Rockliffe Hall hotel Covid 'plague' insurance claim denied

Rockliffe Hall has a golf course, restaurant and spa

A luxury hotel's insurance does not cover it for Covid-19 losses because the virus is not classed as a plague, a High Court judge has ruled.

Rockliffe Hall in Darlington claimed on its business interruption policy after it closed as a result of the pandemic.

But Travelers Insurance argued that, while some closures caused by infectious diseases were covered, Covid-19 was not included.

Mrs Justice Cockerill agreed with the insurers and struck out the case.

The court heard the five-star hotel's policy covered 34 illnesses including food poisoning, cholera, smallpox and plague.

'Famine, war and pestilence'

The policy began before the new coronavirus was discovered but its wording was specific and limited to certain listed diseases, Mrs Justice Cockerill found.

"The policy could have included 'catch-all' wording, but it did not," she said.

A number of other known diseases were also not on the list, she added.

Rockliffe Hall's lawyers argued the reference to "plague" in the policy should be read as a general term for an infectious disease with a high mortality rate and not just as a reference to illnesses caused by a specific bacteria, such as the bubonic plague.

However Mrs Justice Cockerill concluded the word was "obviously intended" to refer to a specific disease.

"Matters might of course be different if 'plague' were in the company of 'famine', war' and 'pestilence'," she said.

The hotel had also claimed Covid-19 could cause, or be associated with, some of the diseases on the policy's list, such as meningitis and encephalitis, meaning insurance cover should be granted.

However, the judge said this would be an "Alice in Wonderland approach".