Temporarily Closing Premises – Coronavirus

Zurich recognise the challenges faced by our customers as buildings are forced to close or operate on a limited basis going forward. This bulletin is intended to update you on the Zurich position with regards to temporary closure of buildings as a result of COVID-19. It applies across all Zurich property business, including Commercial Insurance, Zurich Municipal and Zurich Retail businesses.

We are committed to treating our customers fairly and so we accept that where our customers are making appropriate provisions to mitigate their unoccupied risk as a result of Coronavirus, the temporary closure of your building should not prejudice any claim made.

It is our intention that where buildings are temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 outbreak, our Unoccupied Conditions will not apply and we will not be taking any further measures to restrict coverage.

Zurich recognise the challenges faced by our customers as buildings are forced to close or operate on a limited basis going forward. Where possible, customers should continue to follow the risk management advice below and maintain in place the existing provisions of physical security and monitoring. The following documents are intended to be used as guidance only and do not impact the coverage provided under our policies:

• New Construction Sites Closure
• Temporary Closure of Buildings
• Temporary Closure of Buildings undergoing Refurbishment
• Partial Closure of Buildings

We would encourage continued/daily onsite presence and if provisions exist for building closures already, ie. procedures taken during holiday periods, then these procedures should be taken forward during this unprecedented time. Where a site usually has a 24/7 presence and there are not adequate measures on site in the event of unoccupied closure (such as the absence of an intruder alarm) then please refer this to the relevant Zurich underwriting department.

If we have made specific requirement of you with regards to security and as a result of the ongoing situation you are unable to comply with these measures please contact your usual Zurich contact/underwriter and we will be happy to work with you to address the issue.

We will continue to monitor the situation and will inform you of any further updates regarding our stance on temporarily closed buildings in due course.

Update 28/05/2020:

Whilst lockdown restrictions are being eased, we do remain in a situation where some of our customer’s premises will remain closed, in some cases possibly for some time. It is evident however that the ability to visit those premises and/or undertake risk management measures is far greater than it has been during the initial lockdown period and will in most cases be unaffected by restriction.

We would therefore take this opportunity to reaffirm our position on premises that remain closed:

• We remain committed to treating our customers fairly and so we accept that where our customers are making appropriate provisions to mitigate their unoccupied risk as a result of Coronavirus, the temporary closure of a building should not prejudice any claim made.
• Our expectations are that the ability of customers to implement appropriate risk management actions is in general terms unrestricted. Our expectation therefore is that our customers follow our risk management advise in so far as it is pertinent to their individual risk. Where local restrictions are in place, such as local lockdowns we continue to accept that a customer’s ability to implement risk management protocols may be affected and we accept that the customer will need to act in accordance with such local restrictions. In doing so this will not prejudice a claim.
• Our previous advice therefore remains in effect and should be read and followed taking into account prevailing local conditions.