Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the insurance industry on explicitly excluding (a) commutable diseases, (b) coronaviruses and (c) pandemics from insurance policies; and what assessment he has made of the impact of those exclusions on people purchasing insurance.

The Government is committed to ensuring consumers can access the insurance products that suit their needs and is in continual dialogue with the insurance industry on its response to the Covid-19 crisis.

The Government has taken the position that it would not intervene in the insurance market unless the inability to secure appropriate cover represented the last barrier for the sector to reopen. At various stages throughout this crisis, the government has launched successful insurance interventions.

Moving forward, HM Treasury is learning lessons about the impacts of Covid-19 on the insurance market and the availability of cover. This will be crucial when considering our approach for how we build greater economic resilience against certain risks in the future.