Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with the (a) Chancellor of the Exchequer and (b) representatives of the insurance industry on compensation for businesses affected by the outbreak of covid 19.

The Government is well prepared for this type of outbreak. The Department is frequently communicating with business representative organisations, including the Association of British Insurers, to gain current intelligence on Covid-19 and its impact on businesses.

The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Chancellor of the Exchequer are currently working together to take all necessary steps to understand the effect of Covid-19 and to respond.

Last week, the Government confirmed that for those businesses which do have a policy that covers pandemics, the Government’s action is sufficient and will allow businesses to make an insurance claim against their policy.