHospitality said up to 10,000 pubs and restaurants could close permanently due to cancelled Christmas bookings and lockdowns. A Tourism Alliance survey showed that a third of pubs, bars and restaurants have no cash reserves and 10% of pubs and 14% of restaurants are therefore very likely to fail.
Following the Supreme Court ruling in January 2021, insurers were expected to pay up to £1.8 billion in settlements due to the first lockdown alone. However, an east London café claimed for more than 3 months' loss, comprising of £1,600 a month in rent and £2,500 a month in stock, after it faced mandatory closure. The café said it had been "battling bankruptcy" due to closure. A FTSE 250 insurer only offered the struggling owner £13.00 in settlement of its business interruption claim.
These figures indicate how it is more important than ever to for businesses to instruct solicitors to handle their business interruption claims and ensure that they are paid the full amount in loss in income and increased working costs that their business insurance policies permit.
Ken Specter, managing director of Specters Solicitors, said "We are working hard to progress our restaurants, hotels, foodservice and pubs clients' claims, so they can receive their compensation soonest possible in times of uncertainty and difficulty."
He added "We encourage any businesses which suffered losses due to Covid-19 related closure in 2020/2021 to use our free initial policy review and consultation services. We believe lots of businesses have not had their policies checked to see if they can claim."
Business owner Ms Laura C successfully settled her claim with insurer after only 10 months. "My business was forced to close for around 11 months during the pandemic and had an estimated loss of around £100,000."
She added "I had no income at all during the closure. Specters Solicitors has helped me to claim my settlement sum, which will help my business a bit during this tough time."
"My business is still struggling as many appointments are cancelled due to the Omicron variant." Specters Solicitors have a specialised team of lawyers dealing specifically with professional negligence claims against a wide range of professionals, including solicitors, surveyors, conveyancers, financial advisors and accountants.
The firm can also assist where an insurer is refusing to compensate for loss in income due to business interruption caused by one of the following causes (or when a claim is yet to be made):
- Prevention of access due to property damage caused by Storms, Fire and other insured events
- Loss of attraction of your premises due to damage to property in and around your premises
- Accidental failure of public utilities such as electricity, gas or water
- Additional increased cost of working
- Loss caused by damage to your supplier's premises.
Find out more on Specters business interruption claims, here.
